Winning gold medals at 62; Bowling is right up Hairon Awang’s alley

Hairon Awang may be 62 but his passion for bowling is still as strong as ever.

Why would it not be, when he is still winning continental competitions. The veteran Singaporean bowler clinched two gold medals at the 16th Asian Senior Tenpin Bowling Championships in Malaysia last week.

On Thursday, Hairon beat 87 other competitors to win gold in the men’s singles (50+ division) category with a 1,381 pinfall total from six games to overcome South Korean Yang Se-jong (1,328 pins) and Japan’s Tetsuji Yamanaka (1,321 pins) at Sunway Megalanes in Kuala Lumpur.

A day later, he followed it up with victory in the men’s doubles (50+ division) alongside fellow Singaporean Paiman Dali, 59.

Hairon’s love for the sport started 30 years ago when he was introduced to bowling while working in the hotel industry. There, he was able to participate in inter-hotel bowling competitions and a love affair was born.

Hairon, a freelance administrative worker, said: “What keeps me going is getting to hear the sound of pins striking.

“The support from my friends and family has been important and competitions being held periodically by the Singapore Bowling Federation (SBF) and the bowling clubs allow us the chance to show our bowling skills.”

More than winning, it is the return to the competition that has Hairon excited. He will compete in the Masters that start on Monday.

He said: “During the pandemic, we weren’t able to bowl much. I also went ahead to sign up as a food delivery rider to kill time. I had the bowling withdrawal syndrome but we had no choice but to abide by the laws enforced.”

There are 32 bowlers representing Singapore across four events in the competition that also features entrants from Australia, Guam, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Chinese Taipei and host Malaysia. The biennial tournament was last held in 2018.

Besides Hairon’s two golds, Singapore also claimed a bronze in the men’s 65+ doubles event from Philip Tang, 66, and Samuel Ho, 67.

What is also impressive about Hairon’s triumph at this juncture of his life, is that he had never donned the national jersey in his younger days. But now that he has a taste of it, he cannot wait for more opportunities.

He said: “I want to continue to strive for as many titles as possible moving forward. Bowling is an inclusive sport that would allow you to start at any age. I would say to other seniors, build on your dreams and one day you could represent the nation too.”

SBF president Valerie Teo said she was thrilled to see strong numbers of seniors in bowling and there are signs that this could be improving.

She added: “Continued participation in bowling for seniors is not just important for physical activity but provides for social interactions and friendships across age groups.

“Both seniors and younger ones are mutually enriched when they share their experiences with one another. This is absolutely key in a great bowling ecosystem.

“Hairon, Paiman and our seniors team are great examples of people passionate about bowling. They participate in leagues and competitions and spur each other on daily. Some members have not had the opportunity to don the national flag and compete internationally and I believe this has been a great experience for them all.

“Watching them cheering each other on, doing warm-up routines with their International competitors, they have become ambassadors not just for bowling but for Singapore.”