Positive environment does wonders for our bowlers

A POSITIVE environment is the key to our bowlers’ con ntinuous success in the inter- national stage.

Malaysia won two out of f the six gold medals contest - ed through Rafiq Isma ail (men’s Masters) and Syaidatul Afifah Badrul Hamidi, Esther Cheah and Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman ( women’s trio) in Palembang.

A month ago, Nur Syazwani Sahar won the All-Events gold at the World Youth Championnships in the United States.

Last year, Malaysia ruled the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games by sweeping seven out of the 11 golds at t stake before the sextet of Shalin Zulkifli, Sin Li Jane, Natasha Roslan, Syaidatul, Esther and Siti bagged team g gold at the World Championsh hips in Las Vegas.

T To top it, Siti and Li Jane also made the country proud by becoming the first winners on the US Professional Women’s Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour. Juniors also did well when Nora Lyana Nastasia Norkamal and Tun Hakim Tun Hasnul Azam emerged as the Macau champion and Thailand Open runner-up respectively. Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC) secretary-general Maradona Chok said good leader- ship, stable management, and the right focus had contributed to steady progress of bowlers from the junior to senior levels.

“It’s all about having a positive environment to encourage everyone from top to bottom to focus on their job and get it done. That’s why our bowlers are now winning at all levels,” said Maradona.

He added that MTBC’s investment and reliance on local coaches also proved successful.

Previously, Sid Allen and Chris Batson were the national coaches while Bill Rowe, Bill Hall, Rick Benoit were hired as consultants.

Currently, the five-member coaching team are led by Holloway Cheah. The others are Ben Heng, Gerald Samuel (senior team) and Wendy Chai, Azidi Ameran (youths). All are former national bowlers.

“Local coaches understand the culture and have more passion at times. It isn’t just about the money,” said Maradona.

“The priority of these coaches is to raise the level of bowling and make it the pride of the nation. Athletes tend to relate better with local coaches, the bond is stronger.”

Maradona hopes that the Asian Games glory would generate more funding from either the government or private sectors to ensure the continuous production of future champions.