KUCHING: Two rising Sarawak elite tenpin bowlers Nur Hazirah Ramli and Gordon Tsen Fan Yew have been called up to join the national youth squad.
Sarawak Amateur Tenpin Bowling Association (ABAS) vice president Robert Lu Nam Min announced this at a press conference held at Megalanes Sarawak.
“ABAS is very proud of the achievements of the two 20-year-old athletes who have successfully placed themselves in the national squad.
“All of this can only be achieved with the cooperation of parents and the athletes themselves, as well as the Sarawak Sports Corporation (SSC), the Sarawak State Sports Council (MSNS), ABAS, and the committed team of coaches who have guided them over the years.
“We are very grateful that the National Sports Council (MSN) and the Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress have selected two of our elite athletes into the national youth squad,” he said.
Lu added that Gordon will leave for Kuala Lumpur on March 13, while Nur Hazirah will join the training programme there on March 20.
Lu explained that Sarawak has been the overall champion in the tenpin bowling event at SUKMA (Malaysia Games) for four consecutive times, where in 2018 Perak SUKMA and 2022 Kuala Lumpur SUKMA, Nur Hazirah and Tsen were the main contributors to the Sarawak contingent.
Moreover, both of them will also be the key members in the Sarawak SUKMA tenpin bowling squad in 2024.
According to Lu, Sarawak is now known for producing many high calibre tenpin bowlers who have contributed to the national squad for a long time.
Among these athletes are Jonathan Lim, Jonathan Ding Sagan, Issac Russel Paul, Tang Joh Six, Jackson Ting, Jacqueline Sijore, and Dayang Khairunisa Dhiyana Abang Jamallidon who has been with the national youth squad and eventually the national squad since 2000.
“At this time, we have Gillian Lim Siew Giok and NeroshaKeligit Thiagarajan in the national backup squad.
“Of course, we aspire to see more Sarawak athletes being called up into the national squad and ABAS takes this matter seriously.
“We hope that the Sarawak government will provide a small allocation of funding for our athletes who are undergoing training in the national youth, national backup, and national team,” Lu said, adding that ABAS will continue to monitor the performance and welfare of the athletes.
At the same time, he took the opportunity to thank parents who continue to support ABAS and have finally succeeded in seeing their children join the national squad.
Lu added that coaches Angelo Koay and Jackson Ting have done a good job in bringing up the athletes and hope that more Sarawak athletes will be called up to join the national training camp after SUKMA 2024.
Meanwhile, Nur Hazirah expressed her delight to be given the opportunity to join the national squad and is determined to become the best tenpin bowler in the country one day.”I always work hard and perform well in competitions to achieve good results and at the same time, I am patient in overcoming any obstacles because patience is the key to success.
“I would like to express my gratitude to my parents, family members, coaches, friends, and especially ABAS for supporting the journey of Sarawak athletes from the very beginning until the end,” said the gold medallist of SUKMA 2022.
Tsen also expressed his excitement after being called up to join the national youth squad.
“This is another achievement in my journey as a tenpin bowling athlete and it is a first step for me to pursue my goals that I have set for myself.
“I am very excited and cannot wait to start training in Kuala Lumpur.
“My hope is that after joining the training there, I can win more competitions and of course, I will work even harder after this,” said the gold medallist of SUKMA Perak 2018 and silver medallist of SUKMA Kuala Lumpur 2022.
He also expressed appreciation to his parents for their unwavering support, coaches, and ABAS for making him an elite athlete today.
Meanwhile, Nur Hazirah’s parents, Ramli Omar Baki and Nadia Abdul Kadir, as well as Tsen’s parents, Tsen King Hiung and Helen Bong, also expressed their appreciation to ABAS for grooming their children to succeed and join the national youth squad.
According to them, there is nothing more joyful than seeing Hazirah and GordonTsen selected to attend the national training programme and they hope that both will train hard and succeed in bringing honour to Malaysia and especially Sarawak.
