Time to make history
Li Jane and Siti hope to shine at season-ending championship
PETALING JAYA: Sin Li Jane (pic) and Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman will be looking to create history when they compete in the season-ending US Professional Women’s Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour Championship.
The four-day meet, which involves only the 16 top performers this season, begins at the Richmond International Raceway in Virginia tomorrow.
Four state-of-the-art lanes have been installed for the event, held as part of the NASCAR race week.
Li Jane and Siti qualified by virtue of being the Lincoln Open and Wichita Open champions in June. Their feats saw their names being etched in the PWBA Tour history for being the first Malaysian winners.
Now, three months later and fresh off an impressive KL SEA Games outing, they are back for more.
The championship features a single-elimination, best-of-five match-play format. Li Jane, seeded 14th, faces Colombia’s Rocio Restrepo in the opening round while the 13th seed Siti meets Clara Guerrero, also of Colombia.
Li Jane is thrilled to be part of the elite field in Richmond.
“We are very tired as we left Malaysia right after the SEA Games ended. But everything seems to be great here. I can’t wait to get started,” said Li Jane.
“I’m very excited about this finale. It’s not easy to make the top-16 as we only competed in four stops. Sofy (Siti) and I got in as the champions. If it had been by points, it would have been impossible.
“The players in this week’s field are one the strongest you could ever face. So, I’m relishing the challenge.”
Li Jane will be looking to avenge her loss to good friend Restrepo, who denied her a maiden PWBA Tour win at the Greater Detroit Open last year.
“I’m looking forward to meeting her again. On the lanes, she’s a great competitor. Off the lanes, we are good friends and we keep in touch always.
“She always encourages me. She once told me that I would get it (win on PWBA Tour) this time, and I actually did,” said Li Jane, who bagged two golds (trios and team) and a silver (singles) at the KL Games.
Li Jane is no stranger to playing in season finales.
Last year, she also created history by becoming the first Malaysian to win the European Bowling Tour Masters, which served as the season-ending event to the prestigious Tour.
Siti is eager to carry her fine momentum from the KL Games into the Tour Championship.
“I’ve got great confidence coming into the championship after a fruitful SEA Games campaign,” said Siti.
“I’ve won on the PWBA Tour once, so I know I have what it takes to win again.”
American Liz Johnson and Kelly Kullick, who boast 21 PWBA Tour titles between them, are the top two seeds. They move straight into the semi-finals.