STARTING the last game with two splits cost Sin Li Jane-Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman a podium finish in the doubles at bowling’s World Women's Championships in Las Vegas, the United States, on Sunday.
The Malaysian duo, who went into the last game in second place, finished eighth after amassing a 12-game total of 2,634 pin falls.
Colombia's Rocio Restrepo-Maria Rodriguez (2,758) topped the list, followed by South Korea's Son Hyerin-Lee Yeonji (2,729) in second, Colombians Juliana Franco-Clara Guerrero (2,727) were third and Sweden's Josefin Hermansson-Jenny Wegner (2,706) in fourth.
Only the top four pairs will bowl in the medal round later this week.
“Two early splits in the last game shook our doubles and we couldn't recover as Colombia and Sweden were on form,” said team manager, Maradona Chok.
“We were second in our squad but could not overtake the third pair in squad one.
“Despite feeling a little down following today's results, the team are still fired up to come back with guns blazing.
“We knew the field would be strong but we are getting closer to peak performance,” he added.
Two other pairs - Syaidatul Afifah Badrul Hamidi-Natasha Roslan and Esther Cheah-Nerosha Keligit - came in 19th and 26th respectively.
Syaidatul-Natasha, reeled in a 2,504 total, while Esther-Nerosha bowled 2,480.
“Day by day we are getting more comfortable with the lanes and we hope to come back stronger in the remaining events.
“Coach Holloway (Cheah) has not pushed the panic button yet although he feels a little wasted with what happened in the doubles event.
“We have the right area to play but we just need to strike more than the others,” Maradona said.