Syaidatul walks tall

SYAIDATUL Afifah Badrul Hamidi may not have won the women’s title but finishing joint third in the AMF World Cup in Shanghai yesterday is still a huge achievement for the bowler.

In the semi-finals, Syaidatul lost 248-236 to American Danielle McEwan while Swede Jenny Wegner defeated Singaporean Bernice Lim 227204. Jenny won the title by overcoming Danielle 231-204 in the final.

It was Malaysia’s best result since Sin Li Jane finished second in Poland, two years ago.

Syaidatul’s performance, however, is still remarkable as she managed to move five spots from eighth to make the semi-finals.

Earlier, Syaidatul bowled the highest block of the day with 1,739 (including 150 bonus pins for five wins), averaging 217.38, for a 36game grand total of 7,665 pinfalls in the top eight match-play round.

“I really wanted to win the women’s title. I will turn 25 tomorrow and a win would have been a perfect birthday present,” said Syaidatul from Shanghai yesterday.

“Overall, I am very happy with my performance. I just bowled the way I did yesterday with high games.

“In the semi-finals, I think I bowled a good score of 236 pins but Danielle made the most of crucial moments to win by nine pins.”

Syaidatul’s performance in Shanghai will be added motivation for her teammates, who are competing in the Indonesia Open which ends today. By Ajitpal Singh