Malaysia Down Indonesia in the Final to Claim Women’s Team Bowling Gold

(Bangkok, 19th – Combined Report) Malaysia’s national bowling team struck gold in the women’s team event at the SEA Games in Thailand, defeating Indonesia in the final to claim the title.

The Malaysian quartet of Natasha, Nuhazra, Adania and Shereen delivered a strong performance, edging Indonesia 817–773 to secure Malaysia’s second gold medal in bowling at the Games.

Earlier, however, Malaysia’s men’s team—comprising Shazrul, Edwin Tan, Tun Hakim and Rafiq—fell short in the semi-finals, losing 723–814 to the Philippines and missing out on the final, ending hopes of a team double.

Despite that setback, Malaysia’s bowling contingent still enjoyed an impressive campaign, finishing with two golds, one silver and four bronze medals, bouncing back strongly from a medal-less outing at the 2023 SEA Games in Phnom Penh.

In basketball, both Malaysia’s men’s and women’s teams missed out on bronze medals in the five-on-five competition after losses to Indonesia.

In the men’s bronze playoff, Malaysia were without injured players Chen Jun Hong, Jia Geng and point guard Wong Wei Yong. Malaysia trailed just 17–18 after the first quarter but struggled with shooting accuracy, going into halftime down 32–43. With no improvement after the break, Indonesia pulled away for a 68–80 win, denying Malaysia an end to their 18-year medal drought dating back to the 2007 SEA Games.

The women’s team also fell short, losing 55–62 to Indonesia. After falling behind 5–12 early, Malaysia closed the gap to 12–15 through Zhang Huiling, but managed only eight points in the second quarter to trail 20–35 at halftime. Although they fought back to 39–48 in the second half, they could not complete the comeback. It marked only the second time Malaysia’s women’s team failed to win a medal in the SEA Games five-on-five event, after the 2019 edition in the Philippines.

Elsewhere, Malaysian table tennis player Cheng Li Xian fought hard in the women’s singles semi-final but lost 4–11, 11–6, 8–11, 7–11, 6–11 to host player Parana. Malaysia also missed out on bronze in beach volleyball after losing 10–21, 16–21 to Vietnam, and in women’s soft tennis hockey, falling 3–4 to the Philippines.