Kegler Muaz is back, and aiming for a crown
National bowler Ahmad Muaz Fishol is keeping his fingers crossed that the National Championships will be held this year – he wants to make amends for his near-miss last year.
The 27-year-old coming close to being crowned national champion last year before settling for second best behind teammate Tun Ameerul Hakim Tun Hasnul Azam.
Muaz is even more driven to win because even 20-year-old Ameerul, the newest member of the six-man elite team, has already achieved the feat.
Four other teammates – Adrian Ang, Syafiq Ridhwan Abdul Malek, Rafiq Ismail and Timmy Tan – have all tasted success, too.
Adrian (2006 and 2007), Syafiq (2009 and 2013), Rafiq (2015 and 2018) are multiple winners while Timmy won in 2016.
“I have just realised that I am the only guy in the team without a national title to my name yet,” said Muaz.
“Hopefully I will join the club soon so I won’t feel like left out.
“I came so close last year. I played well enough to qualify for the stepladder finals as top seed. Despite having a one-game advantage, I ended up losing to Hakim.
“So, I want to really try again this year. Of course, it all depends on whether the tournament is going to be held or not.”
The Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC) have said plans are in place to stage both the National and Inter-state Championships if circumstances allow them to.
Under the recovery movement control order, bowling centres have been given the green light to reopen for the purposes of training and recreational play but competitions are still not permitted.
Muaz, who reported for training at the Sunway Mega Lanes yesterday, could not hide the joy of being able to bowl again after nearly three months.
As his hostel at the National Sports Council is currently being used by the Road to Tokyo (RTT) programme, Muaz, who is from Kedah, had the option of postponing his return. But he just couldn’t wait.
“Finally after three months ... just one word to sum it up, overjoyed!” said a delighted Muaz.
“I rolled my few shots into the ‘longkang’, my fingers are aching all over after the first half an hour. But I love every bit of my first training session. “My spirit is very high today. I jumped out of bed at the very first ring of the alarm clock.
“I reported a day late (training started on Monday) because I had to sort things out before leaving my hometown. For now, I am staying at a friend’s place but I don’t mind that.”
Muaz said he had little problem adapting to the new norm.
“There’s not much of a difference except that we’re assigned to one lane each. So we have to speak louder to communicate,” he said.
“The men and women’s team also train in separate sessions. It’s a bit quiet for sure.”