PETALING JAYA: National back-up bowler Muhd Nur Aiman Khairuddin ticked a box in his to-do list ahead of the selection for the Incheon Asian Games as he clinched the Malaysian Open title at the Sunway Mega Lanes in Sunway Pyramid.
Aiman, who was relegated to the back-up squad early this year, beat national elite bowler Mohd Rafiq Ismail 182-156, 207-192 in the final on Saturday.
It was a big relief for Aiman to win the title on Saturday, as he is looking forward to be in the running for the Asian Games squad. If he gets the nod, it would be his second Asiad after 2010 in Guangzhou.
“It was a close game against Rafiq. My initial target was to finish in the top six after Masters Round Two, in which I finished third. From there, I just took it step by step just trying to be consistent,” said Aiman, who was the 2011 champion.
Aiman was in fine form after earning a direct entry to Masters Round Two by virtue of finishing in the top four of local qualifiers on Thursday.
He amassed a total of 1,784 pins after eight games in Round Two earlier yesterday to sit in third, as Rafiq took the pole position on 1,844 and Dominic Barret of England in second on 1,820 pins. 2013 champion Syimir Abdul Razak was fourth on 1,780 pins, followed by Dhruv Sarda of India (1780) and national elite bowler Alex Liew (1758).
Alex managed to overcome Dhruv and Syimir in the quarter-final after each bowled 267, 172 and 212 respectively. But Alex (215) faltered in the semi-final against Aiman (257) and Barret (210).
“I can’t rest easy yet as I still have another important tournament after this which is the Singapore Open (June 1-7). I want to do well there to earn a ticket to Asian Games,” said Aiman.
Meanwhile, Cherie Tan won the women’s title in an all-Singapore final on Saturday. Cherie defeated her younger sister Daphne 224-217, 237-194 to keep the title in Singapore after Shayna Ng won it last year.
“It was a different kind of pressure in the final because I knew I was up against my sister. But anyway, I’m happy with the win,” said the 26-year-old Cherie.
The best and only Malaysian finisher in the step-ladder was Sin Li Jane in fifth place.
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