GOOD SHOW: Women’s doubles silver medallists Sin Li Jane (left) and Jacqueline Jenelee Sijore, men’s doubles bronze winners Mohd Syafiq Ridhwan and Zulmazran Zulkifli show their medals after the prize presentation. — Photo courtesy of Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress
M’sian duo slip to second in women’s doubles
KUCHING: Newly crowned women’s singles champion, Sin Li Jane was on course for a second gold medal in the Asian Championships as she and Jacqueline Jenelee Sijore emerged as the top pair in the first squad of the women’s doubles event.
However, they slipped to second place after the South Korean pair of Jung Da Wun and Kim Moon Jeong posted a total of 2,573 pin falls in squad two to lead the overall standings.
Earlier, Li Jane and Jacqueline had topped their squad after by posting combined lines of 409, 430, 419, 440, 509, 358 for a total of 2,565 pin falls on medium oil.
The Malaysian officials had some anxious moments as Singapore’s Jazreel Tan and Shayna Ng as well as Chinese Taipei’s Chou Chia Chen and Tai Hsin Yi were rallying for a podium finish in squad three.
Li Jane and Jacqueline could have won the gold medal if not for the poor final game.
Li Jane, a two-time national champion, had four splits in her final game which subsequently affected the overall score.
Her performance then surprised the Malaysian contingent as she had, before the blemish, posted 10 straight strikes in the previous game.
Still, there was reason for the national champion to celebrate following her success in the women’s singles on Tuesday – her biggest career win to date.
“I’m really happy to have won the women’s singles because this is definitely my biggest career title,” she said.
“I’m feeling good after the win on Tuesday and I wanted to continue contributing more for the team.”
Jacqueline, meanwhile, owed her silver outing with Li Jane to a more focused performance.
“I performed a lot better in the doubles compared to the first day where I was making more mistakes,” she said.
“The lesser mistakes certainly helped us deliver a strong performance and I’m confident we can go on and win the women’s team gold too.”
Malaysia’s second pair of Siti Safiyah and Zandra Aziela finished in 12th place with 2,344 series total.
Esther Cheah and Shalin Zulkifli bowled in the final squad and put up a par performance to emerge sixth with a 2,428 series total.
Meanwhile, there were some cheers in the men’s doubles as Mohd Syafiq Ridhwan and Zulmazran Zulkifli staged a strong recovery from a poor start to secure the bronze medal with a total of 2,612 pins.
In the first squad, southpaw Alex Liew and Nur Aiman failed to make an impression, finishing 15th on 2,504 series total.
Six times national doubles champion, Adrian Ang and Aaron Kong, could not lift up their games and had to be contended with an eighth placing on 2,546 series total.
UAE’s Mahmood Al Attar and Hussain Al Suwaidi won gold on 2,666 while South Koreans Choun Jae-Woo and Lim Dong-sung took silver with 2,629.