Bowler Ning Tay wins S’pore’s first girls’ Masters gold at Asian Youth C’ships since 1985

SINGAPORE – Singapore’s Ning Tay broke the country’s 38-year gold drought in the girls’ Masters event at the Asian Youth Bowling Championships in Bangkok on Wednesday, to round off the tournament on a sweet note.

The Republic’s last gold in the event came in 1985, when former world champion Adelene Wee won the second of her back-to-back titles.

Overall, Singapore walked away with two gold, a silver and four bronze medals. The tally was shy of their 2021 haul of six golds and three bronzes.

Ning’s win came after earlier disappointments for the 19-year-old, which included finishing eighth in the all-events, although she rebounded by helping Singapore win the team title on Monday.

She was proud to emerge first among the strong field, saying: “This is a big victory for me as I have been struggling to make a breakthrough (in my bowling journey). This win has boosted my confidence and I hope to continue doing Singapore proud in the future.” 

She was fifth and trailed leader Choi Yu-rin of South Korea by 77 pinfalls after the first block of eight games on Tuesday. But she roared back the next day to qualify as the top seed for the stepladder finals with 3,457 pinfalls, recording a 268 score in Game 10 to finish ahead of Malaysia’s Anis Hannani Romzi (3,451) and compatriot Colleen Pee (3,422) respectively.

In the final, Ning defeated Anis with a combined score of 485-452 (238-209 and 247-243) to clinch her first individual international title, after the Malaysian had prevailed 201-191 over Pee, who settled for bronze.

Ning attributed her success in the final to her focus. She explained: “(The key was) staying calm and focused, making good shots, communicating with my coach and sticking to our game plan.”

National head coach Helmi Chew added: “There were no targets set for her. We just focused on the processes and trusting every shot that we make... the results will follow.”

On overcoming the disappointment from the previous events, Ning said: “I am sure I could have done better. But this led me to keep pushing myself and I’m glad I managed to win the Masters event.”

Her journey during the tournament was a bumpy one, and she singled out her pin carry as her biggest weakness.

She said: “I struggled with my (pin) carry during the singles and doubles but managed to overcome that during the team and Masters events after discussing the lane conditions with my coaches.”

That also helped her string five strikes in a row in the second game of the final.

Labelling the result “an important win” in her career, Ning hopes to further improve on her game, including her decision-making, shotmaking and sparing.

“But mentally, I was in a positive headspace and could maintain my composure,” she added.

Pee, also 19, was glad to have won a bronze, although she wished she could have been “quicker in her decision-making on the lanes”.

“I felt fortunate being able to bring home a bronze medal for Singapore,” she added.

Chew praised his charges’ performances, saying: “The team did great from the get-go. We are glad that everyone stuck to the plan, and we learnt and improved each day.”