Timmy shows ’em why he deserves to be in elimination round

PETALING JAYA: From bottom to top eight in Group B, bowler Timmy Tan has made a remarkable turnaround to qualify for the men’s singles top 32 elimination round in the IBF World Cup.

Timmy was on a roll when he won five out of his seven matches on the third day of competition yesterday at the Suncity Tenpin Bowl in Queensland, Australia. A day ago, he had only won two out of his seven matches.

Only the top eight from the group advance to the knockout stage but he was tied at the sixth spot with four others on 21 points.

The 28-year-old had to play in a one-game roll-off to confirm the last three spots and he topped it with flying colours.

Timmy blazed the lanes with 216 pins while United Arab Emirates’ Mahmood Al-attrar and reigning world champion James Blomgren of Sweden rolled down 211 and 180 respectively to qualify. Puerto Rico’s Cristian Azcona’s poor 179 saw him missing the cut.

The top five qualifiers are Australian Sam Cooley, Germany’s Paul Purps, Kris Prather of the United States, New Zealand’s Blake Brooks and Eugene Yeo of Singapore.

“From the bottom, and now in the elimination round. I’m happy with the way I’ve bounced back,” said Timmy.

“I bowled with the right mindset, to take one shot at a time, one game at a time. Win as many matches as possible. It turned out well, and I hope to continue this momentum in the elimination round.”

Syafiq Ridhwan Abdul Malek also made the cut after finishing sixth in Group A with 24 points.

There are four groups, and only the top eight qualify for the final 32.

Meanwhile, in the women’s singles, Sin Li Jane remained poised for the next stage after taking the lead in Group A with 25 points.

She was second on the opening day with 12 points, but yesterday, she was on fire, winning four games and drawing one match.

The 30-year-old now has another five games to play tomorrow, and she is on track to finish top four in the group and qualify for the final 16 elimination round.