KUALA LUMPUR: Natasha Roslan made history on Friday by becoming the first Malaysian female bowler to win the International Bowling Federation (IBF) World Cup.
The 27-year-old clinched the title in style, defeating Germany's Birgit Noreiks 2-0 (217-166, 226-169) in a commanding best-of-three final at Top Bowl, Kai Tak Sports Park in Hong Kong.
In doing so, Natasha became the first Malaysian to complete the prestigious World Cup and World Championships double.
She had claimed the women's singles title at the 2023 World Championships in Kuwait.
Her victory also ended Malaysia's 13-year wait for success in the World Cup, the last victory coming from Syafiq Ridhwan Abdul Malek in 2012 in Wroclaw, Poland.
Malaysia had previously come close to winning the women's title with Li Jane finishing runner-up in 2014 and 2018, alongside Shalin Zulkifli (1996) and Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman (2017).
In the men's event, Rafiq Ismail narrowly missed out on the title after losing to China's Du Jian Chao 2-1 (222-223, 226-166, 235-193) in the final.