Singapore’s bowlers wrap up Asian Junior Championships outing with five golds
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Ashley Lok (right) and Hazel Tan with their masters gold and silver medals at the Asian Junior Tenpin Bowling Championships in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, on June 22.
PHOTO: SINGAPORE BOWLING FEDERATION
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SINGAPORE – Back on the lanes for the Asian Junior Tenpin Bowling Championships in Malaysia, Ashley Lok marked her second and final appearance at the Under-18 event with a gold in the girls’ masters, beating compatriot Hazel Tan 443-374 pinfalls over two games in the stepladder finals.
The 18-year-old, a Year 2 Ngee Ann Polytechnic student, had previously competed in the 2022 edition, where she bagged the singles gold, doubles silver and team bronze.
She said: “Winning the girls’ masters is a surreal feeling. This is my second and last Asian Juniors and I was determined to win a medal for Singapore.
“I learnt to stay patient and with my teammates by my side and my coaches guiding me all the way, we were able to do Singapore proud.”
Her triumph at the tournament, which had 129 participants from 14 teams, saw Singapore topping the medal table with five golds and a silver – though the tally is lower than 2023, when they won a record eight golds and two silvers.
They also emerged overall champions in the boys’, girls’ and country categories.
This was the third straight edition of the tournament where Singapore topped the standings. Malaysia were second with three golds, a silver and two bronzes, while Australia were third with 1-0-2.
The result proved to the Singapore Bowling Federation (SBF) that there is a strong pipeline of talent ready to step up on the international stage, said president Valerie Teo.
Commending the team’s performance, the former national bowler said: “They worked well as a team, fought hard together and finished the championships as the overall top country.
“I am immensely proud of them and I am grateful for our coaches and the village that has been there cheering them on since the first day.”
At the Sunway Mega Lanes in Petaling Jaya, they struck gold in the girls’ singles, doubles and masters, as well as the boys’ all events and doubles.
While they also won the boys’ singles title, it was not reflected in the medal table, which counts only the A teams’ results.
Teo said: “Coming off a record year on home ground last year, this young team has proven their mettle...
“I am looking forward to their continued development and success.
“This is definitely a boost for us and a step in the right direction.”
The Singapore contingent won five golds and a silver at the Asian Junior Tenpin Bowling Championships in Malaysia.
PHOTO: SINGAPORE BOWLING FEDERATION
The diverse range of gold medallists within the team, who comprised members of the national development squad, was also an encouraging sign for Jensen Lim, the senior national assistant coach for SBF’s Centres of Excellence (COE) and development squad.
He highlighted that ensuring continuity within the national sports association’s high performance system was a team effort involving schools, the COE and national development programme.
The golds in the girls’ events came from Nura Salsabila Zulkifli (singles), Jean Neo and Isabelle Wee (doubles), and Lok (masters).
The winners in the boys’ events were Mark Leong (singles), Joshua Soo (doubles) and Aviel Chua (doubles and all events).
While this squad will not be part of the team competing in major events such as July’s International Bowling Federation World Youth Championships, Lim believes “this experience will aid their development further”.
