TOKYO: Malaysia’s first gold medal at the Deaflympics 2025 was no stroke of luck but a result of hard work, discipline and mental focus from the men’s doubles bowling pair, who rose to the occasion at the Higashiyamato Grand Bowl on Friday.
National deaf bowling head coach Joe Tay said he had to constantly remind Syabil Azam Syamsul Azam and Ho Choon Seong to stay composed in the final against Ukraine.
“This victory belongs entirely to the players. They followed every instruction with absolute commitment. Everyone was on edge, and the pressure was tremendous. From behind, I just kept telling them: relax, relax, relax.
“People may not notice how nervous they were, but I could see it in their throws. Still, they stuck to the game plan, and it paid off beautifully,” he told Bernama.
Joe added that while the men’s doubles win was a tremendous achievement, the mission is far from over, as the men’s team are targeting gold in their event on Sunday.
Syabil and Choon Seong defied all odds to stun Ukraine’s Danyliuk Vadym-Ialovega Vladyslav 2-1.
The Malaysians held their nerves and fired impressive scores of 243, 181 and 226 to clinch gold.
The Malaysian Deaf Sports Association (MSDeaf) has set a three-gold target for the games — from badminton women’s doubles, badminton mixed doubles and men’s team bowling.
As of now, badminton has delivered a mixed doubles bronze. – BERNAMA
