| By Terrence Voon | ||
 |
 |
Hui Fen's mum Florence hugging her after she won the girls' singles event on Wednesday. -- ST PHOTO: ALBERT SIM |
Journalists and foreign keglers had one thing in common with each other during the Asian Youth Games (AYG) this week.
Neither party were able to get close to New Hui Fen.
Just 17, the Singaporean double gold medallist is Plexiglas personified.
You can see her - in the lane next to you, in front of your little voice recorder - but you just cannot get to her.
Last week, Singapore's bullet- proof bowler took on Asia's best and emerged unscathed, clutching two gold medals from the singles and doubles events, as well as a silver in the girls' team event.
The media held no sway over her either.
Access to the Republic's young bowlers was already limited, owing to a strict 'hands-off' policy imposed by the Singapore Bowling Federation on the press.
And the few media sessions she conducted in recent days were filled with answers as consistent as her throws on the lanes.
'I feel honoured to win,' she droned repeatedly at such interviews, much to the chagrin of the scribes in attendance.
To be fair, reporters and fans alike often forget that the newest darling in Singapore sports is still a teen, a mere girl unused to overnight fame and its demands - even though she is packing away more medals than bowlers twice her age.
Her success, said coach A.K. Yong, is gleaned from hard work and her natural finesse for the sport.
'I used to call her 'Peacock Dancer',' recounted her former bowling coach at the Singapore Sports School.
He was referring to the way she sashays before a throw, her feet sliding elegantly along the floor, as if guided by a silent tempo.
'She was special because she was so graceful with her movement,' he added. 'She could also get good leverage when she released the ball, despite having such a high backswing.'
Hui Fen is studying for a sports science diploma at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT). The course is part of a through-train programme offered by the Singapore Sports School.
The 65-year-old Yong, who has coached for over 25 years, counts Hui Fen among his best and brightest prodigies. He also revealed that she actually started out as a spinner.
Up till three years ago, the then-Sec 2 student preferred to impart a horizontal spin to the ball - a direct throwing technique preferred by some North Asian bowlers.
But when she grew older and stronger, Yong convinced her to give hook bowling a try.
This method, employed by most of the world's top keglers, uses a heavier ball that strikes the pins from an acute angle, and often delivers more consistent scores.
Most bowlers take at least a year to make such a switch. Hui Fen took six months.
At the 2006 National Schools Championships, the newly minted hook bowler was runner-up in the B Division Masters event. A year later, she slipped to third.
Last year, she finally won the event - and four other national schools titles to boot.
By then, she had already drawn the attention of the national selectors, who quickly drafted her into the national development squad.
Said Singapore coach Henry Tan: 'Her biggest strength is that she hates to lose.
'A lot of people focus on participating, and they're quite happy when they bowl their average scores. But, to Hui Fen, average means nothing.'
Happily, there is nothing average about her achievements in recent months.
First, there were her two gold medals at the Asian Intercity Bowling Championships in December - signalling her arrival on the international front. Success quickly followed again at the Malaysian Open Girls' Masters event in March, and now, on the biggest stage yet, the AYG.
Everyone now knows that Hui Fen can bowl a mean game.
But her real persona, the real New Hui Fen, remains a mystery to all but her family and close friends.
'She's just like any other teenager,' said her mother Florence New, 57. 'She has lots of friends and she loves going out for movies.'
Aside from bowling, her other passion is karaoke. She can hold a tune, said Mrs New, and her favourite singers are Taiwanese crooners David Tao and Jay Chou.
She is also described by her mother as a playful girl, one who loves to play pranks on her friends.
Fun, however, goes out the window when she picks up her 15-pound bowling ball and lines up a throw, her eyes steeling in concentration.
Bowling is serious business for Hui Fen, who barely tolerates the media, and has no time for failure.
'It's not like running, where you are done after one race,' she said in one of her more candid interviews last week.
'Bowling is a three- to six- hour event and it requires a lot of mental stamina. I like the pressure, I love the competition and I want to win.'
