Malaysia delivers her first gold
5th September, Monterry: Esther Cheah, Zandra Aziela, Sharon Koh, Wendy Chai and anchor lady, Shalin Zulkifli fittingly delivered its first gold medal in the Team of Five event at the World Women's Championship to celebrate Malaysia's 50th Independence.
The Malaysian women bowled their hearts out by clinching the Team of Five event by 7 pins from the talented team from the United States of America. England held their lead during the first game of the long oil session but the surprise was Indonesia falling right back and letting Malaysia and Korea into the medal places.
Finland, too, were making a strong bid for glory. Going into the last game, it was nip and tuck between Malaysia and the United States for gold and silver and a motley assortment of teams for the bronze.
A gritty and hefty second game of 1079 propelled Malaysia as the new leader going into the third and final game with 74 pins margin. Team USA was in hot pursuits right on the heels of Malaysia.
It was down to the wire till the last frame for Shalin Zulkifli to bowl. With her coolness and nerves of steel, Shalin, who knocked down a turkey prior to the tenth frame and spared home to shut out the Americans with a team total of 6323.
Lynda Barnes, Shannon O'Keefe, Tennelle Milligan, Diandra Asbaty and Shannon Pluhowsky of USA settled for the silver medal with 6316 despite bringing home 1050 in their final game. Overnight first block leader, England claimed the bronze medal with 6197.
The Danes and the mighty Koreans ended up in fourth and fifth spots respectively whilst Indonesia finished a dissapointing sixth. Wednesday's first team squad dealt with the teams in the 'second division', those that finished further down the table.
Detailed scores: Team 2ndBlk Combined | All Events | Photo Album.
Photos courtesy of Keith Hale, Bowlers Journal International.