Cream of the crop – 19 bowlers make top AAA grade
KUCHING: Nineteen bowlers made the cut as AAA grade bowlers in the Unit Sukan Pretasi Tinggi Negeri ( USPTN) Sarawak programme during the NSC-MTBC National Evaluation Sarawak leg at Megalanes Sarawak, Emart Batu Kawa late Wednesday.
The annual assessment of the standard of junior bowlers showed a slight improvement as compared to 16 who made the grade last year and 12 in 2015.
The boy AAA bowlers are Mohd Nur Syafiq Mohd Amran, Mohd Faishal Harris, Jardel Sean Marcel, Mohd Zuhayr Redza, Aiman Danial Azree, Morgan Chang, Abang Afiq Yazid Abang Azman, Abdul Khadir Haziq Ramli, Abner Loo Chun Lik, Tsen Fan Yew, Musayyar Khalid, Sushil Pubalan, Alistair Ting Lik Yang and Melvin Gilbert Gimang.
Girls on the AAA list are Dayang Yumi Azreen, Gillian Lim Siew Giok, Nur Haziqah Ramli, Nur Hazirah Ramli and Nur Aina Kamalia Ayub.
Out of the 19 AAA graded bowlers, Kuching has 16 bowlers while Miri has two and Sibu has one.
From the 53 bowlers who attended the evaluation conducted by Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress secretary George Tan, 24 including six girls made it to the AA grade.
They are Marcos Chang, Muhd Ismat Imran Kamaluddin, Mohd Arif Nashrudin, Faiz Nurhan Jeman, Lim Jie, Suvan Pubalan, Bernard Wong Chee Wan, Firdaus Abd Malik, Amirul Hisyam Hamzah, Nazirin Nasiruddin, Muhd Syafiq Aqil Rahman, Muhd Firdaus Mohd Shorki, Muhd Anas Safwan Roslan, Syafiq Azizi Sabeli, Azumi Ahmad Zaini, Hanif Irfan Sulhie, Haris Arfan Sulhie, Muhd Farhan Mohd Shorki, Lavina Kho Jia Jie, Rachel Loo Yee, Nur Sharmimi Sazali, Nur Shasya Nazira Sazali, Michelle Ling Xin Hui and Thomasina Chai Kai Xin.
Those not selected to AAA and AA programmes will be absorbed into Megalanes Sarawak’s Youth Enrichment Programme with the assistance from Sarawak Sports Corporation and the Sarawak State Sports Council.
The evaluation, which is done nationwide every year to assess the standard of the junior bowlers, is an annual event on the Amateur ( Tenpin) Bowling Association of Sarawak calendar.
It is an annual process where current USPTN and Centre of Excellence ( PC) trainees are assessed by national coaches and if they show improvement, they will be upgraded.
Currently, there are only two levels in USPTN, the AAA and AA. Those who maintain their performance will stay in AAA while new bowlers from PC are either absorbed into the AA programme or remain in the PC programme.
It is from the USPTN AAA programme that state elite and national youth bowlers are discovered. The bowlers concerned will then have to prove themselves by performing in tournaments so they can either enter the national back- up squad and finally the Malaysian elite squad.