RUGBY

KUALA LUMPUR: The national juniors' hopes of making a swift return to the top tier were dashed following a a defeat by UAE in the semi-finals of the Asia Rugby Under-19 Championships (ARC) in the Philippines today.

Malaysia were no match for the heavyset UAE, going down tamely 34-13 at the International School Manila field.

They will now face Philippines, who lost 26-6 to favourites South Korea in their semi-final, in the third-place playoff on Saturday.

National team manager Azlan Ishak admitted that it was not their day.

"UAE were just the better team today, they have better sizing than us and were also faster than us," said Azlan.

“We just made a few simple mistakes which allowed UAE to score their tries against us.”

Malaysia were relegated from the championship division (top tier) last season.

The championship division, which only features two teams this year, saw favourites Hong Kong winning their first leg encounter against Sri Lanka 37-8 at the Havelocks in Colombo. The return leg will be held at the Hong Kong Football Club on Saturday

BOWLING

PETALING JAYA: National woman bowler Sin Li Jane has just missed out on becoming the first-ever Malaysian double world champion. A day after helping Malaysia reclaim the women’s team gold, the 25-year-old Li Jane’s gallant run in the Masters event came undone in the final at the South Point Bowling Centre in Las Vegas, the United States, on Monday. Li Jane went down fighting 2-0 (225-256, 221-236) to defending champion Jung Da-wun of South Korea to settle for silver and end her fourth World Championships appearance with three medals. She had also partnered Shalin 

Zulkifli to win a silver in women’s doubles last Tuesday. The Malaysian then marched into the last four with a 2-0 (204-189, 257-191) quarter-final victory over Denmark’s Rikke Holm Agerbo. She then overcame Indonesia’s Sharon Limansantoso 2-1 (216-169, 178-218, 223-163) to earn a title shot against Da-wun. Li Jane was not disheartened despite missing out on a second gold in as many days. “Although silver was all I could manage, it’s still a big deal,” said Li Jane, who emulated Lisa Kwan’s feat in Singapore in 1991. 

It’s always tough make the top four when it comes to the Masters category, let alone reach the final. “So, finishing second is still a very good achievement.” Li Jane also dedicated the three medals she has won to her parents – Sin Yew Kheong and Ho Chee Ling – as their birthday presents.

“These three hard-fought medals are for my mum and dad. My dad turned 60 last Wednesday while my mum will turn 58 on Dec 27. I am what I am today because of them. I can’t thank them enough,” she said.

Shalin and Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman crashed out in the early rounds of the women’s Masters.

Shalin lost 157-204, 187-210 to Holm Agerbo in the first round while Siti Safiyah went down 160-176, 222-207, 201-205 to Ghislaine Stigter-Van der Tol of Holland in the second round.

In men’s division, Ahmad Muaz Fishol’s challenge in the men’s Masters ended in the second round when he lost 199-243, 236-194, 185-224 to Hong Kong’s Wu Siu Hong.

Li Jane’s effort ensured Malaysia ended their world meet campaign with a best-ever medal haul of one gold and three silvers (1-3-0).

Siti Safiyah delivered the other silver in women’s All-Events. The 1-3-0 tally saw Malaysia finish fourth behind the US (4-0-3), South Korea (2-0-2) and Taiwan (1-3-2). Malaysia’s previous best haul was 0-2-1 at the Abu Dhabi edition in 1999.