Kuala lumpur: The national men’s bowling team, seen as one of Malaysia’s key gold medal contenders at the Deaflympics 2025, faced an unexpected first-round exit after alleged transportation mismanagement caused a delay in their arrival at the venue, leaving no time for warm-up.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the national deaf bowling head coach, Joe Tay, expressed his frustration over the incident, which he said left his bowlers-Mohd Firdaus Mohamad, Syabil Azam Syamsul Azam, Ho Choon Seong, and Mohd Zaidi Awang-completely unsettled. Coach Tay explained that their bus was supposed to arrive at 7.55 am, but the team was informed that only a 6.50 am bus was available, which they had already missed. Despite showing proof with photos, their transportation was delayed until after 8 am when a taxi was finally arranged for them.

Upon arrival at the Higashiyamato Grand Bowl venue, located approximately 37 kilometers from Deaflympics C, the athletes’ bus pickup point, the players were forced to compete immediately without any warm-up time. The event was scheduled to commence at 10 am, but the unexpected delay disrupted their preparation.

Joe Tay mentioned that the Malaysian delegation intends to file an official complaint with the Deaflympics organizers. Despite the setback, the coach hopes the team will focus on the upcoming women’s team event and the mixed team event scheduled for November 25.

The men’s team, considered Malaysia’s strongest chance for a gold medal, narrowly missed advancing to Round 2, finishing ninth with a total of 1,123 pinfalls. Only the top eight teams progressed, with South Korea leading the round at 1,283 pinfalls, followed by Germany with 1,234 and Taiwan with 1,180.

The Malaysian Deaf Sports Association (MSDeaf) has set a goal of winning three gold medals at the Games, specifically targeting women’s doubles badminton, mixed doubles badminton, and men’s team bowling. Currently, Malaysia’s medal tally includes one gold in men’s doubles bowling, one silver in women’s doubles bowling, and one bronze in mixed doubles badminton.