Bowlers get head start ahead of world meet

KUALA LUMPUR: The early bird catches the worm.

That’s what the Malaysian bowlers are hoping for by leaving early for the United States ahead of the World Championships from Nov 24-Dec 6 in Las Vegas.

The first batch (Alex Liew, Rafiq Ismail, Adrian Ang, Timmy Tan and Syafiq Ridhwan Abdul Malek) will leave next week while the rest (Shalin Zulkifli, Sin Li Jane, Esther Cheah, Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman, Syaidatul Afifah Badrul Hamidi, Natasha Roslan and Ahmad Muaz Fishol) will be in the US a week before the championships.

National chief coach Holloway Cheah is hoping that the early preparation would help the bowlers get acclimatised to the conditions there.

“Most of the men will go earlier to compete in the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) world series. They’ll get quality competitions and that should prepare them for Las Vegas,” said Holloway.

They will be competing in the US Open in New York from Oct 25-Nov 1, World Series of Bowling IX and PBA World Championships from Nov 7-19 in Reno.

“It’s the first time we’re sending them early. It’ll give the bowlers more time to settle down and get used to the environment,” added Holloway.

All the US-bound bowlers did well at the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games where they emerged as overall champions with a medal haul of 7-4-3.

“Barring any last minute changes, all of them should compete at the world championships. It’s our last major tournament this year and we want them to end the medal drought,” he said.

Malaysia have failed to win any medals in the series since a bronze medal by the women’s team in 2013. The last gold medal winner was Jacqueline Sijore in the singles event in 2011.