St Johns’ Claire Duke returned from the XIII Asia Pacific Championships in Kuala Lumpur yesterday harboring mixed emotions.
Despite reaching the quarter-finals of the women’s fours and capturing silver in the triples, the 26-year-old couldn’t help but feel somewhat hollow.
Leading into the biennial 18-nation tournament, the Australians were firm favourites to win gold in both disciplines, but came unstuck on each occasion when confronted by the host country.
Having blazed an unbeaten trail through the preliminary games of the women’s triples alongside the Sunshine Coast’s Kelsey Cottrell and Julie Keegan, Duke was just moments away from crowning glory before Azlina Arshad played the shot of her life to propel Malaysia to victory.
With Australia leading 15-14 playing the final end of an engrossing final, Duke trailed the jack to hold shot before Arshad set the scene for a stunning climax when she delivered a bomb to draw within inches of the ditch.
With the gold medal on the line, Keegan had one final opportunity to steal the game and while her running shot was close, she was unable to stop the Malaysians from celebrating a gusty come-from-behind win.
“It could have gone either way,” Duke said upon her return to Australia.
“It was an extremely close game and on that occasion the Malaysian came up with the shot.
“It’s a little bit disappointing because we would have loved to have won gold, but that’s the way it goes some times.”
In the women’s fours, Australia’s campaign never quite got off the ground, with the reigning world champions finishing second in their pool before bowing out to Malaysia in the quarter-finals.
While the tournament favourite’s early demise was quite a shock, Duke is refusing to wallow on the result, instead turning her ambitions towards next year’s Commonwealth Games in India.
“That would be the ultimate dream,” Duke said.
“It’s been an ambition of mine for a long time. Any time you represent your country is an extremely proud moment and it was great (to be able to do it again in Malaysia).”
