NST Online: Sports

Bowling: Wendy desperate to make Hong Kong trip

Posted: 25 May 2011 05:19 PM PDT

2011/05/26
Ajitpal Singh
ajitpalsingh@nst.com.my

Malaysian bowlers Wendy Chai (right) and Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman at the Malaysian Open yesterday. — Picture by Osman Adnan

BOWLER Wendy Chai hopes to rediscover the winning form which has deserted her of late, this year.

The 33-year-old's average outings since the beginning of the 2010 season was topped by her failure to earn a spot in the national women's Guangzhou Asian Games team, after finishing seventh in the trials.

She is, however, determined to return strongly this year to consolidate her position as one of best elite bowlers in the national team.

Her prime goal is to earn a spot in the six-member squad for the Women's World Championships in Hong Kong in September.

Wendy, a seasoned campaigner, has made headlines many times by winning numerous world-class titles in the past.

Her most cherished moment was when she defeated a host of professionals to win the 2008 World Ranking Masters.

But since her knee injury in August, 2008, Wendy has found it hard to rediscover her form. Wendy had hoped to make an impact last year but her best showing was finishing third in the Penang Pesta International.

Now, Wendy is hoping to start afresh in the ongoing Malaysian Open at Pyramid Megalanes in Bandar Sunway.

"Both my knees have been operated on before but the left one is still bugging me. I am on medication. However, it is nothing serious," said Wendy yesterday.

"I am determined to make a strong comeback in the Malaysian Open and also in next week's Singapore Open. My goal is to make the stepladder in both competitions."

Wendy has virtually qualified for the women's Masters in the Malaysian Open as she is currently second with a 1,395 total in the local pool qualifiers behind Zatil Iman Abdul Ghani (1,487). In third place is Sin Li Jane with 1,371.

Asian Games gold medallist Alex Liew leads the men's section on 1,504 ahead of national youth bowler Chong Jun Foo (1,445) and Kang Bo Long (1,434).

The qualifying round ends today.

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Athletics / Malaysian Schools Championships: Sarawak complete double

Posted: 25 May 2011 05:12 PM PDT

The Sarawak contingent celebrate after retaining the overall title in the Malaysian Schools Championships which ended on Tuesday. — Picture by L.Manimaran

THE Malaysian Schools Athletics Championships ended in Ipoh on Tuesday with few surprises as the performances left much to be desired.

Only eight records were broken in the 90 events contested at the Perak Stadium over the course of five days, and worryingly none came in the Under-18 category.

Several new faces did emerge to strike gold on their first appearance at the meet which, if harnessed further, could provide hope for the future.

One athlete who shone like a beacon was Kedah's Noor Shahidatun Nadia Zuki, who although did not set any records, easily won the girls' Under-15 long jump and triple jump with marks good enough to win in the Under-18 category.

Tan Wei Heng of Kedah, who was chosen as the best athlete in the Under-18 boys category, hit pay dirt with a treble by winning the 800m, 1,500m and 5,000m events.

Sabah's Stefbilce Sandy Stephen emerged from nowhere to bag a sprint double which earned her the best athlete in the girls Under-18 category award.

The best athlete awards in the lower age groups went to Jominus Joseph of Sabah (boys Under-12), Ku Amir Syazwan Ku Sharif of Kedah (boys Under-15), Perak's Nor Hazwani Abd Haris (girls Under-12) and Queenie Ting Kung Ni of Sarawak (girls Under-15).

Sarawak retained their overall title as they again dominated the championships with a 21-gold haul to leave the pack, led by Terengganu and Perak's nine gold medals each, far behind.

Nadia was one of the few athletes who can be tagged as a future champion although the athlete herself was not pleased with her performances.

There was little doubt Nadia would win her two events but the Bukit Jalil Sports School student was in Ipoh to set new records but missed the mark by narrow margins.

Selangor high jumper M. Shandyani is also on her way up after brushing aside the competition to win in the girls' Under-18 category.

Ku Amir Syazwan is another to watch if he can sustain his efforts in Ipoh after setting a new record in the boys' Under-15 400m final.

His time of 50.27 seconds would have placed him fourth in the Under-18 final and in time could be challenging his seniors with regularity.

The atmosphere at the event was one of healthy competition but more work needs to be done at school level to raise the bar for the athletes, lest the championships slip into irrelevance.

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Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Rabu, 25 Mei 2011

NST Online: Sports

NST Online: Sports

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