Injured Esther at crossroads despite love for game

PETALING JAYA: Seasoned campaigner Esther Cheah has pulled out from the training squad for the World Championships due to injury and it has raised concerns regarding her future in bowling.

The 35-year-old Esther aggravated a knee injury during training on Thursday.

Many are hoping that it’s just a knee-jerk reaction as Esther has not bowled for a long time but she will have a clearer picture on which direction she would be taking by end of this year.

The multiple-time world champion will be the third prominent senior to miss the world meet from Nov 6-15 in Dubai.

On Wednesday, Adrian Ang announced his retirement while Sin Li Jane has chosen to skip the meet due to the pandemic situation.

Esther said it was inevitable that she withdrew.

“It’s an old injury. I had to take a five-month break due to my left knee injury just before the Covid-19 situation in 2020,” said Esther.

“The pain returns whenever I try to bowl and it was the same when we started training this week. I saw a doctor yesterday (Thursday) and was advised to stop for at least two weeks.

“As time is running out, the best option was to withdraw from the selection training as I won’t be in the best form to challenge for a spot.” One of the options to extend her career is to go under the knife but Esther prefers to bide her time.

“My future in bowling is all a big question now. There is a 50-50 chance of getting better but even if I do recover, how much do I have to push myself again and again to maintain good form?” asked Esther.

“I’ve not bowled since the Philippines SEA Games (2019) and the next tournament is probably the Asian Indoor Games next year – that means, I would have been out for two years!

“For now, I will focus on the rehabilitation programme and continue to monitor my progress.”

It would have been easy for Esther to just walk away right now but she admits that the love for the game is still the pulling factor.

“I have been bowling all my life and it’s not easy to just leave. I will see how best to plan if there is a need for surgery. There is the Asian Games next year.

“It all depends on myself really,” added Esther, who has been with the national team for about 18 years since 2004.

In her absence, the two seniors left in the team are Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman and Natasha Roslan.

THE TRAINING SQUAD

ELITE

Men: Rafiq Ismail, Timmy Tan, Tun Ameerul Hakim Tun Hasnul Azam, Ahmad Muaz Fishol, Syafiq Ridhwan Abdul Malek.

Women: Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman, Natasha Roslan.

BACK-UP

Men: Hafiz Zainuddin, Syazirol Shamsudin, Nevern Netaneel Marcellinus, Shahrukh Amin Zulkifli.

Women: Gillian Lim, Nora Lyana Nastasia Norkamal, Nur Syazwani Sahar, Nerosha Keligit, Faten Najihah Ahmad Faik.

NATIONAL YOUTH

Boys: Akmal Qayyim Ali Hanafiah, Shafiy Zaim.

Girls: Puteri Nurul Dini Faudzi.