Get the youth rolling!
MTBC expand junior squad for big strike at WJC debut
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC) have expanded the national youth squad in a bid to vie for honours at the World Junior Championships (WJC) in Helsingborg, Sweden, in June next year.
Nine new faces – five boys and four girls – all aged 17 and below have been recruited to form an Under-18 squad. They will be handled by former internationals Azidi Ameran and Alex Liew.
The boys are Ahmad Azriq Izamudin, Shaqeem Izwan Teh Shahrul Hafiz Teh, Airel Amri Suhaimi, Syabil Azam Syamsul Azam and Mohd Raul Haikal Mandra Raman while the girls’ squad consist of Anis Hannani Romzi, Nurul Anis Nabila Nizam, Cara Loh Wai Theng and Nur Aqila Aini Faiz Ahmad.
Except for Sabahan Cara, the rest have checked in at their hostel at the National Sports Council (NSC) in Bukit Jalil and will start training at the Sunway Mega Lanes on Monday.
Cara is staying back at the moment due to the surge in Covid-19 cases in her state.
MTBC secretary general Maradona Chok thanked the NSC for granting their wish to strengthen the youth set-up.
The NSC had initially told the MTBC to select bowlers based on their Johor Sukma results but things changed after the biennial Games scheduled in July was postponed to April next year.
The MTBC can’t afford to wait as they are determined to prepare a strong side for the WJC which Malaysia will be making their debut after skipping the inaugural edition in Paris last year.
“While our priority is the world meet, the main objective is to prepare a young squad to move up systematically,” said Maradona.
“We are happy and grateful to the NSC for seeing the importance of having a bigger pool of players in the youth set-up and this gives us a strategic plan for the longer term.
“This is crucial to the continuity of having world-class bowlers coming into the senior squad.
“These players were selected by our panel of coaches headed by head coach Holloway Cheah.
“The players will train full-time and will study at the Bukit Jalil Sports School.”
Among the new recruits, Maradona picks 17-year-old Azriq as the most notable inclusion.
Azriq comes with some credentials to his name having been crowned the boys’ Open champion at the International Junior AllStars Bowling Championships last year.
“Azriq also competed in the Asian Schools Championships in Kuching two years ago, winning three silvers and one bronze,” said Maradona.
“He bowls with a two-handed technique, which is exciting to watch.”
The latest recruitment move means the youth squad will now consist of 16 members.
Previously, there were only seven members – three boys and four girls.