HANOI - Singapore's men's bowling doubles pairs have claimed the Republic's first medals in the event since 2015.
At the Vincom Megamall Royal City's Heroworld Bowling Center in Vietnam on Tuesday (May 17), Jaris Goh and Timothy Tham scored 2,592 pinfalls to bag the silver, while Cheah Ray Han and Darren Ong were third of 12 pairs with 2,551.
Indonesia's Ryan Leonard Lalisang and Hardy Rachmadian clinched the gold with 2,642.
At the midway point of the intense six-game final, Cheah and Ong had been third while Goh and Tham were seventh.
The former then overtook Lalisang and Rachmadian by five pins after four games.
But an improved fifth game helped Goh and Tham surge into the podium places while Cheah and Ong dropped to fifth before the last game.
Goh and Tham then carried their momentum into the sixth game to seal the silver.
Singapore's last medal in the event was a gold courtesy of Keith Saw and Howard Saw in 2015 on home soil.
For Tham, 23, the result was a surprising and happy one. He said: "We had a difficult start to overcome... but you must stay in the present and stay patient because you never know what can happen. We stuck to our game plan and had good communication with one another and our coach and fortunately, it went the right way for us."
Goh, 27, added that the key to their good performance in their first competition as a pair was that the two - who have known each other for 12 years - trusted each other.
With a slightly hoarse voice as he shouted in celebration after almost every shot towards the end, he said: "That's the most important thing. We never doubt each other. Back home, even at 11pm, we text each other about bowling balls or what happened during training to see how we can overcome it at the next training session.
"For me, (shouting) is the energy I need to release and it gives positive energy to my teammates. We need to keep the tempo and momentum correct and focus. It's not planned.
"Now we just want to relax, drink more honey water, let my throat heal and calm ourselves down."
