Tokyo: Malaysia ended the penultimate day of the Deaflympics 2025 broken-hearted after the national bowlers finished ninth to miss out on a place in the second round of the mixed team event by a single pin at the Higashiyamato Grand Bowl here today. The Malaysian quartet – Ho Choon Seong, Syabil Azam Syamsul Azam, Siong Mui Hong, and Siw Sing Hie – toppled 1,109 pins to finish behind eighth-placed Germany, who achieved 1,110 pinfalls.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, national deaf bowling head coach Joe Tay mentioned that once the quadrennial Games conclude tomorrow, he will meet with the Malaysian Deaf Sports Association (MSDeaf) to discuss his future, despite having joined the team only in October last year. He expressed uncertainty about continuing in his role and emphasized the need for better strategic and logistical planning for future Deaflympics.

Joe highlighted transportation issues that contributed to the early exit of the national men’s bowling team, who were seen as Malaysia’s best gold-medal prospects. The team faced challenges with travel logistics, having to make lengthy commutes to venues, which impacted their performance. Despite these setbacks, Joe praised the talent of the players and expressed satisfaction with the team’s medal haul, which included one gold and one silver.

Bowling emerged as Malaysia’s most successful sport at this year’s Games, delivering a gold in men’s doubles and a silver in women’s doubles. However, with the mixed team event as their final outing, Malaysia concluded their Deaflympics 2025 campaign with a four-medal haul, falling short of the MSDeaf target of three gold medals. The national contingent secured one gold in men’s doubles bowling, two silvers in women’s doubles bowling and men’s karate individual kumite below 84kg, and one bronze in mixed doubles badminton.