Nadri sets Megalanes on fire

24/12/2001

MOHAMED Nadri of Selangor was yesterday crowned as the Boys' Open champion
in the Grand Finals of the SportExcel-Milo-NSC Junior bowling at the
Megalanes in Sunway Pyramid.
Nadri challenged round robbin leader Aaron Kong of Penang and walked
away with the crown after rolling down 258 pins in the step ladder sudden
death.
In the Girl's Open, Denise Hee of Penang upset round robbin leader Voon
Kim Ling, also of Penang, when she knocked down 196 pins in sudden-death.
Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC) secretary Sidney Tung said he
is quite happy with the performance of the juniors.
"We had tremendous response in the six legs leading into the Grand
Finals and we actually had to turn away some young bowlers because they
were not up to the mark.
"We started the SportExcel circuit in 1994 and it has been steadily
growing in number and quality over the years. At some of the legs, there
were about 270 bowlers and their standard was very encouraging," said
Tung.
To overcome the problem of overcrowding, MTBC will hold a qualifying
round next year to trim down the number of bowlers.
"Since the response has been overwhelming, we might have to hold an
elimination round before the actual tournament next year to make things
logistically more realistic because some of the bowling centres in the
country cannot accommodate too large a number," said Tung.
And to make sure the winners of the Grand Finals keep themselves active
in bowling, SportExcel will hand out personal grants.
"We have been supporting bowling over the years and their circuit has
shown tremendous success because all the present national bowlers had
grown up with SportExcel.
"Nadri, the winner of the Boys Open, can expect our support to make him
a better bowler in the future," said SportExcel executive director Teng
Mui Ngee after the prize presentation ceremony.
Nadri, 16, will take one step at a time and his next target is to make
the Selangor Malaysia Games squad.
"I still have a long way to go before I can dream of making the national
squad. My next target is the Malaysia Games gold," said Nadri.
Nadri, who won the Penang, Selangor and Johor legs of the SportExcel
circuit, might also be enrolled into a special MTBC-National Sports
Council project.
"We do not wan't to lose budding talent like Nadri, so we will propose
to the NSC to have an elite junior squad for bowlers like him. The elite
squad will be a feeder for the national juniors and in that way, we will
always have a steady stream of young bolwers for the future," said Tung.
RESULTS - Boys' Open Round Robbin: 1 Aaron Kong (Pg) 4,252 pinfalls, 2
Hafizul Hafiz (PK) 4,158, 3 Poh Yee Min (Pg) 4,117, 4 Mohamed Nadri (Sel)
4,039.
Step Ladder Grand Finals Champion: Mohamed Nadri bt Aaron Kong (258-
202).
Graded Round Robbin: 1 Hazri Hazali (KL) 3,923, 2 Mohamed Khairul (Kel)
3,860, 3 Mohamed Hafiz (Ked) 3,844, 4 Johan Jamaluddin (Sel) 3,840.
Step Ladder Grand Champion: Hazri Hazali bt Johan Jamaluddin (194-140).
Girls' Open Round Robbin: 1 Voon Kim Ling (Pg) 3,985, 2 Zandra Aziela
(Sel) 3,888, 3 Denise Hee (Pg) 3,874, 4 Esther Cheah (Sel) 3,784.
Step Ladder Grand Champion: Denise Hee bt Voon Kim Ling (196-160).
Graded Round Robbin: 1 Sharon Koh (Sel) 3,768, 2 Tay Li Neo (KL) 3,576,
3 Vivien Kelly (Sab) 3,557, 4 Farah Asilah (Joh) 3,555.
Step Ladder Grand Champion: Sharon Koh bt Farah Asilah (188-182).
jugjet@nstp.com.my
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