Malaysian bowling athletes and Team Malaysia

Malaysia's place in world bowling

Malaysia is a small country with a big bowling record. The Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC) began in 1974 under Dr P.S. Nathan, with only about 100 registered bowlers. Four years later, bowling made its Asian Games debut in Bangkok, and Malaysia won gold. One of that team, Holloway Cheah, later saw his daughter Esther become a world champion.

Since then, Malaysian bowling athletes have won world titles in singles, doubles and team events. They also topped the bowling medal table at the December 2025 SEA Games. In fact, according to Wikipedia's list of world champions, Malaysia has world singles champions in every decade from the 2000s to the 2020s.

From Shalin Zulkifli to the PWBA generation

The Shalin era (1990s to 2000s)

Shalin Zulkifli made her SEA Games debut in 1993 at 15. Over the next 28 years she won 20 SEA Games golds and four Asian Games golds. She also won the 2001 World Tenpin Masters, and she entered the International Bowling Hall of Fame in 2004. Around her, a strong women's team grew. Esther Cheah won the world singles title in 2005 at 19, then Asian Games singles gold in 2006. Meanwhile, Jacqueline Sijore won the world singles title in 2011.

The men had stars too. For example, Syafiq Ridhwan won the bowling World Cup in 2012.

World titles and the PWBA (2017 to 2026)

The 2017 World Championships in Las Vegas marked a turning point. Malaysia's women won team gold, and that same year Siti Safiyah and Sin Li Jane became the first Malaysian winners on the PWBA Tour in the United States. Then, in 2018, Rafiq Ismail won the men's world singles, while Tun Hakim and Adrian Ang won the men's doubles.

Since then, Malaysian bowling athletes have kept winning on the biggest stages. Sin Li Jane won four PWBA titles in 2024, including the U.S. Women's Open. Natasha Roslan won the 2023 world singles title and the 2025 World Cup. Also in 2025, the men's team won the World Cup team event for the first time. Now a new group is arriving, led by Adelia Nur, who won world singles silver in 2025 at youth age.

How Team Malaysia works

MTBC runs the national team. Its Team Malaysia page lists two squads. The National Podium Squad (13 men and 10 women) is the senior elite group. Next comes the National Youth Squad (5 boys and 9 girls), which develops younger players. On results sheets, you will see Malaysian bowlers tagged "PODIUM" or "PELAPIS", the Malay word for the development or backup group.

Ben Heng Boon Hian is the National Head Coach. He works with national coaches Gerald Samuel and Wendy Chai. In addition, youth coaches Alex Liew Kien Liang and Azidi Ameran look after the youth squad. MTBC also publishes official averages, built from sanctioned tournaments. Malaysian bowling athletes without a valid MTBC average must enter the Open category at international championships. However, it does not publish a detailed selection policy that we could find.

Key Malaysian bowlers in 2026

Malaysian bowling athletes: full profiles

Each profile below covers verified medals, career milestones and what comes next for these Malaysian bowling athletes. Current stars come first, followed by the legends.

Other bowlers to know

These Malaysian bowling athletes do not have a full profile yet, but each has a verified recent result:

• Muhammad Syazirol Shamsudin (Kedah-born): men's doubles gold with Rafiq Ismail at the 2025 SEA Games, where he rolled 266 in the final, plus singles bronze. He also won world doubles bronze in 2025.
• Nur Hazirah Ramli (Sarawak): rolled 245 in the 2025 SEA Games women's team final as Malaysia won gold. She is in the 2026 World Cup team.
• Adania Mohd Redzwan: 2025 SEA Games team gold, then 2026 World Youth doubles and mixed team gold with Adelia Nur.
• Muhammad Syafiq Ridhwan: 2012 World Cup champion and, in October 2026, national champion for the third time.
• Gillian Lim Siew Giok (Sarawak): 2026 national women's champion, her second title after 2024.
• Nur Syazwani Sahar: retained her KL International Open women's title in June 2026.
• Qurratu'ain Izdihar: won the 2026 Malaysian International Open women's title as a development-squad player.
• Helena Jamal: girls' doubles and all-events gold at the 2026 Asian Junior Championships in Jakarta.

What's next for Team Malaysia

As of 16 October 2026, eight Malaysian bowling athletes are at the IBF World Cup in Munich, where Natasha Roslan and the men's team defend their titles. After that, the 28th Asian Championships take place in Doha in November. The biggest target, though, is the 2027 SEA Games, with bowling at Megalanes Batu Kawa in Kuching in September 2027. Follow every result on our bowling news page, or read the World Cup squad story. For official squad lists, see MTBC's Team Malaysia page.