MALAYSIAN bowlers will be out to make their presence felt again in Europe at the €84,400 (RM397,000) Brunswick Euro Challenge (BEC) in Munich from June 25-July 3.
The 11-member squad will be led by world champions Tun Hakim Tun Hasnul Azam and Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman.
It will be Malaysia's first return to the European Bowling Tour (EBT) in nearly three years.
The Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC) had last sent their bowlers to Europe in 2019, with Rafiq Ismail and Sin Lin Jane winning the men and women's titles at the season-ending EBT Masters in Madrid.
For the coming BEC, MTBC have lined up five men and six women for the one-off tournament stint.
The men's squad comprise Tun Hakim, Syafiq Ridhwan Abdul Malek, Ahmad Muaz Fishol, Syazirol Shamsuddin and Nevern Netaneel.
Siti Safiyah, Nur Syazwani Sahar, Nerosha Keligit, Gillian Lim, Faten Najihah Ahmad Faik and Nora Lyana Nastasia Norkamal make up the women's team.
Rafiq, Li Jane, Timmy Tan and Natasha Roslan — the four players bound for the World Games in Alabama from July 5-12 will stay back to prepare for their assignment.
MTBC secretary-general Maradona Chok said the stints will help prepare the bowlers for the Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships in Hong Kong (Nov 20-30) and the IBF World Cup (Nov 3-16).
"We would like to thank the National Sports Council for the nod to send our bowlers to Europe.
"This trip was never in the plan initially, but we thought an opportunity to expose our bowlers in an EBT tournament would be too good to miss," said Maradona.
"We have two very important assignments in November, so we need to get our bowlers some competitive action to prepare for the events.
"Our bowlers were regulars in EBT events in the past, so we hope they will make a roaring return."
At the 2019 BEC, Siti and Sin Li Jane did well to finish ninth and 10th out of 382 competitors.
Malaysia have never won the BEC since their maiden entry in 2010.
Adrian Ang and Li Jane finished second in the 2010 and 2015 editions, while Syafiq and former international Zulmazran Zulkifli were third in 2011 and 2010, respectively.