KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia settled for a brace of bronzes at the World Bowls Champion of Champions competition in Gold Coast, Australia, today.
Last year's runner-up, Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple, lost 2-0 to eventual winner Daniel Salmon (Wales), while Nurul Alyani Jamil went down 2-1 to Lucy Beere (Guernsey) in their respective men's and women's semi-finals today.
Salmon, 29, went on to beat Canada's Darren Gualtieri 2-0 in the final. Beere, however, lost 2-1 to the United States' Anne Nunes.
Nevertheless, it was a positive outing for the Malaysian bowlers Down Under.
The national team claimed a gold and bronze medal in the World Bowls Championship, which ended last weekend, also in Gold Coast.
Debutants Nur Ain Nabilah Tarmizi and Aleena Ahmad Nawawi created history for Malaysia when they won the women's pairs for the first time, while Izzat combined with Mohammad Soufi Rusli to win the men's pairs bronze.
Malaysia has won three Singles Champion of Champions titles in the past. The tournament, which stretches back to 2003, is contested among the respective national singles title winners.
Women's bowler Nor Iryani Azmi was the first Malaysian to emerge champion in the 2005 edition (women's singles) followed by Hizlee Abdul Rais (men's singles) in 2012 and Emma Saroji (women's singles) in 2015.