Singapore’s youth bowlers equal best showing at Asian Junior Bowling C’ships
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(From left) Singapore bowlers Nura Salsabila Zulkifli, Lim Shi En, Nur Irdina Hazly and Lim Wan Ling clinched gold in the girls' team event at the Asian Junior Championships.
PHOTO: SINGAPORE BOWLING FEDERATION
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SINGAPORE – After another four gold medals on Wednesday, Singapore’s youth bowlers took their tally at the Asian Junior Tenpin Bowling Championships to seven.
With the Masters event still to come, they have already equalled their best haul achieved at the 2012 edition.
They won both the boys and girls’ team-of-four events on Wednesday.
They also claimed another two golds in the all-events, courtesy of Brian Ngoi (boys) and Lim Shi En (girls).
That followed three golds at Singapore Bowling @ Rifle Range in the previous two days, drawing praise from senior national assistant coach Jensen Lim.
Attributing the bowlers’ dominance to “shot-making consistency”, he said: “It’s an affirmation of what we have been working on.”
The girls’ team of Shi En, 17; Nur Irdina Hazly, 16; Nura Salsabila Zulkifli, 15; and Lim Wan Ling, 18, knocked down 4,828 pinfalls to finish ahead of Japan (4,789) and Malaysia (4,618).
Shi En noted that the quartet’s cohesiveness was key to their victory, adding: “I would say we were very close (to one another)... I was able to bowl together with my team and made great memories together.”
Shi En and Salsabila highlighted a hike in July from Rifle Range to the Singapore Quarry as part of a team-bonding session as key to the girls strengthening their bond.
Salsabila said: “During that walk, we got to know each other better by asking each other questions about each other...
“(We) even went for breakfast together.”
Shi En also triumphed in the girls’ all-events over 48 competitors with 3,758 pinfalls. Malaysia’s Adania Mohd Rezwan (3,651) was second and Japan’s Riria Hamasaki (3,626) third.
This was the third gold medal for Shi En, who had also won the doubles with Nur Irdina on Tuesday.
She had also claimed three golds (doubles, team and Masters) in 2022.
But she insisted that her collection is a stepping stone, and she still “has a long way to go”.
“I wanted to come back even stronger from last year, which i definitely did,” said Shi En, who finished fourth in the 2022 edition in Bangkok.
The boys’ team, comprising Brian, 16; Ryan Goi, 17; John Faragalla and Aiman Lim, both 18, triumphed with 5,305 pinfalls, ahead of Japan (5,053) and Hong Kong (4,973).
(From left) Singapore bowlers John Faragalla, Brian Ngoi, Aiman Lim and Ryan Goi clinched gold in the boys’ team event at the Asian Junior Championships.
PHOTO: SINGAPORE BOWLING FEDERATION
Brian said: “I feel really great as I was finally able to show that my team’s hard work paid off.
“Our team spirit was also very good, and we were all motivated by each other.”
Aiman added: “It feels amazing to have my teammates with me on the podium as it is a team effort after all.”
In the boys’ all-events, Brian came out tops in an 80-strong field, though it was a close fight with Aiman (3,973) just four pinfalls behind him.
Kuwait’s Hassan Qasem was third with 3,971.
After finishing fifth in the singles and sixth in the doubles, Brian called the wins “relieving”, adding: “Without the encouragement and support by my team and coach, I wouldn’t be able to achieve my first gold medals.”
Aiman, who also collected three golds, credited his teammates for supporting him.
He added: “For me, our team were extremely strong so (the team gold) was the only medal I had in mind.”
The bowlers will look to continue their golden form in the Masters over the next two days.
