MAGIC
MALAYSIANS AMONG WORLD TEAM CUP SQUAD
Dual Commonwealth Games singles gold medal
winner Siti Zalina Ahmad will be keen to
continue her outstanding form down under when
she returns to Australia for the World Team
Cup in May.
The Malaysian ace and world’s best female
bowler leads a hungry contingent from the
Asian powerhouse looking to become the
inaugural World Team Cup champions at Tweed
Heads Bowl Club.
The maiden running of this top-line event
will take place from 17-25 May.
Ahmad, the ABN AMRO Australian Open 2007
singles champion, won gold at the 2002 and
2006 Commonwealth Games.
She is teamed with fellow Melbourne
Commonwealth Games gold medalists Nor Hashimah
Ismail and Nor Azlina Arshad in the women’s
side.
Selectors have settled on an equally
imposing trio for the men’s event.
Twenty-four-year-old Safuan Said, one half
of the impressive 2005 Asia Pacific Bowls
Championship pairs gold medal outfit, is
confirmed for the event.
He is the most experienced member of a
young squad that also includes Mohd Amir Mohd
Yusof, 23, and Fairul Izwan Abdul Muin, 24.
Said, who will line up in the singles and
triples, plays for Perak Bowls Club and first
represented his country in 2002.
He won bronze in the pairs at the 2002
Commonwealth Games and has become well-known
to Australian bowlers due to his strong
performances at international events.
Yusof and Muin are rising stars and will
look to use the World Team Cup to catapult
their careers.
While the men are sure to be competitive,
it’s the women of Malaysia tipped to do the
damage.
Ahmad, 27, has been a model of consistency
since debuting for Malaysia in 1998.
Her stunning form at major events in
singles play makes her the one to watch at
Tweed Heads Bowls Club.
As well as being touted as the best singles
player in the event, the Malaysian police
officer will be keen to lay down the law in
the triples too.
While Arshad and Ismail may not have as
high a profile, they’re certainly players to
be reckoned with.
Twenty-five-year-old Arshad began her
international career in 2002 and has scored
gold at Commonwealth Games and Asia Pacific
championship level.
Pairs and triples team-mate Ismail, 36, won
medals at the 1998 and 2006 Commonwealth
Games. Her experience and guidance will be
valuable.
Tickets to the World Team Cup are available
now by calling Bowls Australia on (03)
9819-2722 or at www.bowlsaustralia.com.au.
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