IT was a case of so close yet so far for Malaysia in the girls' team event of the Asian Youth Bowling Championships in Manila yesterday.
The quartet – Nur Ameerahusna Aznel, Faten Najihah Ahmad Faik, Nora Lyana Nastasia Norkamal and Nur Amirah Auni – failed to hold on to their overnight lead in the second block on long oil as they won only a silver medal.
Malaysia, who set the first block pace with a 2,505 series on medium oil, were ahead of Singapore by 125 pins and 44 pins after the fourth and fifth game.
But the Malaysians lost ground after posting 685 in the sixth and final game for a 4,687 total.
Singapore's Iliya Syamim Azni, Amabel Chua, Jermaine Seah and Charlene Lim posted a combined 4,745 series to pip Malaysia for the title by 58 pins.
Japan took bronze on 4,660.
Malaysia last won the girls' team title in Perth in 2006 through Zandra Aziela Ibrahim Hakimi, Zatil Iman Abdul Ghani, Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman and Esther Cheah.
Team manager Maradona Chok said his bowlers could not adapt to the varying oiling changes on the lanes that were designated to them in the fifth game.
"The girls were struggling with the lane conditions in the fifth game. Lane Seven was drier than Lane Eight, making it hard for them to execute consistent shots each time they switched lanes," explained Maradona.
"Defending champions South Korean who shared the lanes with us were also struggling and they subsequently failed to finish on the podium.
"We posted only 697 pins in the fifth game compared to 800 in the fourth, and this affected our momentum in the final game.
"Credit to Singapore as they peaked in the final game and held their nerves for the victory.
"Anyway, it is a new experience for our girls. We will work on this weakness."
In the boys' team competition, Tun Ameerul Luqman Al-Hakim Tun Hasnul Azam, Brandon Ting, Arif Iskandar and Hafiz Zainuddin finished ninth overall with 4,576 pinfalls
Korea won gold on 4,998, followed by Bahrain (4,919) and Saudi Arabia (4,914).
Malaysia also failed to finish on the podium in the all-events where Tun Ameerul (3,781) and Nur Amirah (3,602) finished fourth in boys' and girls' categories, respectively.
The event continues with the boys' and girls' masters on Friday.