SEPANG: The national lawn bowls squad have taken the initiative to leave early for Birmingham, England for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, even though the events for the sport will only be held from July 29 to August 8.
National women’s lawn bowls ace Siti Zalina Ahmad said she and her teammates took the step so as to familiarise themselves with the lawn and weather conditions in Birmingham that involve several clubs near the competition venue, Victoria Park Bowling Greens, in an effort to give their best.
She said the lawn conditions at Lillington Bowling Club and Desborough Bowling Club were not much different from the competition venue.
“For this edition of the Commonwealth Games, we lack exposure whereby the first time the squad went was last year but could not use the venue fully due to winter and the second time we went (for the Four Nations Test Series) was two months ago.
“So we are coming again early this time to adjust to the conditions because the situation at the venue will definitely change in terms of winds and angle to do the throwing,” she told Bernama at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport here, today.
Meanwhile, another member of the squad Syafiqa Haidar Afif Abdul Rahman said she wanted to make the adjustments immediately in an effort to win a medal in her Commonwealth Games debut.
This is my first big tournament and I aim to bring home medals not just to gain experience. With compatibility with other players and seniors who have contributed medals, I believe we can achieve our medal target,´she said.
Ten national players, five of whom are male, will be competing in four events, namely singles, pairs, triples and fours at the Games.
The Olympic Council (OCM) and the Malaysian Lawn Bowls Federation (PLBM) have set a target of two medals for the squad, one of which is the gold medal.
At the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, Siti Zalina and Emma Firyana won the gold medal for the national contingent in the women’s pairs event. – BERNAMA
