Adrian: It will be special if I can win again
PETALING JAYA: National bowler Adrian Ang (pic) will seek to translate his consistent form of late into victory as he prepares to defend his Sarawak Open title in Kuching starting today.
The 29-year-old has made a decent start to the season by posting two top-25 finishes in Europe, finishing 25th in the AIK International in Sweden in January and 16th in the Brunswick Euro Challenge in Munich last month.
With his game trending in the right direction, Adrian is hoping for a happy return to the Megalanes Sarawak in Batu Kawah.
Adrian faces stiff challenge from compatriots Rafiq Ismail, Sin Li Jane and Shalin Zulkifli alongside notable international names including former US PBA Tour player Jeong Tae-hwa of South Korea and 2016 World Cup champion Wang Hongbo of China.
Sarawak Open features a mixed gender format with female bowlers getting a five-pin handicap per game.
“Certainly thrilled to be back in Kuching again. I’ve got great memories here,” said Adrian.
“But I don’t think about the title defence too much.
“It starts from zero again and my aim will be to roll as many strikes as possible, and if not, spare it.
“It’s going to be special if I can go on and win it again because I know how difficult it is to defend a title,” added Adrian who managed to defend his titles at the National Championships and the Junior All-Stars twice.
The other national team members competing this week are Timmy Tan, Tun Hakim Tun Hasnul Azam, Hafiz Zainuddin and Shahrukh Amin Zulkifli Natasha Roslan.
Hafiz will be looking to make amends on his final defeat to Adrian last year while Tun Hakim aims to build on his runner-up finish at the Thailand Open two weeks ago in the tournament he finished fourth.
The women’s bowlers are Nur Ameerahusna Aznel, Nur Amirah Auni Azman, Nur Syazwani Sahar, Nora Lyana Nastasia Norkamal, Sharon Koh, Radin Nur Najwa Arifah Radin Dzulfakar and Nerosha Keligit.
The qualifying rounds get under way today to determine the top 60 qualifiers for the three categories – Open, graded and Youth.
The Open final, which offers a winner’s purse of RM18,000, is slated for Saturday.