Being the Asian Bowling Federation’s (ABF) No. 1 ranked bowler, Rafiq Ismail (pic) needs no reminder that he’ll be a scrutinised figure in the Asian Championships starting today in Bangkok. And many eyes, especially those of rival nations, were on the Malaysian during the official practice at the Blu–O Rhythm and Bowl yesterday. The 27-year-old Rafiq, however, just went about his business as usual, without the anxiety of having to live up to his top billing at the prestigious meet.

“I’m sure I would have been ‘monitored’ by my rivals during the official practice. But that’s not a source of pressure for me as I always try to stay calm and also not be overconfident,” he said. “We have a good team capable of doing something special here. Our biggest competition will come from South Korea, Singapore and Japan.” Rafiq has good reasons to be confident about his main aim of helping Malaysia win their third men’s overall title in a row. Thailand has been a happy hunting ground as he won the Open there in August – his second – after beating Singapore’s Mike Ong 194-156 in the stepladder final.

Rafiq also has fond memories of the Asian Championships, especially in the 2023 edition. He bagged four gold medals (trios, team, overall and Masters) and a silver in the singles. Rafiq also won the trios gold in 2019 and the Masters gold in 2016. “We hope to create more memorable moments in Bangkok and continue to show that Malaysian bowling will always be among the top in Asia,” he added.