KUALA LUMPUR - They occupied two of the three spots on the podium after the SEA Games women's doubles event, but Singapore's women bowlers were far from happy campers yesterday.

The much-vaunted team - comprising multiple world-level winners and regional champions - were no match for Indonesians Sharon Limansantoso and Tannya Roumimper, who won the gold on 2,561 pinfalls. Cherie Tan and New Hui Fen took the silver on 2,490 pinfalls, while Daphne Tan and Shayna Ng recorded 2,464 for the bronze.

There was heartbreak at Sunway Pyramid's bowling alley for Bernice Lim and Jazreel Tan too.

The pair had carved out a paper-thin, four-pinfall lead after the fifth game, but a poor sixth game - when they combined for just 333 pinfalls - saw them fade to fourth and outside the medals. They were tied with Malaysia's Shalin Zulkifli and Siti Safiyah Amirah (2,456).

Cherie, who had won the singles title the previous day, said: "We are disappointed we didn't get the gold medal because we wanted a clean sweep. But Indonesia bowled well. They deserved the gold."

Ng, 27, added: "I started out too slowly and was thankful that Daphne had a good start, so she could cover me and we were able to hang in there.

"Towards the end, when we got it, we tried our best to recover what we lost at the start, but I guess this is still not good enough."

The 27-year-old Ng, who was fourth in the singles the previous day, promised to plough on, saying: "Yesterday I was fourth. Today, I got a bronze. I'm going to keep knocking on the door and I will still try and do my best."

The mixed doubles takes place today, followed by the trios and team events in the following days.

At the 2015 SEA Games, Singapore finished outside the podium after Lim and Jazreel placed fourth.

The pair did not speak to the media after the competition, but their team-mates are confident that they will bounce back.

Said Ng: "I'm sure they will want to do even better tomorrow, and this will make them hungrier."