Fadhil Yunus
Brunei Darussalam national lawn bowl coach Lokman Mohd Salleh called for improvement in the technique method for target and drawer following the performances of the men’s four team at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham, England recently.
The national men’s team comprising Mohd Bahren bin Abdul Rahman, Mohd Hazmi bin Haji Idris, Haji Osman bin Haji Yahya and Haji Amli bin Haji Gapar lost 21-8 to Malaysia, 28-2 to Wales and 17-4 to Norfolk Island in Section D at Victoria Park.
Lokman said, “During the first day against Malaysia, the first thrower (lead) was not yet consistent, which subsequently made it difficult for the second and third thrower for placement.
“This made it difficult for the skipper to provide strategic decisions or to move it from the opponent.”
He added, “This went on in the second day against Wales and Norfolk Island. Most of the balls were short and were unable to get closer to the check point and enter the jack target.
“The strength of the opposing team showed particularly Norfolk Island who organised a ball placement strategy earlier than Brunei.
“The national team took a long time to adapt the opponent’s strategy during the match and the points gap was too far to challenge to close the gap.”
Meanwhile, on the women’s team, a combination of team spirit, adjustment in reading the game of their opponents and the blessing of good weather provided a slight advantage to perform well as well as providing little competition after gaining points in several ends.
The national team comprising Esmawandy binti Haji Brahim and Norafizah binti Matossen lost 24-14 to Australia and 27-8 to Wales, but won 15-12 to Canada in the women pairs event.
The national coach heaped praise on Esmawandy for her good and consistent performance throughout the match against Australia, even though it was too late to chase for points for every ends due to the initial placement not being done well.
He continued, “During the second day, the women’s pairs team defeated Canada. Both teams are very encouraging and shows high spirit to the point of putting pressure on the opponent and then being very thorough in making strategies such as having trial caddy.
“Both players had effective communication and are good drawers. Esma and Norafizah played well and consistent throughout the match.”
The coach added, “During the match against Wales, the team lost after an initial placement by Norafizah could not have given a better challenge and by the time the strategy was rearranged well it was too late to make up for points.”
He said that Norafizah still have some difficulty in understanding the unpredictable windy conditions during the match. Meanwhile, Esma as an experienced player was able to play consistently throughout the match.
Lokman said that unpredictable weather had put the mental toughness and focus of athletes to the test.
Overall, the coach said that the matches against Australia in the women’s pairs and Malaysia in the men’s fours tested the true ability of the national team.
He said, “On a whole, the performance shown that it is challenging compared to the opposing countries which are indeed strong and well-known as well as consistent in their matches.”
Northern Island struck gold in the men’s fours event after defeating India 18-5 while Australia won gold after edging hosts England 19-18 in the women’s pairs event.
