Holloway stays cool about future at 77
PETALING JAYA: After 19 years as supremo, the future is now uncertain for coach Holloway Cheah. The 77-year-old has heard no word on his position in the national team and says he would leave it to the Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC) and the National Sports Council (NSC) to decide whether he should continue or not.
Holloway, who first took charge of the team in 2001, said that although he has not received any updates, he would not fret about and is looking to relax for the holidays.
“There have been no updates. I guess most of them (officials) are on holiday, too. I will leave it to them to decide. If they need my services, I will continue,” he said.
“If my contract is not extended, I believe Ben Heng has what it takes to lead the team. He has been with me for many years, 10 years to be precise, and Ben is capable of leading the team.
“For now, I want to relax for Christmas. I will stay at home, spend some time with my family and then go to the bowling centre (Sunway Megalanes).
“Why would I want to go there for Christmas? Bowling has always been part of my life. I want to be around the alley and relax,” he said.
Holloway, the 2004 National Coach of the Year, has taken Malaysian bowlers to all the major titles including the World Championships, the World Cup and the Asian Games.
He took up coaching in 1984 and assisted Canadian Sid Allen, the national coach from 1991-2000.
Holloway has been the national head coach since early 2001 when American Mike Moore left the squad after just four months in charge.
He resigned after guiding the women’s team to their first world title in Kuala Lumpur in 2003, but his retirement was short-lived.
He returned for a second stint in 2004, taking over the team from his predecessor Chris Batson and has not looked back since.
When asked to review the bowlers’ performance in 2019, Holloway said they were not too bad and was happy to see them fight in the recent SEA Games.
“We won two golds and three silvers. If you watched the games, the three silvers could have been gold, it was that tight.
“We did not reach the target set for us, but if you ask us about the year, we did well. We have two of our bowlers ranked number one in the Asian Bowling Federation (ABF) list (Timmy Tan is ranked number one in the men’s division, while Sin Li Jane is number one in the women’s).
“For 2020, I am hoping for a better year.”
He also reminded people that bowling was not like any other sport, as no one athlete could always win competitions and remain number one.
“On average, a bowler can only win about four championships. It is tough to see any bowlers winning five. Rafiq (Ismail) won four events this year. Bowling is not like badminton or tennis, where one player can dominate the circuit for a long time.
“In bowling, you have 50 bowlers, who are of the same standard. Anybody can beat anyone, anytime. Even if you are a world champion, you will be defeated.
“As for the Malaysians, we have uplifted our standards, but my hope is to only see them get better. It is time for the juniors to step up, and I hope I can fast forward their progress into the national squad.”