KUALA LUMPUR: After claiming back the National Championship title yesterday, national elite kegler Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman is now focusing on defending the team event gold at the 2019 World Women’s Championship in Las Vegas from Aug 22-30.
Besides that, the 29-year-old is also looking forward to bagging a medal from other events at the South Point Bowling Plaza, after having won the women’s All-Events silver two years ago. In 2017, the Selangor kegler, together with veteran Shalin Zulkifli, Syaidatul Afifah Badrul Hamidi, Sin Li Jane and Natasha Roslan ended the country’s 10-year wait to win the team event crown at the World Championships. “We have been training intensively for almost a month now, trying out different patterns and being more consistent.
Personally, I want to try for a medal in other events, maybe from the singles, doubles or trios, if possible … in all. Amen. “We have won the Asian Games trios gold, so we have a chance there, I’m also hoping for a medal from the Masters event, because it is the highest level,” she said.
On Sunday night, Siti Safiyah reclaimed her National Championships women’s open title after 10 years by defeating national and Selangor teammate, Natasha Roslan 200-182 in the finals at the Sunway Mega lanes.
Besides Siti Safiyah, the Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC) also named Sin Li Jane, Natasha Roslan, Esther Cheah, Syaidatul Afifah Badrul Hamidi and newcomer Sarawak’s Nerosha Keligit for the world meet. Meanwhile, national head coach Holloway Cheah warned that it wouldn’t be easy to defend the World title — with the United States, South Korea and Singapore expected to give a tough challenge — but promised a good fight.
“It won’t be easy to defend the title, but we are trying to give our best and we still do not know what pattern will be used, there are so many patterns for them to choose. Actually, it’s one of our preparations for the SEA Games, so we will see how the girls fare and see who can go to Philippines, the competition is still open. – Bernama
