PUTRAJAYA: National elite bowler Jacqueline Jenelee Sijore is eyeing another golden debut when she competes in the Jakarta SEA Games later this month.
The 19-year-old Sarawakian defied the odds by stunning an experienced field en route to winning the singles gold medal in her maiden Women’s World Championship in Hong Kong last month.
However, Jacqueline has played down her chances in the individual events in Jakarta, preferring to stay focused on helping Malaysia to a team gold. “This is my first SEA Games and I do not want to set my targets too high. A podium finish in all the events would be nice,” said Jacqueline, who has also been named team captain for the bowling squad.
“Being the team captain gives me extra responsibilities and I do not want to let the team down and my target is to help Malaysia win the women’s team gold medal.
“Our biggest rivals will be Indonesia and Singapore but it will be a mistake to underestimate the other teams.
“Although I won the singles event in the world meet, I did not play too well in the following events. I need to polish up my game and do my best when the time comes.”
Besides Jacqueline, Malaysia will also be represented by Zandra Aziela, Esther Cheah, Sharon Koh, Zatil Iman and Sin Li Jane in the women’s event.
The men’s team will be led by KL Open winner Adrian Ang, Aaron Kong, Zulmazran Zulkifli, Alex Liew, Mohd Syafiq Ridhwan and Mohd Nur Aiman.
Dayang Khairuniza Dhiyana, who was initially included in the squad, has been named as the reserve – a decision Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC) high performance manager Cheah Ban Cheng described as “extremely tough”.
“We’re fortunate enough to have such a large pool of players to choose from and if possible we would like to send all seven,” said Ban Cheng.
“However, we are only allowed to send six women. Thus, it’s unfortunate that Dayang is the one left behind.”
The Malaysian squad are attending the Malaysian SEA Games contingent training camp at Palm Garden Hotel here and will leave for Jakarta next week.
They are going there a week ahead of the Games to acclimatise themselves to the lane conditions at the competition venue.
THE STAR
The 19-year-old Sarawakian defied the odds by stunning an experienced field en route to winning the singles gold medal in her maiden Women’s World Championship in Hong Kong last month.
However, Jacqueline has played down her chances in the individual events in Jakarta, preferring to stay focused on helping Malaysia to a team gold. “This is my first SEA Games and I do not want to set my targets too high. A podium finish in all the events would be nice,” said Jacqueline, who has also been named team captain for the bowling squad.
“Being the team captain gives me extra responsibilities and I do not want to let the team down and my target is to help Malaysia win the women’s team gold medal.
“Our biggest rivals will be Indonesia and Singapore but it will be a mistake to underestimate the other teams.
“Although I won the singles event in the world meet, I did not play too well in the following events. I need to polish up my game and do my best when the time comes.”
Besides Jacqueline, Malaysia will also be represented by Zandra Aziela, Esther Cheah, Sharon Koh, Zatil Iman and Sin Li Jane in the women’s event.
The men’s team will be led by KL Open winner Adrian Ang, Aaron Kong, Zulmazran Zulkifli, Alex Liew, Mohd Syafiq Ridhwan and Mohd Nur Aiman.
Dayang Khairuniza Dhiyana, who was initially included in the squad, has been named as the reserve – a decision Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC) high performance manager Cheah Ban Cheng described as “extremely tough”.
“We’re fortunate enough to have such a large pool of players to choose from and if possible we would like to send all seven,” said Ban Cheng.
“However, we are only allowed to send six women. Thus, it’s unfortunate that Dayang is the one left behind.”
The Malaysian squad are attending the Malaysian SEA Games contingent training camp at Palm Garden Hotel here and will leave for Jakarta next week.
They are going there a week ahead of the Games to acclimatise themselves to the lane conditions at the competition venue.
THE STAR
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