KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Ethan Damien Goh let slip an opportunity to mark his national team debut with a gold medal as he settled for a commendable bronze in the boys' singles at the Asian Junior Bowling Championships today.
The 14-year-old Sarawakian squandered a nine-pin lead as he could only muster 186 in the final game to finish the six-game contest with a 1,308 total at Sunway Mega Lanes.
Singapore's Mark Leong clinched the gold after amassing 1,321 pinfalls with Macau's Chan Chun Lok coming in second on 1,311.
Ethan reached the halfway stage in fifth spot after chalking up 224, 225 and 202, but surged to the top for the first time after scoring 226 for his fourth game.
He then struck a brilliant 245 in the penultimate game to take a slender nine-pin advantage against Vietnam's surprise package Tran Hoang Khoi.
Hoang Khoi ultimately missed out on the podium, finishing with a 1,304 total.
Danial Abu Samah was the second best-placed Malaysian on the leaderboard, coming in sixth following a 1,274.
In the girls' singles, there was no golden finish for the hosts as Qurratu'ain Izdihar Pozi claimed bronze with 1,264. Nura Salsabila Zulkifli and Ella Tan completed a 1-2 domination for Singapore. Nura ran away with the gold after scoring a 1,395 total, 73 pins ahead of Ella (1,322).
Four other Malaysians finished in the top 10, namely Afiqah Kamilia Ali (fourth-1,264), Intan Nor Edryana Azliman (fifth-1,256), Nur Ainul Hayat Ad Nor (seventh-1,206) and Adelia Nur Irwan Syazlee (ninth-1187).
The tournament resumes with the boys' and girls' doubles events tomorrow.