Zuraidi Wants Lawn Bowlers To Focus On Commonwealth Games After World Cup High

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 9 (Bernama) -- The national lawn bowls team can hold their heads up high after emerging overall champions in the 2025 World Cup, which ended last night.

But try telling that to national head coach Zuraidi Puteh. A hard man to please, he was quick to point out that there are still weaknesses that need to be rectified ahead of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in Scotland next year.

The inaugural edition of the World Cup, held at the Juara Stadium in Bukit Kiara here, saw Malaysia bag one gold and three bronze medals to be crowned overall champions.

The sole gold came courtesy of the experienced Emma Firyana Saroji, who defeated England's Katherine Rednall 1-0 in the women's singles final.

The victory was all the more meaningful for the 39-year-old Emma Firyana as she had lost to the Englishwoman in the group stage earlier.

The three bronze medals, meanwhile, were delivered by Nurul Alyani Jamil (women's singles), Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple (men's singles) and Jariah Zakaria (women's para singles).

Zuraidi said their achievements proved that the national lawn bowlers’ performance level had risen on the international stage, despite there being some minor weaknesses that they still need to pay attention to.

"We almost achieved the perfect result, but it looks like there are still some minor mistakes that we must learn to avoid making.

"As such, we will review and strengthen the existing training structure. Every mistake is an important lesson for us to learn from ahead of next year's Commonwealth Games (from July 23-Aug 2),” Zuraidi told reporters.

According to him, the use of portable rinks, which enabled the players to train in an environment that simulates actual competition conditions, also helped strengthen their preparations.

"One gold and three bronzes… a good benchmark for the next four years. We will continue to improve all aspects of our performances to ensure Malaysia remains among the world's best,” he said.

With the Commonwealth Games coming up next year, and talks about the possibility of lawn bowls being contested at the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games, Zuraidi believes the national players are determined to maintain their winning momentum to bring glory to the country on the world stage.

-- BERNAMA