National bowler Mike Ong is finally a champion with victory at Asian Youth Tenpin Bowling C’ships
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Singapore won its sixth gold medal at the Asian Youth Tenpin Bowling Championships with Mike Ong (left) clinching the boys’ masters on Aug 27 while Shirlene Wong won a bronze medal in the girls' masters.
PHOTO: SINGAPORE BOWLING FEDERATION
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- Mike Ong won his first major individual title at the Asian Youth Tenpin Bowling Championships after near misses and self-doubt.
- Shirlene Wong secured a bronze medal in the girls masters, adding to her silver and a team gold from earlier in the tournament.
- Singapore concluded the competition with a record six gold, one silver and one bronze medal, showcasing strong youth development.
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SINGAPORE – Since becoming a national youth bowler as a 13-year-old, Mike Ong has endured a long wait for his first individual title in a major competition.
And as the Singaporean came closer to ending the drought, self-doubt began to creep in.
At the Thailand International Open Bowling Championships in July, he settled for second position for a second consecutive year in the men’s open, having finished third in the 2023 edition.
But on Aug 27, against a stacked Asian field, the breakthrough finally arrived for the 19-year-old as he struck gold in the boys’ Masters event at the Asian Youth Tenpin Bowling Championships in Malaysia.
In the stepladder final at the Sunway Megalanes in Petaling Jaya, the third-seeded Ong beat Japanese top seed Fumine Suda 248-246, 216-203 in the title decider, after overcoming second seed Shin Ji-ho of South Korea 202-198 in the semi-finals.
“This medal means the world to me,” said Ong.
“After months of heavy self-doubt and hard work, it proves to be a testament that hard work always pays off. The field was stacked with amazing bowlers around Asia and this was no easy feat. No amount of words can describe this feeling.
“After coming close so many times in Thailand, (my performance) at this year’s edition made me hungrier to win, especially knowing that my performance has been really solid this year. I always take experiences as reflections and lessons to make me a better bowler for the future.
“There was this voice at the back of my head that it was my day today. It was just something special and everything just fell into place today.”
Ong finished ninth with 3,850 pinfalls in the all-events to make the top-16 cut for the Masters. After the Masters’ first block of eight games, he was seventh with 1,804, falling 107 pins short of Qatar’s third-placed Talal Al Marri, who was occupying the last spot for the stepladder final.
But Ong put in a strong shift in the second block, amassing 1,832 pinfalls for a 3,636 total to secure the last berth for the stepladder final.
Buoyed by his maiden title, Ong hopes to make an impact at the Dec 9-20 SEA Games in Thailand.
The Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) student said: “I am definitely looking forward to representing Singapore at the SEA Games at the end of this year. It’s my first time representing Singapore at such a big competition and I can’t wait.”
On top of Ong’s gold, Shirlene Wong bagged a bronze medal in the girls’ Masters. She had also won a silver in the girls’ all-events with 3,822 pinfalls to qualify for the Masters, scoring 3,474 to secure the second seed.
In the stepladder semi-finals, she lost 201-162 to South Korea’s Lee Da-eun. Lee was trumped 249-172, 205-201 by compatriot Paek Ye-dam in the final.
This was Wong’s third medal of the tournament. She had also won gold in the girls’ team event with Lim Shi En, Hazel Tan and Nur Irdina Hazly.
Ong’s gold and Wong’s bronze on the final day of the competition meant that Singapore finished with six golds, one silver and one bronze to mark their best performance at the biennial youth event, said the Singapore Bowling Federation (SBF), adding that the previous best was six golds and three bronzes in 2019.
Hazel and Aiman Lim triumphed in the girls’ and boys’ singles respectively, while Shi En won gold in the girls’ all-events and combined with Nur Irdina for the girls’ doubles title.
SBF president Valerie Teo said in a statement that the federation is “incredibly proud” of the young bowlers for their outstanding performance, which saw them crowned overall champions and girls’ champions.
She said: “Their hard work, resilience and team spirit shone brightly on the regional stage, and this achievement is a powerful reflection of the strength of our youth development pipeline.
“This success not only showcases the talent and dedication of our athletes, but also the unwavering support and commitment of our coaches, parents and the wider bowling community.
“We could not be prouder of what they have accomplished and we look forward to building on this momentum as we continue nurturing the next generation of champions for Singapore.”
