KUALA LUMPUR: With one more day of qualifying to go, national bowlers Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman and Rafiq Ismail rose to the occasion to take the top two spots at the Brunswick Euro Challenge in Munich.
Following the completion of squad 11 on Thursday, Asia's No 1 Siti Safiyah amassed a six-game total of 1,535 pinfalls, just four pins shy of the Euro Challenge record set in 2016.
Rafiq, was not far off in second place on a 1,530 total.
Only the top 12 bowlers will qualify automatically to Step 2, while bowlers ranked No 13-52 will compete in Step 1.
Adrian Ang (sixth — 1,514) and Timmy Tan (11th — 1,499) are also on range for spots in Step 2.
Former World Cup winner Syafiq Ridhwan Abd Malek is placed 16th on a 1,485 total, followed by Esther Cheah (20th — 1,465), Shalin Zulkifli (29th — 1,442), Sin Li Jane (38th —1,435) and Natasha Roslan (48th — 1,421).
Alex Liew is ranked No 52 on 1,402, while Ahmad Muaz Fishol is the only Malaysian out of the top 60, at 93rd on 1,362.
"I am confident that our top bowlers, especially Siti Safiyah and Rafiq, will make the next round.
"Of course, there are still a few more squads of qualifying to go, but it won't be easy for anyone to top their scores," said Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC) secretary general Maradona Chok.