Singapore teenage bowlers aim to strike gold at the Asian Junior Championships

SINGAPORE – Growing up, Aiman Lim’s dream was to become a professional footballer. He even won an Under-12 title with his football academy.

But that changed in 2018, when he enrolled in Hai Sing Catholic School. Football was not offered as a co-curricular activity (CCA) so he took up bowling instead as he was familiar with it, having bowled for leisure.

Giving up football “was not an easy decision” though, he said. But he has enjoyed this new path and he joined the national bowling team in 2020. He counts the Singapore International Open as one of his most memorable experiences so far.

It was there that he qualified for his first stepladder final in the youth boys’ division, although he eventually lost to Malaysia’s Megat Zaqrul Haiqal Megat Zairudin.

He said: “With it being in Singapore, everyone was there to support us and I felt so proud that I could represent the country at that level and have people backing me. It was truly an experience I will never forget.”

The teenager, 18, is relishing another chance to impress the home crowd. The 22nd Asian Junior Championships (AJC) start on Monday at Singapore Bowling @ Rifle Range. The five-day competition features 129 athletes from 13 countries in the region.

The AJC, previously called the Asian Schools Championships, has not been staged here since its inaugural edition in 1998.

Aiman is part of the Republic’s 16-member squad and is targeting gold in the team event while forging friendships with the foreign bowlers.

Compatriot Nur Irdina Hazly, 16, is also looking forward to the AJC. Introduced to bowling at a young age by her parents, she recalled how her fingers were too small for finger inserts when she first started, but that did not deter her.

Bowling is not the only sport the Singapore Sports School student enjoys. She counts badminton – she was the only girl to make her primary school team but later had to quit the CCA as she had too many other commitments – and basketball as her other interests.

But nothing compares to the challenge of bowling for her. When she first started competing in tournaments, her name was near the bottom of the field but she never gave up.

In 2019, she was invited to the national development squad selections but did not make the cut. She tried again in 2020 and was successful this time.

In February, the teenager won a gold and silver at the Asian Intercity Bowling Championship in Phnom Penh.

“Receiving the (Singapore) jersey was one of the things I could not stop thinking about,” said Nur Irdina, who clinched bronze in the girls’ masters event at the 2022 MWA Asian Junior Tenpin Bowling Championships.

“From then on, I wanted to get better as I will be competing in the national jersey and I will continue to strive to be better.”

At the previous AJC in 2022, Singapore clinched three golds, two silvers and three bronzes but senior national assistant coach Jensen Lim is focusing on more than just medals.

He said: “One of the coaching team’s targets for our youth athletes is to develop skills through the process of learning and also to operate as a team to focus on tasks to achieve team objectives.”