KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia continued their dominance in the men's competition at the Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships (ATBC) in Bangkok on Saturday when Rafiq Ismail, Syafiq Ridhwan Abdul Malek, and Hafiz Zainuddin staged a remarkable comeback to clinch the gold medal in the trios event.
With the singles and doubles titles already secured, Rafiq, Syafiq and Hafiz maintained Malaysia's perfect record by posting 3,961 pinfalls to top the 40-team standings.
They comfortably outpaced South Korea's Park Dong Hyuk, Lee Ik Kyu and Kang Myung Jin (3,814) and Hong Kong's Jovi Ma, Tony Wong and Wu Siu Hong (3,797).
Another Malaysian combination, comprising Tun Hakim Tun Hasnul Azam, Shaqeem Izwan Teh, and Izz Naqiuddin Putera Islahuddin, slipped from their overnight third position to eighth with 3,691.
The victory was particularly impressive as Rafiq, Syafiq and Hafiz had started the day in sixth place, facing a 153-pin deficit behind the Korean trio of Kim Kyung Ming, Hwang Dong Wook and Bae Jung Hun, who had set the pace in the first block on Thursday.
As the Koreans faltered, Syafiq and Hafiz carried the team with strong performances, compensating for Rafiq's challenging fifth game where he managed only 159.
Hafiz, elated after capturing his first ATBC gold, said: "Winning my first ATBC gold in such fashion makes today's victory even more memorable. I'm still in shock at how we managed this comeback, especially since the leaders were so far ahead initially."
Rafiq, celebrating his third consecutive gold in this event since 2019, expressed gratitude for his teammates' support.
"This time, I was the one sitting in 'business class,' while Syafiq and Hafiz were the pilots driving the team to success," he joked.
"Syafiq shot a 756, Hafiz 729, while I managed 625. But that's what team events are all about – we always have each other's back."
Rafiq had previously won in Kuwait in 2019 with Syafiq and Ahmad Muaz Fishol before defending the title last year in Hong Kong alongside Muaz and Timmy Tan.
Looking ahead, Rafiq believes the team's strong momentum bodes well for the upcoming team event.
"We've now won all three events in the men's category. Confidence is high, so hopefully, we can maintain this form and win the team event too, which is our ultimate goal," he said.
Rafiq added: "Right now, everyone except Izz has at least one gold. We're all determined to ensure Izz goes home with a gold medal too. He's been bowling very well. The medal has just eluded him so far."