Four women bowlers scramble to make SEA Games squad

PETALING JAYA: The fight to make the SEA Games women’s bowling squad is hotting up.

Four national women bowlers – Radin Nur Najwa Arifah Radin Dzulfakar, Sharon Koh, Victoria Chin and Nur Syazwani Sahar – are making last-ditch efforts to make the team and have all impressed in the on-going qualifying rounds of the Macau Open.

They are all poised to qualify for tomorrow’s tournament proper after being placed comfortably in the top 30 of the standings.

Radin was the most impressive among them, chalking up a sixgame total of 1,388 pinfalls to be in third spot, followed by 2010 champion Sharon (1,340 pinfalls, sixth spot); Victoria (1,324, 10th); and Nur Syazwani (1,276, 13th).

South Korea’s Lee Young-seung is the early pace-setter with a sublime 1,534 total – averaging 255.6 per game. Joey Yip of Hong came in second with 1,395 pinfalls.

The standings are set to change as the bowlers have until later today to improve on their positions.

The Macau Open is the last event for the four to impress the selectors before the six-woman team for the KL SEA Games are finalised at the end of June.

Sin Li Jane, Shalin Zulkifli, Esther Cheah, Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman, Syaidatul Afifah Badrul Hamidi and Natasha Roslan are the frontrunners for the SEA Games berths after being picked for the on-going one-month playing stint on the PWBA Tour in United States.

But head coach Holloway Cheah has made it clear that the four who did not go to the US are still being considered, provided they prove themselves in two assignments – the Singapore Open and Macau Open.

Nur Syazwani was the highest-placed Malaysian in Singapore two weeks ago, finishing ninth and she will be looking to impress again this week.

National youth bowler Nora Lyana Nastasia Norkamal also began her campaign on a positive note in Macau. The 20-year-old, who finished third in the girls’ Open at the Singapore Open, is in eighth place with 1,335 pinfalls.

In men’s Open qualifying, Timmy Tan (1,484, fifth); Adrian Ang (1,477, sixth); Tun Hakim Tun Hasnul Azam (1,449, 15th); recently-crowned Singapore Open champion Rafiq Ismail ( 1,446, 17th); Wan Nadzmi Fikri (1,423, 27th); Ahmad Muaz Fishol (1,421, 28th); and Alex Liew (1,411, 30th) are also on course to make the top-39 cut.