KUALA LUMPUR: National bowling champion Muhammad Rafiq Ismail (pix) will be out to blaze the lanes in pursuit of a golden harvest at the 27th Asia Tenpin Bowling Championships in Bangkok, Thailand, come September, in efforts to defend his singles and team titles.
The 26-year-old ace bowler will not only be out to defend the men’s singles title but will be hoping to retain the team title that he had won with team mates Syafiq Ridhwan, Mohd Syazirol Shamsudin, Tun Hakim Tun Hasnul Azam, Timmy Tan and Ahmad Muaz Fishol during the last edition hosted by Hong Kong.
“The Asia Championships in Thailand is my top most priority (key performance index) for this year. Personally, of course I will be targetting the singles title but the most meaningful one will be the team title.
“By playing in the team event, everyone can feel the excitement of winning together. The vibes when winning with friends is different from what you feel when I win the singles.
The number one player in Asia however, will not look down on the capabilities of keglers from high profile countries like South Korea, Singapore and the Philippines.
“The Philippines has good up and coming bowlers. We too cannot look down on other countris. Sometimes we feel that based on their track record these countries cannot perform but sometimes during a major competition, they can perform well,” he said.
Muhammad Rafiq said he would need to compete and perform well in at least tournaments this year to be listed in the team for the Asia Championships.
Apart from the team event, the Selangor-born kegler had also clinched three other gold medals in Hong Kong, namely from the Masters, All Events and Trio with Timmy and Ahmad Muaz.
Based on the current Asia Bowling Federation’s ranking, Muhammad Rafiq is the number one player in Asia for the third consecutive year since 2021 and has accumulated 442 points. -Bernama
