PETALING JAYA: Former national bowling queen Datuk Shalin Zulkifli may be more than 4,000km away, but she still keeps a keen eye on what’s happening in sports back home.
Shalin, also a former coach, administrator and mentor, is now a student at the prestigious Seoul National University (SNU) in South Korea, where she is pursuing a two-year Masters degree in Sports Management (DTM).
The 47-year-old three time world champion spoke about her time so far in Korea and the initiatives she hopes to see materialise when she’s back on home soil.
Q: How far along are you into your Masters and how hard has it been?
A: My thesis proposal got approved so I will be researching and working on that till December, when I’ll graduate if all goes well.
I won’t lie, the first semester has been hard because it’s been 20 years since I last studied at the university. So it took awhile to get back to the flow of things but I’m enjoying the journey.
Q: Have you picked up on any Korean culture in your time there?
A: I’ve always been a fan of K-dramas but since starting classes, there has not been much time for that!
It’s just been back-to-back assignments and exams, so I haven’t really picked up any particular Korean culture.
But I think I’ve adapted well because Korea isn’t new to me. It was actually the country where I featured in my first international competition. I was 12 or 13 and I remember getting my passport done before competing in a tournament in Pohang.
Q: You are now observing from afar, but we know your heart is here in Malaysia, with bowling specifically. How do you see the current national team?
A: Bowling has always been my passion and first love. Even though I’m here, I always read about what’s happening back home. I think our local bowlers are very fortunate because we have a good system where there’s always new talent to take over from the seniors. We have Sin Li Jane, Natasha Roslan and Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman, who I remember mentoring when they were juniors. Now, they’re taking up the mantle to lead the next generation.
Q: Anything that can be improved on in your opinion?
A: There’re always things to improve. For instance, we need more girls to be active in sports. There’s also a lack of good quality juniors to mould to continue the lineage.
On the governing side, a lot can be done to position bowling as a main sport. It’s been a tough few years for the bowlers since it wasn’t part of the 2023 Cambodian SEA Games and it won’t feature at the upcoming Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, as well.
I hope the officials in the Asian Bowling Federation and the International Bowling Federation can step up efforts to make it one of the staple sports going forward.
Thankfully, this should improve with the next three SEA Games in Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, where bowling is popular.
Q: What about the coaches?
A: Well, I’m proud to say that all of our local coaches are national athletes with international titles. Most of them were my teammates and juniors so they’re aware what an athlete needs to perform at an international level.
But I think we can provide them with more opportunities to learn the technical side of things. It’s the same as when you’re competing, the learning never stops.
Q: Do you see any difference in the sports scene in Korea compared to back home?
A: I think they focus a lot more on the development side with a solid school system for sports.
We have one Bukit Jalil but they have four or five Bukit Jalils, each with high level facilities. The widespread availability helps kids from all over the country get an equal opportunity to shine. For us back home, it can be quite difficult for people from Sabah and Sarawak to travel and train.
The Koreans even have specialised schools for different sports, like judo and taekwondo, and their own sports university – Korean Sports University (KSU). This is something we’ve been trying to bring into Malaysia for the last 10 years but there hasn’t been much progress.
We should really look into this ensure we can continue competing at the highest level.
Q: What do you have planned for the future? Any chance of making a comeback to the lanes as a national coach ?
A: So far, no plans but I’m quite open to see what opportunities lie ahead when I’m back.
As a national coach, I don’t think so. I’ll leave that to my teammates. They’re doing a great job.
I think I’m needed more in governance and administration. It’s a bit of a stereotype that ex-athletes can only return as coaches. There’s no such thing!
For us to improve the sports environment in Malaysia, we need to contribute in every way possible.
Q: Any advice for the athletes before the Asiad?
A: I would tell them to keep in mind that the Asiad is a major multisport Games. It’s not like the SEA Games where you’re only competing with five or six countries in each event.
There are a lot of superpowers at the Asiad, like China, Japan and Korea, so you have to be the best among the best and not the best among the rest.
It’s a chance to see if your training is going in the right direction.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t win but your coaches, the public and most importantly you yourself need to know that you’ve given it 120%.
