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KUCHING, June 4: Kuching-born Lavinia Kho Jia Jie is the first female bowler from Sarawak to win the women’s event at the 41st Malaysian International Open Bowling Championship, which was held at Sunway Megalanes in Selangor.
The 18-year-old athlete, according to a TVS news report, competed against and defeated several former world champions from Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines to win the competition.
The 2022 Malaysia Games (Sukma) gold medalist advanced to the ‘step ladder’ stage yesterday morning after placing third in qualifying.
On the first ‘step ladder’, she defeated national player Nora Lyna Nastasia with a pin result of 212-204 to advance to the final round against Colleen Pee from Singapore.
Kho, who was on the verge of defeat, managed to pull herself up and into the next match by scoring 194 pins to her opponent’s 176.
Kho then secured the title of champion when she maintained her consistency by dropping 207 pins to her opponent’s 177.
She stated that she did not expect to win because her only goal yesterday was to not finish last among the 16 competitors.
Kho also told TVS that she felt calmer throughout the match because her initial goal was to do her best, but that changed when she reached the final and won.
She also credited her coach, Angelo Koay, whose birthday was yesterday and who came through for her in a tense moment when Kho was up against the Singaporean players.
Angelo, she said, made several changes, including changing the ball twice to adjust to the condition of the oil on the lane surface.
“I also told myself to show good game quality and if that’s done, I can compete with other players,” Kho said, as quoted by TVS.
Kho won a trophy as well as RM25,000 in cash for her win.
She also won the women’s graded category and was awarded RM5,000 the day before.
Meanwhile, the men’s category was dominated by Malaysia when Rafiq Ismail emerged as the champion after defeating his teammate, Hafiz Zainuddin with a result of 191 to 157 pins.
Furthermore, Sarawak Minister for Youth, Sports, And Entrepreneur Development (MYSED) Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah also extended his congratulations to Kho.
“Congratulations to our young athlete, Lavinia Kho Jia Jie, who made history in the country’s 10-pin bowling when she emerged as the first female player from Sarawak to win the 41st edition of the Malaysian International Open Bowling Championship held at Sunway Megalanes, Bandar Sunway Subang, Selangor yesterday (June 3),” Abdul Karim stated in a post on his official Facebook page today. — DayakDaily
