PETALING JAYA: National bowler Timmy Tan is not in the mood to celebrate even after staging a remarkable comeback to win the opening round of the singles event at the World Games.
Timmy put up a gallant fightback to beat South Africa’s Jivi Sewchuran 2-1 on Friday at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex in Birmingham, Alabama.
The 27-year-old lost the first game 200-218 but bounced back in the next two. He did enough to win the second 196-189 before saving his best to pull off a 224-173 win in the final game.
He will take on Colombia’s Andres Gomez in the next round.
Timmy said the win felt great, but would not celebrate as there was still a long way to go in the competition.
“Of course, winning feels great, but this is just the beginning. I do not want to celebrate because the job is not done yet,” said Timmy.
“The matchplay format is something I’ve done before, so I’m used to it. I am comfortable with it because it makes the game much more competitive.’’
On bowling in a new environment with the string pinsetter method in place, Timmy said he would get used to it. With a string pinsetter, strings are attached to the top of each pin.
“The string pinsetter is something I’m getting used to but so far, it has been good. I hope to be consistent. Right now, it is all positive,” added Timmy, who will also bowl with Rafiq Ismail in the doubles.
Rafiq also made it to the second round after defeating Australia’s Callum Borck 2-0. He scored 257-208 in the first game and followed it up with another impressive win of 257-212 in the second.
The 25-year-old will face South Korea’s Kim Dong-hyeon next.
However, there were mixed fortunes in the women’s event.
Seasoned campaigner Sin Li Jane clawed back from a first-game setback to beat South Korean Kim Hyun-mi 2-1.
The 30-year-old, who is bowling in her first tournament in more than two years, lost the first game 172-226 but mounted an intense fightback in the next two by winning 246-195 and 247-216.
She will take on one of the favourites, Clara Guerrero of Colombia, next.
It is the end of the road for Nata-sha Roslan when she went down fighting 1-2 to Puerto Rico’s Taishaye Narajo.
Natasha won the first game 196-186 but lost the next two 182-200 and 224-246 against the resilient Narajo. She will now prepare for the doubles with Li Jane.
