Official Website of Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council
NEWS & EVENTS
Brunei bowlers go hot and cold, again
Saturday, November 19, 2011


One of the national bowlers in
action at the Jaya Ancol Bowling
Centre in Jakarta yesterday.
Picture: Infofoto

Seldom playing to their true potential, the national 10-pin bowling team will return from the 26th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games without a medal.

The Jaya Ancol Bowling Centre here played host to the team (of five) event yesterday, where Brunei were found lying at the bottom of the seven-nation table.

Ahmad Athery Hj Abd Samad, Mohd Haidir Fadzilla Hj Noor Ismadi, Mohd Shahwall Mustafa, Pg Eshamuddin Pg Hj Mohiddin and Pg Md Rudisofy Pg Hj Tajuddin combined for a total of 5,348, and once again the team were not able to carry over their fine form in the first block of three games on short oil onto the second block on long oil.

They started off with 862 in their first game, hit 908 in the second and had a high of 994 in their third. But they lost their shooting touch after the lunch-break, posting 854, 906 and 824 in the second block.

"It took a while (to get back into the game) after lunch," admitted national coach Mike Griffith.

The team's score of 994 in the third game was higher than eventual silver medallists the Philippines (964), Singapore (918) and Vietnam (843), a fact Griffith was eager to point out.

Malaysia won gold with a total of 6,241 pinfalls and the Philippines took silver with 6,031. Hosts Indonesia won only their second medal in the sport when they finished third with 5,873.

The Indonesian women's team of five claimed silver in their event with 5,846, with Singapore taking gold on 6,332 and Malaysia bronze with 5,788.

But for Brunei though, who will have no bowlers in today's masters (Top 16) event, the Games has been a huge let-down.

"I think looking back at the Games, the results were disappointing," said Griffith.

"It was under our expectations based on the preparation and training we had before the Games. Our bowlers are certainly capable of bowling a lot better, but our expectations were not met due to various reasons.

"We had some good performances at various points of the tournament where we achieved high-games or finished above other teams ... We showed our capability.

"But the bowlers need to develop their competition strategy and mental game before a podium finish may be achieved in the future," stressed the Australian.

The masters event comprised of the Top 16 bowlers, and with 41 men in action this week, Pg Eshamuddin 33rd place finish was the best by any Bruneian after he averaged 181.8 over 24 games.

He was followed by Mohd Haidir Fadzilla on 34th with an average of 181.5, Pg Md Rudisofy was 38th with 170.1, Ahmad Athery 40th on 169.1 and Mohd Shahwall last with 168.3.

The 24 games consisted of six in the singles on Tuesday, six in the doubles on Wednesday, six in the trio on Thursday and six in yesterday's team of five.

Though not every bowler competed in each event, they still had to bowl the requisite number of games to accumulate a 24-game total.

Courtesy from Brunei Times