PETALING JAYA, May 3 (NNN-Bernama) — Hardy Rachmadian of Indonesia is on target to head to the men’s masters stepladder final at the 40th Malaysian International Open Bowling Championship tomorrow, but faces stiff competition from Malaysian and professional participants.
Hardy, 30, topped the first round of the men’s open category with 1,868 pinfalls at the Sunway Mega Lanes in Bandar Sunway here, today.
“My performance today was better compared to qualifying round yesterday…I felt more comfortable and got into a good rhythm today. I am targeting to be among the top three before aiming for the title as the competition is very fierce.
“There are some professional athletes and the Malaysian athletes are also very good. The challenge is great,” he told Bernama after finishing the round.
Hardy, who’s joining the competition for the third time, hopes to get a podium finish and make his country proud.
Meanwhile, Malaysian elite women’s bowler Nur Syazwani Sahar outpaced the rest in the women’s open category with 1,828 pinfalls to head into the second round tomorrow.
Nur Syazwani, 20, said she picked up her momentum in the fourth round when she recorded 299 pinfalls.
“The tournament this time is rather challenging, from all the athletes, local or abroad. I think I did my best for (heading to the next round) tomorrow,” said the athlete who had just returned from the Asian Youth Championship in Sarawak, last week.
Both players had to play in the first round as they failed to get direct qualification to the second round in the qualifiers yesterday, which saw the top eight men and six women go through.
The men who had qualified comprised four national elite bowlers Noor Afizal Azizan, Syafiq Ridhwan Abdul Malik, Wan Muhammad Naqib Norazizan and Ahmad Muaz Fishol, and international participants Sam Cooley (Australia), Wu Siu Hong (Hong Kong), Surasak Manuwong (Thailand) and Ryan Leonard Lalisang (Indonesia).
The women comprised elite athletes Sin Li Jane, Syaidatul Afifah Badrul Hamidi and Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman; and international participants Kim Ji Su (South Korea) Jermaine Seah and Charlene Lim (both from Singapore).
The second round tomorrow will see 24 men and 16 women compete to be among the top three in each category to head into the finals of the Step Ladder event.
The following is the list of 16 men and 10 women who qualified for the second round from the first round challenge
Men’s Open Masters Stepladder Finals (First Round)
1. Hardy Rachmadian (INA) 1,868 pin 2. Alex Liew (MAS) 1,792 3. Timmy Tan (MAS) 1,757
4. Choi Ki Bong (KOR) 1,752
5. Sean Rash (USA) 1,725
6. Muhd Jaris Goh (SGP) 1,722
7. Johnathan Chan (MAS) 1,709
8. Timothy Tham (SGP) 1,695
9. Mervin Tan (PHI) 1,691
10. Jang Dong Chul (KOR) 1,690
11. Mohamed Al Saud (KSA) 1,684
12. Mohd Haziq Sahli (MAS) 1,669
13. Rafiq Ismail (MAS) 1,648
14. Kyle Troup (USA) 1,648
15. Muhd Hafiz Zainuddin (MAS) 1, 646
16. Dominic Barrett (ENG) 1,643
Women’s Open Masters Stepladder Finals (First Round)
1. Nur Syazwani Sahar (MAS) 1,828
2. Sung Gyong Eun (KOR) 1,711
3. Shalin Zulkifli (MAS) 1,682
4. Kim Do Hee (KOR) 1,672
5. Hee Kar Yen (MAS) 1,671
6. Charmaine Chang (SGP) 1,649
7. Natasha Roslan (MAS) 1,638
8. Putty Armein (INA) 1,629
9. Veronica Dais de Souza (MO) 1,624
10. Gillian Lim (MAS) 1,618
NNN-BERNAMA
