Bowling: Cherie Tan finishes as top female kegler at Brunswick Euro Challenge

SINGAPORE - Fresh off Bernice Lim's win at the European Bowling Tour (EBT) Masters 2022 last Wednesday (June 29), success continued to roll in for Singapore's bowlers on the lanes in Europe.

This time it was Cherie Tan who delivered the results at the Brunswick Euro Challenge in Unterfohring, Germany on Sunday. She finished as the competition's top female bowler with her 1,488-pinfall total.

She was fifth overall in the mixed gender tournament, making it to the final step 3 which featured the event's top eight athletes.

Compatriots New Hui Fen (1,436) and Charmaine Chang (1,402) finished the second and third best female keglers respectively.

Tan, who won the Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) BowlTV Classic last month, said: "I feel that it went pretty well, made step 3 and finished fifth overall.

"I bowled pretty well throughout the whole tournament and hope to continue riding this momentum moving forward."

The 33-year-old had to adjust to playing in a mixed gender tournament, which is a change from what she is used to on the PWBA Tour.

Competitors change lanes after every game and, with the male bowlers in the field, their strength results in more revolutions of the ball, which then changes the oil patterns of the lanes.

She explained: "The breakdown is very different from bowling in a women's tour.

"I had to keep in mind who bowled on the lanes before me and what type of equipment they were using as it broke the lanes down differently."

Tan has been in fine form recently. Besides clinching the PWBA BowlTV Classic, she won three gold medals in the singles, doubles and team at the Hanoi SEA Games in May.

On what has kept her motivated, the veteran bowler said: "I guess it was the lack of competitions for the past two years due to Covid. It gave me plenty of time to work on my game and we are just appreciative of the fact that we can compete now."

Tan, who will next compete at the July 7-17 World Games in the United States, was glad to see Singaporeans topping the female standings, saying that it showed that the Republic's bowlers could be competitive on any stage.

New, 30, who will also participate in the World Games, said: "I felt that the qualifying went well for me and I was able to adapt quickly to the lanes pair to pair.

"I made a few adjustments that didn't work out during the finals and I discussed my reflections with my coach. I will be bringing those new learnings and adjust my training to work on my blind spots."

Chang was also pleased with how she bowled in her first competition in Europe.

The 22-year-old said: "Overall, I am satisfied with my performance in this competition. I was able to put into practice some of the knowledge and skills I acquired during the past two years and had the opportunity to gain more knowledge through the course of the week."