KUCHING: Shocked, happy, speechless and surprised.
BEYOND EXPECTATIONS: Nerosha with (from left) Koay, Ganapathy and her mother Kulan Anyi.
These were the mixed reactions when Nerosha Keligit was crowned the champion of the Girls Graded in the Sarawak leg of the East Malaysia zone at Crystal Bowl here yesterday.
The 14-year-old student from SMK DPHA Gapor, Kuching beat Sibu’s Nadine Kong 2-0 (190-175, 212-149) in the final.
She qualified for yesterday’s semi-finals by finishing top in the qualifying with 2,465 pinfalls in 14 games last Saturday and edged Frazana Ibrahim from Miri 168-166 in the semi-final.
Nerosha received the loudest cheers when she walked up to collect her prize.
“I am still shocked with my win because I did not expect to win in this leg,” she said when interviewed after the competition.
However, the win was not enough for her to qualify for the grand prix finals because she finished 22nd in the Sabah leg in Kota Kinabalu last week.
Happy and motivated by the win, Nerosha has now decided to concentrate on bowling which is also her businessman father Ganapathy Thiagarajan’s wish.
Nerosha is not only good in bowling.
She is also a state-level school sprinter, long distance runner and school champion in badminton, tennis, handball, netball and volleyball.
“I am totally speechless. I have never seen a bowler improve so fast within two weeks.
“She was only averaging 120 or 130 a game in the Sabah leg and in the Sarawak leg she scored games of more than 200 pinfalls,” said coach Angelo Koay.
Earlier in the week, Koay said Nerosha had improved tremendously since she began to take up bowling seriously this year.
“She also possesses good attitude and can go far,” he was quoted as telling a local English daily on Friday.
Ganapathy, 51, said he was surprised that Nerosha could win the Girls Graded title.
“I did not expect her to win today and I told her that I would not be coming unless she wins.
“We are all happy for her and all the time and money spent on bowling have paid off handsomely,” said Ganapathy who is always supportive of his daughter’s pursuits in sports.