PETALING JAYA: While the boys and girls are scrambling to make the Open Masters on Saturday, another set of bowlers continued to work their magic on the lanes of the Milo International Junior All-Stars bowling tournament.
The national elite bowlers, who are above 21 years of age and no longer qualify for the boys’ or girls’ Open, have set their sights on the “Masters” tournament that will be held on Sunday at the Sunway Mega Lanes in Sunway Pyramid.
The “Masters”, introduced two years ago in conjunction with the All-Stars junior event, is a mixed gender event pitting 48 qualifiers and playing for the RM35,000 prize money.
As the juniors are qualifying for the All-Stars event, the rest have been busy qualifying for the “Masters” event.
“This is the last event for the year and I can’t think of any reason not to take part. Who knows, maybe I can win some pocket money for the new year,” said national elite bowler Syafiq Ridhwan Abdul Malek with a chuckle.
Last year, the “Masters” produced a surprise winner in the form of then 16-year-old national youth bowler Natasha Roslan.
She bowled her way to the top of the standings after 10 games before overcoming the challenge of Singapore’s Vincent Lim in the step-ladder final.
In 2011, the talented Mohd Rafiq Ismail took the title after defeating South Korea’s Kong Byung-hee in the step-ladder final – at the age of 14. Rafiq won the boys’ Open title last year.
“There will be no room for complacency, especially for the elite bowlers,” warned national chief coach Holloway Cheah.
“The winner can come from anywhere, so they’ve got to bring their A game to the lanes if they want to win.”
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