KUALA LUMPUR – National lawn bowls head coach Zuraidi Puteh has pledged to diversify his team by including more athletes from different racial backgrounds with the aim of moulding them into world champions.
The 58-year-old coach, who was brought in by the Malaysia Lawn Bowls Federation (MLBF) in 2009, recently won the national men’s coach of the year award at the National Sports Awards 2023, held at the National Sports Council Complex in Bukit Jalil.
Known as one of the best coaches in the world, the Perak-born coach has received offers from Australia, Singapore, India, Hong Kong, and Brunei to lead their teams after Malaysia’s success in last year’s World Bowls Championships.
Under Zuraidi’s guidance, Nur Ain Nabilah Tarmizi and Aleena Ahmad Nawawi made history by securing the country’s first women’s gold at the tournament since the inception of the women’s pairs event in 1969.
Speaking to Scoop, Zuraidi said that through the award and recognition he has received from the Youth and Sports Ministry, he now has a bigger responsibility in ensuring that the sport reaches the masses.
“More than a sport that wins medals for the country, lawn bowls is a community sport. If we look at Europe and even Australia, this sport is played by everyone from all races and different backgrounds.
“I’m planning to make my team more inclusive, so it’s time for me to be more serious with my scouting. But the problem is that we don’t see many people from different races playing this sport due to a lack of awareness.
“With our achievements on the international stage over the years, I hope the private sector can work together with MLBF so that our sport can be well known.
“We hope to introduce roadshows and programmes where we can introduce it to many people from all quarters of society to get involved in this sport.
“Recently, even Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh promoted the sport to her constituency in Segambut, especially to senior citizens and people from different races. Hence, as a coach, I should also do my part in promoting the sport,” said Zuraidi when contacted.
Meanwhile, Zuraidi added that he does not want to get carried away with the recognition given and aims to develop his charges to emerge as champions in this year’s Lion City Lawn Bowls Championship.
The tournament, which is scheduled to take place in Singapore from July 20 to 27, will see Zuraidi field athletes who did not make it into the team that emerged as the overall champions of the Asian Lawn Bowls Championship in Pattaya, Thailand, in March.
Among the athletes selected by Zuraidi for the Lion City Lawn Bowls Championship are Daeng Dhadyry Dahasry, Mohamad Fadley Abd Jabal, Haiqal Azami, Ahmad Zikry Sazeli, Nor Zamziezah Ahmad, Nor Farrah Ain Abdullah, Nurul Alia Fitrah Mohamad Ali, and Ain Nur Najwa.
After more than a year of absence from the Podium programme, national lawn bowlers were recently granted inclusion in a temporary initiative.
For context, the exclusion of lawn bowlers by the National Sports Council from the Podium programme was attributed to their failure to meet targets at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
According to the World Bowls rankings, Malaysia’s men’s team is ranked fourth out of 65 countries, while the women’s team is ranked fifth. – June 18, 2024
