KUALA LUMPUR: Bowlers Rafiq Ismail and Sin Li Jane are the new king and queen of Europe!
The two Malaysians made history yesterday when they bagged the men's and women's crowns at the European Bowling Tour (EBT) Masters in Madrid.
Only the top eight bowlers (in each category) from the 2018 European Tenpin Bowling Federation (ETBF) rankings qualify for the prestigious competition.
Rafiq is really on a roll, as just a week ago, the 22-year-old claimed his first title of the season, the men's Masters event at the Singapore Open.
The national Sportsman of the Year took the lead after eight games, amassing a 1,850 total, to finish ahead of United States' Kyle Troup (1,748), Sweden's Jesper Svenson (1,717) and Denmark's Carsten W. Hansen (1,647).
The top four bowlers then shot another four games, with Rafiq finishing on 2,751, followed by Troup (2,741) in second place and Svenson (2,717) who settled for bronze.
The victory is also Rafiq's first on the European circuit.
As for Li Jane, it's clear why Europe is one of her favourite hunting ground, as she claimed her second EBT Masters in three years, after her maiden success in San Marino, three years ago.
Li Jane took a commanding lead after eight games, with a total of 1,725 pinfalls followed by Denmark's Jensen Ginge Mai (1,542), Sweden's Jenny Wagner (1,541), and fellow Malaysian, Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman (1,489).
Li Jane, who also won the 2016 Track Open and last year's Brunswick Ball Master Open, completed her remaining four games with a grand total of 2,603, followed by Mai (2,339) in second place and Siti Safiyah (2,248) who clawed back from fourth place to take the bronze.
Rafiq and Li Jane pocketed €2,500 (RM11,700) each in prize winnings, while Siti Safiyah won €1,500 (RM7,000).
“A superb win by Rafiq and Li Jane in the EBT Masters and congratulations also to Siti Safiyah for finishing third against the best bowlers from the ETBF Tour Rankings.
“A very big double for Malaysia in conquering Europe,” said Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress secretary general Maradona Chok.