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Old is gold for bowler Thomas Yong

The 8th ASEAN Para Games will be held here from Dec 3-9, with some 1,500 athletes from 11 countries competing for honours. As Team Singapore readies for the battle on home ground, TODAY takes a closer look at each of the 15 sports that will be contested, and the inspirational stories behind the local athletes participating in them. The focus today is on tenpin bowling.

Para tenpin bowler Thomas Yong. Photo: Wee Teck Hian

Para tenpin bowler Thomas Yong. Photo: Wee Teck Hian

The 8th ASEAN Para Games will be held here from Dec 3-9, with some 1,500 athletes from 11 countries competing for honours. As Team Singapore readies for the battle on home ground, TODAY takes a closer look at each of the 15 sports that will be contested, and the inspirational stories behind the local athletes participating in them. The focus today is on tenpin bowling.

 

SINGAPORE — Thomas Yong can feel the pins tumble, but cannot see them fall. Every throw of the bowling ball he makes is into infinite darkness, yet it is this sport that gives him light.

At 61, the former army officer does not fear the backaches that may come with competitive bowling. Rather, the visually impaired veteran fears the heartache that might arise when he finally calls time on his sporting passion.

“Call it a day after the ASEAN Para Games? You wish!” exclaimed Yong — who will don Singapore colours at next month’s ASEAN Para Games (APG) — before his training session at the National Service Resort and Country Club.

“I believe I can bowl for another five to 10 years. Age should not deter people from playing sports. Sport is a lifestyle. If a person makes it a point to exercise every day, he can stay healthy for as long as possible.”

Yong is as fit as a fiddle, apart from losing his sight 39 years ago as a result of a training accident in the army. The six months he spent in hospital made him decide to change his life and accept his impairment.

“I tell myself that life is beautiful and exciting,” he said. “All everybody needs to do is to make full use of every moment of our lives and maximise the opportunities we have.

“There are others who (are born blind) and have not seen light for their entire life, but I was fortunate enough to enjoy it for 21 years. At least I know how beautiful the world is.”

And so, after the accident, he picked himself up and tried to lead a normal life. “After I lost my vision in 1976, I learnt what to do as a blind person,” said Yong, who carried on working for the Ministry of Defence as a telephone operator and clerk until his retirement last year.

“I learnt braille, I learnt typing and I learnt how to make use of my fingers. Even doing simple basketry helps me improve my finger movement and my sense of touch,” he said.

That thirst for learning saw him pick up tenpin bowling in 2002, putting his new-found touch to good use.

He improved so much that he represented Singapore in tenpin bowling at the 2011 APG in Indonesia, and bagged a gold and silver medal at the event.

Despite the success, Yong is not satisfied and is still striving to improve his game. He trains five times a week, goes for strength and conditioning exercises, and gratefully receives support from a sports psychologist and dietitian from the Singapore Sport Institute.

Despite the prospect of having to repeat his medal-winning feat in front of a home crowd at the APG in Singapore next month, Yong said he is under no pressure to perform.

“I try not to be too focused on the outcome,” he explained.

“I would rather work on my process, focusing ball-by-ball and making sure I have a good shot. When I have a good shot, the results will naturally come. So, I do not want to talk about ‘die-die, must get a gold medal’.

“I just hope I can perform well. I believe I can make it.”

 

 

ASEAN PARA GAMES Tenpin Bowling

Tenpin bowling generally consists of ten frames. In the first nine frames, two chances are given to roll a bowling ball and knock down as many pins as possible. For the last frame, if a player produces a strike or knocks down the remaining pins with a spare, up to three chances is given to him or her to roll the ball.

The bowling game for athletes with disabilities is progressed according to the regulations stipulated by the World Tenpin Bowling Association (WTBA). When a player crosses the foul line, the scored is treated to F. Although it is required to wear bowling shoes for all players, the players of wheelchair events are exempted.

 

 

Classifications

TP B1-TP B3: Visual disability

TPB 4: Intellectual disability

TPB 5-7: Disability with Cerebral Palsy

TPB 8: Disability with Spinal Cord Injury

TPB 9: Standing player with disability in the lower extremity.

TPB 10: Standing player with disability in the upper extremity.

 

TEAM SINGAPORE

Yong Phen Chong Thomas, Thomas Nathan Chan Kim Yong, Ong Kim Soea Robert, Goh Jong Theng Kelvin, Muhd Sadik Mohd Ishak, Rohaizad Mohd Ismail Hussain, Alphonsus Louis Wong Tse Rong, Fan Jun Jie Nixon, Muhd Farhan Ismail, Foo Ming De Eric, Mohd Rausyan Mohd Ya’acob, Anuar Saaid, Tay Leong Hock Kalvin, Engelbert Eagle Alan Ho, Bahkia Hashim, Lim Choon Heng Simon, Loh Kien Hoe Simon.

 

THE GAMES ON MEDIACORP:

On okto:

* Dec 3: Opening ceremony ‘LIVE’ at 8pm

* Dec 4-9: Daily action belt, 8-10pm

* Daily Highlights, ‘LIVE’, 10-10.30pm

On Toggle

* Visit Toggle.sg/APG2015

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