Back to the rolling good times

As Team Singapore make their final preparations for the 28th SEA Games, TODAY explores the 36 sports in which the nation’s athletes will compete as they look to improve their 50-gold-medal haul in 1993, the last time the biennial event was held here. The focus today is on bowling.

SINGAPORE — The presence of television cameras is not something every athlete enjoys, particularly when the chips are down. Bowler Shayna Ng can attest to the fickle nature of fame, after a roller coaster 2014 season that saw her claim the Sportswoman of the Year accolade — a first for the national bowler — before her world came briefly crashing down at the Incheon Asian Games.

Weighed down by the pressure and attention, Ng could not find her groove on the lanes, finishing 32nd in the singles, sixth in the doubles and seventh in the trios before finally pulling through to help the women’s team clinch their first team gold in the Asiad.

But the 25-year-old is happy to be out of the spotlight as the women’s team takes centre stage at the 28th SEA Games this month. “The Asian Games were horrible for the first few days, but I managed to pick myself up and deliver at the team event. For me, it was a case of better late than never ... (my performance) went down, but I managed to come back.

“I won’t blame it on the media attention, because at the end of the day I have only myself to blame as I allowed it to affect me. It’s mellowed down now in terms of the media attention, and it’s good and bad. Every athlete understands that if you want the attention, you have to work harder. I’ve been there and I know there is a price to pay. But I feel more relaxed now.”

Slowly but surely, Ng is getting back into the groove after finishing sixth — the highest-ranked female among the mixed competition — at the Brunswick Ballmaster Open in Finland earlier this year.

She added: “After the Asian Games, I worked on my physical game during the off-peak season. My coach helped me change my game — little details like my body angle and hand position. In the past, I had one standard game, but now I have other options.”

Ng and her team-mates Jazreel Tan, sisters Cherie and Daphne Tan, New Hui Fen and Bernice Lim are engineering a takedown of arch-rivals Malaysia, who finished top of the medal tally at the 2011 SEA Games — the last time bowling featured at the biennial event — with five gold, three silver and six bronze medals.

Team gold is top on the agenda, and the women keglers are also expected to put in a strong showing at the doubles and trios events. Local fans will be looking to bowling’s new poster girl Jazreel to deliver on home soil at the Orchid Country Club: The 25-year-old made headlines last October at the Asian Games, winning one gold (team), two silver (singles and trios) and a bronze in the all-events to become the most bemedalled Singaporean athlete at the Games.

But Jazreel is not about to let the attention distract her, saying: “Life has changed (since the Asian Games), but I try not to let it get to me. I just go to practice, the gym and home. There are more events to attend as well as interviews, but as an athlete, I feel I shouldn’t treat it as a chore, as I’m an ambassador of the sport for Singapore.”

“I’m really excited that the Games are here. It’s the first time in 22 years that we’re hosting it, and this being part of SG50, hopefully, it will get people to watch our sport, allow us to promote bowling a little more and give Singaporeans something to cheer about.”

The men’s team features Jaris Goh Ali Akbar Goh, Justin Lim, Howard and Keith Saw, Javier Tan, and Joel Tan. Despite returning home empty-handed from the 2011 Games, the men are hoping to reap some success on home soil this time, after a promising Asian Youth Championships outing in March where they won the boy’s Team of Four title. This year’s SEA Games will also be a special one for brothers Howard and Keith Saw, who will compete in their first major competition together for the first time since taking up the sport more than a decade ago.

Howard, 22, is hoping he will get to partner his younger brother in the men’s doubles, saying: “I’m really happy we’re in the Games together, and we’ve never bowled in the doubles together. If we do make it, it will be a first for us.”

Bowling at the SEA Games:

When: June 9 – 14

Where: Orchid Country Club

How many medals: 10 (men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, men’s and women’s trios, men’s and women’s team of five, men’s and women’s masters)

How much to watch: Admission is free

What’s interesting:

There are three sibling pairs in the 12-member men’s and women’s teams:

Cherie and Daphne Tan, 27 and 24

Howard and Keith Saw, 22 and 20

Bernice and Justin Lim, 23 and 21

“We don’t usually bowl together and the last time was eight or 10 years ago when we were just doing it for fun. It’s quite surreal that we are in the same team at the SEA Games together, but it’s pretty exciting too.” – Justin Lim