Daniel Tan, state bowling team and officials posing with deputy chef de mission Affandi Keli (right, standing), assistant chef de mission Gerald Rental (fourth right), Amateur Tenpin Bowling Association of Sarawak deputy president Saifulbahri Shukri (seated left), team manager Robert Lu (second right) after the prize presentation. — Photo courtesy of Amateur Tenpin Bowling Association of Sarawak.
I came here with the target on winning gold in my final Sukma outing and I am very happy today to have achieved my aim. Daniel Tan, Sarawak bowler
DANIEL Tan Yan Han got the Sarawak bowling team to a golden start when he bagged the boys singles gold at the Perlis Bowl, Kayangan Square Mall in Kangar yesterday.
Daniel bowled lines of 226, 192, 160, 256, 257 and 246 for a total pinfalls of 1,337 to finish on top in the 84-bowler field which was divided into Squad A and Squad B.His average game was 222.8 pinfalls.
Finishing 16 pinfalls behind Daniel in second place was Ahmad Adil Abdul Halim from Melaka while Syed Muhammad Syed Hussien came in third with 1,315 pinfalls.
Jonathan Ding Sagan was unfortunate to miss the bronze medals by nine pins and other Sarawakians finishing in the top 30 were Mohd Uzair Irsyad Noor Azrul (6th), Muhammad Syafiq Sajeli (9th) Christopher Tiong Lee Siong (18th) and Anthony Luang Cheng (21st).
“I came here with the target on winning gold in my final Sukma outing and I am very happy today to have achieved my aim,” said a delighted Daniel when interviewed after the prize presentation.
It was also a marked improvement for Daniel who won the team gold in Melaka in 2010 and the team silver in Pahang in 2012.
“This is a very good start for me and I hope my winning the gold today can inspire myself and teammates to go for more golds in Perlis,” he said.
He will be competing in six more events namely doubles, trios, team, mixed doubles, all-events and masters.
On the men’s singles competition, Daniel said he bowled with less pressure when compared to the previous two Sukma as he is now more experienced and also one of the senior bowlers in the Sarawak squad.
Meanwhile, head coach Jackson Ting felt happy for Daniel in winning the gold as it was the last Sukma outing for the 21-year-old bowler.
“Actually, the boys were bowling late into the night and finished their games at 1pm today and I am glad that they all were able to bowl under such conditions,” he said.
According to him, Daniel was initially struggling along the lines and with Jackson’s and team technical coach Paul Robert Delany’s assistance and guidance, Daniel was able to complete his games with a flourish to land the gold.
“I am also happy for being able to help Daniel achieve his target of winning gold in his final Sukma appearance,” he added.
On the girls, Jackson said they were on par with other bowlers technically but lost out on experience to the national elite bowlers.
Nerosha Keligit Thiagarajan was Sarawak’s best performer in the women’s singles competition, finishing in sixth place with 1,259 pinfalls.
Others finishing in the top 30 were Jocelyna Judith Jonathan (14th), Jackelyn Ng (17th) and Syafiqah Sajeli (27th).
The gold medallist was Natasha Mohamed Roslan of Selangor who felled 1,339 pins and silver went to Radin Nur Najwa Radin Dzulfakar of Kuala Lumpur with 1,329 pinfalls.
Third was Johor’s Sharifah Fatimah Syed Hussien who accumulated a total pinfalls of 1,265.
“I am hoping that the girls can win golds in the remaining events and they have been trying very hard to win medals for the state,” said Jackson.
He added that Sarawak’s main focus had always been in winning the team event and “we have to make sure that everything especially the equipment is in place.”
The boys and girls doubles started yesterday and will end today, to be followed by mixed doubles, trios on Saturday and Sunday and team events next Monday.
The bowling competition in this 17th edition of Sukma ends on next Tuesday (June 3) with the boys and girls masters.