Lawn Bowlers Alif Haikal-Nurul Ain Make Sure Mixed Pairs Gold Stays With Selangor 

KUCHING, Aug 19 (Bernama) -- Selangor may not have had enough time to prepare but that did not stop them from defending the lawn bowls mixed pairs gold medal in the 2024 Malaysia Games (SUKMA) at the Petra Jaya Lawn Bowls Arena today.

First-time pairing Alif Haikal Hakimi Ariffuddin and Nurul Ain Ibrahim defeated Sarawak’s Awang Mohamad Sharszan Fiyrman Awang Nasaruddin 12-10 in the final.

The Federal Territories’ pair of Muhammad Amirul Naim Fazly-Nurul Munirah Azizul Rahman downed Terengganu’s Muhammad Ammar Zaquan Jamaludin-Nur Hidayah Husna Abdullah 16-8 to take bronze.

Alif Haikal, 20, said they were only paired up two month ago and admitted that it was tough for them to defend the gold medal.

“We also trained about five times only. So, what we did was to just focus on our own game. It was a challenge but we handled it well,” he told Bernama today.

He said although the home pair gave them a tough fight, they managed to win the final by cutting down on making mistakes.

The Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) student also praised the 19-year-old Nurul Ain, who was the more positive and calmer of the duo at tense moments during the final.

Nurul Ain described the victory as “very meaningful” because she was only a reserve previously.

“When given the chance to play in the mixed pairs, I was determined to prove that I can contribute a medal to the team. I was excited when picked for SUKMA 2024,” she said, adding that she will be competing in the women’s fours event next.

-- BERNAMA