AMERICAN MISSION
Shalin and Co out to strike hard on PWBA Tour
MALAYSIA aim to make a big impact on the United States’ bowling scene.
The national bowlers will be gunning for titles when they return for a second straight year to compete in the prestigious Professional Women’s Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour.
National coach Holloway Cheah has picked Sin Li Jane, Esther Cheah, Shalin Zulkifli, Syaidatul Afifah Badrul Hamidi, Natasha Roslan and Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman for the mission.
They will compete in four PWBA Tour events: Wichita Open (which starts on Thursday, Lincoln Open (June 8-10), Detroit Open (June 15-17) and the Players Championships in Green Bay (June 21-15).
For the record, Malaysian bowlers have won numerous ‘Open’ titles in every continent in recent times but they have yet to achieve any in America.
Regional rivals Singapore currently hold the bragging rights with four PWBA Tour titles since 2015.
Jazreel Tan won the 2015 Lubbock Sports Open, followed by Bernice Lim in the USBC Queens, Cherie Tan in the Sacramento Open and New Hui Fen in the Smithfield Open, all in 2016.
Holloway hopes his bowlers will make their mark and return with at least one title.
“The PWBA Tour attracts the best in the world. We made a breakthrough last year and I hope we can build on it and make further inroads this year,” said Holloway.
Last year, Li Jane became the first Malaysian to finish runner-up in a PWBA Tour event, the Detroit Open and fifth in the USBC Queens.
Syaidatul was the country’s next best performer with a third place in the Wichita Open.
Shalin, who was not in last year’s squad (due to foot injury), is making her first appearance in the tour since competing for three seasons between 2008-10.
Her best result was finishing sixth at the Salvino Scorpion Championship in Illinois in 2008.
“A title from the tour will be a dream come true for Malaysian bowling and I believe it is achievable,” Holloway added.
Meanwhile George Tan has resigned as the secretary of the Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress due to health reasons.