Doubles delight for Singapore after nervy wait at Asian Junior Bowling C’ships

SINGAPORE – With a healthy 2,709-pinfall total, Singapore’s Aiman Lim and John Faragalla were comfortable leaders after the first squad of the boys’ doubles event at the Asian Junior Tenpin Bowling Championships on Tuesday morning.

But the 18-year-olds found themselves holding their breath in the afternoon as Japanese duo Daiya Saito and Mitsuki Hirooka racked up a score of 2,317 after five games in the second squad, posing a serious threat to the Singaporean duo.

Saito and Hirooka, however, managed only 371 in their final game – their lowest in the six-game series – to finish just 21 pinfalls behind the leaders, who clinched Singapore’s first gold medal in the event since 2012.

Australia’s Seth Gray-Pendlebury and Blake Walsh (2,662) claimed the bronze in the 40-strong field.

Aiman, who felt “a bit sad” that no one could join him on the podium following his singles’ win on Monday, said: “I finally have someone to share my emotions with rather than myself.

“I was standing behind the Japanese team, and I was really nervous, it was very tense. But, when the gold was confirmed, John and I celebrated.”

Both of them have known each other for three years, with their bond becoming stronger after the 2022 edition of the competition in Bangkok.

Faragalla, who finished 14th in the singles’ event on Monday, attributed Tuesday’s win to the chemistry between them.

He added: “We were really in-sync today. We had a lot of energy and kept pushing each other to the very end.”

Their teammates Nur Irdina Hazly, 16, and Lim Shi En, 17, found themselves in a similar situation in the girls’ doubles.

After knocking down 2,440 to lead the first squad, the nerves kicked in when they found out that Japan’s Kri Watanabe and Riria Hamasaki, competing in the second squad, had crept up the standings and were just behind them.

However, the Japanese duo faltered in their final game, where they registered 368 – their lowest tally in six games – for a 2,404 total, just 36 short of Irdina and Shi En’s score.

Malaysia’s Nur Ainul Hayat and Afiqah Kamillia Ali (2,383) finished third out of 24 pairs.

Irdina noted the highly competitive environment at Singapore Bowling @ Rifle Range, saying: “We felt the (atmosphere) was really intense and had to bring our energy levels up.”

Shi En, who had also won the doubles gold in 2022 with Shirlene Wong, said: “It feels like making history to win gold twice, and to do it with different partners as well.”

For Irdina, who finished third in the doubles with Ashley Lok in 2022, Tuesday’s win was a proud moment.

She explained: “I wasn’t satisfied after last year’s results and I wanted to win a gold medal this year and stand at the top of the podium, hearing the national anthem.”

Senior national assistant coach Jensen Lim commended his team, saying: “The support that they gave one another was fantastic (even with) so many ups and downs.”

The competition continues today with the team-of-four event.