KUALA LUMPUR: Newly married national lawn bowler Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple believes his wife has brought him luck.
After tying the knot with Arisha Roslan on Sept 11, Izzat won his third national singles men's title at Bukit Kiara Sports Complex on Sunday.
The Perakian, who also bagged the national singles title in Labuan (2013) and in Klang (2017), beat Idham Amin Ramlan of Terengganu 21-7 in the final.
In the semi-finals, Izzat faced a strong challenge from Selangor's Haiqal Azami before prevailing 14-13.
For his efforts, the 30-year-old has been selected to represent Malaysia at the Champion of the Champions in Wellington, New Zealand, from Nov 19-26.
Izzat, who has been in the national team since 2015, will also compete in the World Indoor Championships in Sydney from May 7-13.
"Last month I got married to Arisha, whom I met in 2019. And she has brought me good luck.
"She has been my number one fan. And I dedicate my third singles title to my wife, who was at Bukit Kiara to support me," said Izzat, who took up lawn bowls 20 years ago.
"This is the first time I did not feel pressure playing in the national singles as I was quite optimistic about my chances.
"It feels really good to beat Idham, who won the Malaysia Games singles gold last month," said Izzat, who competed in the trios and fours in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in July.
In the national women's singles, Nurul Alyani Jamil, 29, of Pahang won her fourth title after defeating Aleena Nawawi of Perak 19-10 in the final.
"It also feels nice that I have been selected to compete in next year's World Championships in Sydney as I was not included for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games," said Alyani who won silver in the Champion of the Champions in Sydney in 2018.