Sarawak secured the team gold medal at the Inter-state and National Bowling Championships held Tuesday at Sunway Megalanes, led by standout performer Tsen Fan Yew. The Sarawak quartet, consisting of Fan Yew (23), Musayyar Khalid (25), Isaac Russell Paul (39), and Chong Jun Foo (33), posted a combined total of 4,940 pins to clinch the top spot.

The Federal Territories team narrowly missed out on gold, finishing just three pins behind Sarawak, while Selangor took third place with a total of 4,835 pins.

Fan Yew, who had previously earned bronze medals in both singles and doubles events—partnering with Chong Jun Foo in the latter—described the team victory as the highlight of his tournament. The Sarawak squad had claimed only a bronze in the team event during the previous edition of the championships.

“This is our first gold in the team event, and we fought really hard for it,” Fan Yew said, attributing their success to improved communication and mutual support despite initial challenges due to the age differences within the team.

“I’m the youngest, so it was tough to bond initially,” he explained. “But the more we trained together, the better we got at communicating and supporting each other.”

Fan Yew, who began bowling at age nine, now turns his attention to the ongoing national championships, which commenced with qualification rounds on Wednesday. A 2025 Southeast Asian Games bronze medallist, he aims to build on his momentum with hopes of reaching the stepladder finals and contending for a podium finish.

In the women’s division, Sarawak also emerged victorious with a total of 4,845 pins. Meanwhile, Sabah continued its strong performance in East Malaysia by winning the women’s junior category with 4,464 pins.

Pahang topped the men’s junior category with 4,766 pins, and Selangor took the mixed team title, posting 4,441 pins to close out the night’s events.