Bowlers On A Roll

2021 National Age Group

Singapore Sports School’s bowlers aimed and scored big in the lanes at the 2021 National Age Group (NAG), held at Temasek Club from 13 to 20 March 2021. Student-athletes secured a bounty of 34 medals – 8 golds, 16 silvers and 10 bronzes.

Bowler George Yin Xu put up an excellent performance, achieving medals in not one, but seven events – gold in the Under 21 Boys All Events and U23 Boys Quartet; silver in the U21 Boys Masters, U21 Boys Doubles and U21 Boys Quartet; and bronze in the U23 Boys Singles and U23 Boys Masters.

“I put in hard work during training. I make it a point not to fool around and am serious because I know that training helps me develop the necessary skills as an athlete. Bowling is a muscle memory sport and if you do not focus, you will mess up your physical form,” said the Year 1 student-athlete in the Diploma in Business Studies course.

The student-athlete is so serious about his training that he chose Sports School because he learnt of its athlete-friendly academic programmes. He notes how teachers make it a point to provide make-up lessons when athletes miss classes due to overseas competitions, which he says his friends in other schools do not have the luxury of having.

George listed another highlight at the event – the team event where he and his teammates encouraged each other. “Many people think bowling is a very individual sport, but we take turns to encourage each other during our rounds no matter how down we are about our score.”

Despite his many achievements, George remains humble and focuses on the bigger picture. “I feel what I achieved is good for my portfolio but there’s room for improvement. As a person, I don’t really look at what I’ve gotten so far. I don’t stay in the present, but look forward to the future.”

Over in the girls’ lanes, Nur Irdina Hazly quietly but assuredly inched her way to the top of the U15 Girls Masters and aided her team to clinch the gold in the U15 Girls Quartet.

“I never get tired of bowling,” she says, adding that she came to the Sports School because she wanted to train more for bowling and to balance her studies and sports. Furthermore, she noted that many national bowlers were alumni of the school.

Having had an earlier competition in February in which she did not win any titles, she made it a point to learn from her mistakes and to put her all into training. This clearly paid off. She was nervous at first, but she slowly eased into the competition.

Another student-athlete who overcame his nerves was Mark Leong Yew Chen (Secondary 2). Having had an off-form start to the competition for the first four games, he remembered his coach’s advice to take three long and deep breaths and managed to concentrate and find his line. Changing up his technique and trying out a new ball turned out to be a lucky strike for him as well, netting him the silver in the U15 Boys Singles and the bronze in the U15 Boys Masters.

“This is the first time getting into the podium for NAG. I felt really happy about it.”

Singled out for his performance as the most improved student, Mark credited his focus during the training as well as the optimistic mindset his father had inculcated in him. He recalled his father’s wise words: “Just keep bowling if you love your sport, improve from all the mistakes you made.”

RESULTS

U15 Boys Singles

2nd – Mark Leong Yew Chen

U15 Boys Doubles

2nd – Andre Chew Leong Joon, Mathieu Louis

U15 Boys Masters

2nd – Rayden Lim Yisheng

3rd – Mark Leong Yew Chen

U18 Boys Singles

3rd – Darius Huang Weixiang

U18 Boys Quartet

2nd – Darius Huang Weixiang, Ethan Tan Jing Zhi, Gerald Teng Woo Kiat, Joshua Gaza Soo Chak Kuen

U18 Boys Masters

2nd – Ryan Goi Chee Hean

U21 Boys Doubles

1st – Leroy Kwek Peng Suan, Ryan Goi Chee Hean

2nd – George Yin Xu, Sean Loh Jinheng

U21 Boys Quartet

1st – Kieran Tan Wei Zhong, Lim Ding Xi

2nd – George Yin Xu, Sean Loh Jinheng

U21 Boys All Events

1st – George Yin Xu

U21 Boys Masters

2nd – George Yin Xu

U23 Boys Singles

3rd – George Yin Xu

U23 Boys Doubles

1st – Joshua Gaza Soo Chak Kuen

3rd – Russell Paul Lee Yuong Ern

U23 Boys Quartet

1st – George Yin Xu, Sean Loh Jinheng

3rd – Joshua Gaza Soo Chak Kuen

U23 Boys All Events

2nd – Sean Loh Jinheng

U23 Boys Masters

2nd – Lim Ding Xi

3rd – George Yin Xu

U15 Girls Masters

1st – Nur Irdina Hazly

U15 Girls Doubles

2nd – Hazel Tan Wei Ning, Nur Irdina Hazly

U15 Girls Quartet

1st – Hazel Tan Wei Ling, Nur Irdina Hazly, Shannen Ong Yuan Lin, Victoria Ai-Wen Leong

U15 Girls All Events

2nd – Nur Irdina Hazly

3rd – Hazel Tan Wei Ling

U18 Girls Doubles

3rd – Jerlyn Lam Si Ting, Lim Shi En

U18 Girls Quartet

3rd – Mandy Koh Mun Leng

U21 Girls Singles

2nd – Ashley Victoria Lok

3rd – Quek Lu Yi

U21 Girls Quartet

1st – Fion Liew Shan Ting, Quek Lu Yi

2nd – Ashley Victoria Lok, Jade Ooi, Jerlyn Lam Si Ting, Shirlene Wong Xue Lin

U21 Girls Masters

2nd – Jade Ooi

U23 Girls Doubles

2nd – Evangeline Foo Shi Hui