It was a perfect belated birthday gift Syafiq Ridhwan Abdul Malek will never forget.

The lanky national bowler, who turned 26 on Nov 29, emerged victorious after striking the greatest pin of all - the 48th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup in Wroclaw, Poland yesterday en route to inking his name in the history books as the first Malaysian to do so.

Syafiq defeated fellow finalist Kent Marshall of USA after collecting 473 points (236, 237) en route to bagging the title.

Syafiq and the rest of the team are scheduled to arrive at the KL International Airport tomorrow morning (6.50am).

Prior to Syafiq’s outstanding performance on the lane, female bowler Shalin Zulkifli was the losing finalists at the 1996 edition in Belfast.