KUALA LUMPUR: Youngster Sin Li Jane is the only bowler in the women’s team who has yet to taste success at senior level in a world championship.
And by the way the steely determined Li Jane is bowling this year, the 21-year-old’s dream of a world title could just unfold in her second outing in the World Championships, which will be held in Nevada, United States from Aug 7-17.
Li Jane will leave for the United States on Sunday to familiarise with the venue as part of her preparation for the world meet. She will be accompanied by five of her more illustrious team-mates - Shalin Zulkifli, Zandra Aziela Ibrahim Hakimi, Jacqueline Jenelee Sijore and Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman.
Esther will join the fray later as she is slated to take part in the World Games in Colombia. The Games started yesterday.
All of her team-mates have won gold medals in international tournaments.
Shalin, Esther, Zandra nailed the team gold medal in the 2007 edition of the World Championships while Esther and Jacqueline had done the country proud by winning individual gold medals in the world series in 2007 and 2011 respectively.
Safiyah, 23 failed to win any medal in her debut at the 2011 edition but she comes with the credential of becoming the second Malaysian to win the World Ranking Masters in 2005.
The reigning Singapore Open champion Li Jane said that she now had extra drive to join her team-mates in achieving success at the worlds. She has one tiny advantage – she is a more experienced bowler now.
“It has been a great year for me so far this year. I came in third in the National Championships and went on to win the Singapore Open. The main goal is to win a medal at the world championships,” said Li Jane.
“I competed in my first World Championships in 2011 but I did not win any medal. I had nothing to shout about in that outing. In fact, in the team event, I only played three games. Hopefully, this time, I will be able to go the full distance.”
“My preparation is good. We have a strong women’s team. We are primed and hopefully, we will be able to complement each other to achieve a good showing in the world meet,” said the economics student from Sunway University.
The women team’s main challengers will be the United States, South Korea and Singapore.
Meanwhile, Malaysia will also be represented by a six-member men’s team in the world meet. They are Alex Liew, Adrian Ang, Syafiq Ridhwan Abdul Malek, Timmy Tan and Mohd Rafiq Ismail.
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