Sarawak’s gold and silver medallists in tenpin bowling (from left to right) Uzair, Musayyar, Christopher, Afiq, Nerosha and Jocelyna. – Photo by Chimon Upon
KUCHING: It was all gold right up the alley for Sarawak in both the men’s and women’s doubles to bring the team tally in tenpin bowling to six gold medals – and counting.
It was 1-2 finish for the homesters when Abang Afiq Yazid and Christopher Tiong rolled a total of 2,508 pinfalls to take top spot at Megalanes Bowling Centre in Batu Kawah while compatriots Mohd Uzair Irsya and Musayyar Khalid took silver with2,430 pinfalls in the men’s doubles.
The bronze went to the Sabah pair of Ahmad Azraei Tam and Ahmad Fawaz Far with a 2,376 pinfall.
Afiq later admitted he was a bit perturbed with his silver ending in the individual event but was naturally delighted to win his first Sukma gold albeit it being a doubles.
“It was great to beat my teammate and my next target is to win more gold for Sarawak in the trios, team event and masters, he enthused.
Compatriot Christopher said buoyed by home advantage, the hard work and training of four to five hours a day has paid off. “It is sweet to strike gold personally and I hope to help the team focus on the gold, he said.
In the women’s pairs, Jocelyn Judith and Nerosha Keligit felled 2,503 pins to take top spot for the gold medal.
Nurul Atikah Jun and Syarifah Nadia A of Sabah scored 2,322 pinfalls for silver while Perak’s Nur Fatin Shahir and Nurfadhlin Aris pooled a 2,262 total for bronze.
Nerosha later yesterday paired up with Ervin Lim to take the mixed doubles gold with a 2,578 pinfall. With that Nerosha, bagged her third Sukma gold medal. Penang finished with silver with 2,499 pinfalls, pipping Johor (2,497 pinfalls) in the sixth game.
Nerosha said it was a proud moment to cherish when she received the doubles medal from the chief minister in the medal presentation and has set her sights on more medals.
Her doubles partner Jocelyn took pride in her first Sukma gold and now harbours a better flourish in bigger competitions. “In this Sukma, my hope is to get as many gold medals as I can so we can become overall champion. We don’t want to give any leeway to the other teams.”
Sarawak have so far collected six gold and two silver medals for a total of seven medals in the overall tally, which has surpassed the state’s Sukma target of four gold medals.
At stake next in the alley are more gold prospects from the trios, team event, masters and stepladder finals from July 27-30. — by Wilfred Pilo