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GLASGOW - National lawn bowls player Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple admitted there is still room for improvement despite opening his men's singles Group D campaign at the 2026 Commonwealth Games with a straight-sets victory at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) Centre here today.
Making his second Commonwealth Games appearance, Izzat said he was slightly nervous going into his opening match against Cecil Alexander of the Falkland Islands, but the experience helped him settle into the tournament and boosted his confidence for the matches ahead.
"Alhamdulillah, it was a fairly good start. Although I was a little nervous, there are still many aspects of my game that need improvement.
"I still have three tough opponents in my group - India, Malta and Canada. Today's match allowed me to get a feel of the competition, so hopefully I'll be more confident tomorrow,” he told reporters after the match.
Izzat got his campaign off to a winning start by defeating Alexander 2-0 (10-3, 7-4).
Reflecting on areas that need improvement, he said he would need to fine-tune his strategy, particularly his delivery.
"For tomorrow's match, I think I need to reduce the number of short bowls because they didn't help me score points. I need to play a little deeper and focus more on my draw shots,” he said.
While satisfied with his overall performance, Izzat stressed that he must be more consistent to navigate the remainder of the group stage successfully.
He is scheduled to face Malta's Shaun Parnis in his second Group D match tomorrow.
Also in action tomorrow will be Malaysia's women's pairs combination of Aleena Ahmad Nawawi and Syafiqa Haidar Afif Abdul Rahman, who will take on opponents from the Falkland Islands and Jersey in their Group D fixtures. - BERNAMA
