Li Jane on the up
Bowler aims to heal Asiad disappointment in Sweden
PETALING JAYA: You can’t keep bowler Sin Li Jane down for long.
One week after failing to win a gold in her second Asian Games campaign in Indonesia, the 26-year-old made a quick rebound to put herself in the running for a title at the European Bowling Tour (EBT) in Malmo, Sweden.
On Tuesday, Li Jane fired a six-game series of 1,353 pinfalls to finish eighth out of 278 bowlers in the qualifying rounds of the Lucky Larsen Masters.
She is now the highest ranked woman bowler in the field and will feature in the top 60 finals on Sunday.
But she wants to do better than that – she hopes to stay in the top eight so she can advance straight into the last 24.
Li Jane, who boasts an impressive record in Europe with five top-two finishes in the last eight starts, is happy to be back at her favourite hunting ground.
“I always feel good when I’m bowling in Europe ... definitely looking for another successful outing this week,” said Li Jane, who won the Brunswick Ballmaster Open for her third EBT title in January.
“It’s a great start but I can’t take it easy just yet because the situation is bound to change over the next few days.
“The aim is to finish in the top eight. I’ll make a few more attempts for a higher score. I think I’ll need 1,390 to remain in the top eight.”
Li Jane is eager to bounce back after a poor outing in Palembang. Although she won the team silver, she knew her 38th place finish in the All-Events was not good enough, especially when her other five teammates were all placed in the top 10.
“I was a little disappointed for not winning the Asian Games gold. Now, I have to wait for four more years to try again,” said Li Jane.
“With the new scoring system and reduced events, things didn’t work out well for me. But sometimes, you just have to accept it and move on. I’ll try to make it up by doing well in Sweden.”
Jimmy Dan Mortensen of Denmark leads the qualifying round with a 1,451 total.
Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman was the second-best placed Malaysian in 20th place on 1,296, followed by Adrian Ang (61st, 1239), Syafiq Ridhwan Abdul Malek (116th, 1158), Alex Liew (150th, 1127) and Ahmad Muaz Fishol (189th, 1068).
The other six Asiad team members including Rafiq Ismail, Timmy Tan, Shalin Zulkifli, Syaidatul Afifah Badrul Hamidi, Natasha Roslan and Esther Cheah have opted to take a break.