Asian kingpins
Esther helps Malaysia bag sixth gold in Kuwait
Malaysia are officially the kings of Asian bowling after blazing the lanes to their sixth gold medal on the final day of the Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships in Kuwait, dethroning perennial champions South Korea. The darling of the team was Esther Cheah who bagged the Masters gold, the first ever by a Malaysian woman bowler. > See report by TANMING WAI
PETALING JAYA: Esther Cheah gave a masterclass show to end Malaysia’s campaign in the Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships (ATBC) in glorious fashion.
Esther rolled down the nation’s sixth gold by winning the women’s Masters gold in Kuwait yesterday to become the first Malaysian woman to win the prestigious event in the Asian meet.
With the gold from Esther yesterday, Malaysia emerged as the kings of Asian bowling for the first time in the series – breaking the stronghold of South Korea.
Esther beat defending champion Jung Da-wun of South Korea 452445 (208-201, 244-244) in the twogame final to end Malaysia’s campaign with an impressive haul of six golds, one silver and four bronzes (6-1-4), ahead of the Koreans who had 3-4-3.
Esther had earlier picked up where she left off overnight to make the top-three cut for the stepladder finals in top spot after rolling a 16-game total of 4,059 pinfalls.
Da-wun and compatriot Baek Seung-ja, who claimed a 1-2 finish in Hong Kong three years ago, joined the fray by coming in second (4,001) and third (3,954) respectively in the 16-woman standings.
Da-wun narrowly defeated Seung-ja 245-244 to set up the title showdown with Esther.
It’s also Esther’s second gold in the tournament, having won the women’s trios with Shalin Zulkifli and Sin Li Jane. The other gold medallists in the team are Shalin (women’s singles); Rafiq Ismail, Syafiq Ridhwan Abdul Malek, Ahmad Muaz Fishol (men’s trio); Timmy Tan (men’s AllEvents).
Esther was thrilled to bits. “I’m really, really grateful to the Lord for this win,” said Esther.
“I didn’t really throw good shots during the final but the pins still fell my way and I think that’s the blessing from the One above,” said Esther.
“I also want to thank my coach and my dad Holloway Cheah for rallying behind me throughout the Masters event as well as all my teammates. It’s surreal, and I’m still waiting for this win to sink in.”
In the men’s division, Timmy was Malaysia’s best performer in the fifth spot.
The singles champion was third in the penultimate game before a poor final game saw him drop to the fifth.
Team manager Maradona Chok hailed the team’s outing as amazing.
“Our bowlers did a superb job over the 10 days. There were disappointments in the doubles and team events, but in the end, we still emerged as the champions of Asia,” said Maradona.
“Both the men and women teams are heading in the right direction. Confidence is at its highest going into the SEA Games (the Philippines from Nov 30-Dec 11).
“We hope to keep the momentum going,” he added.