Allen paves the way to success (The Malay Mail)

BOWLING sparked off the gold hunt for Malaysia, through Kenny Ang and Ben Heng, in the just concluded Commonweath Games. Kenny also won the singles gold while Shalin Zulkifli and Lai Kin Ngoh provided a doubles silver with a bronze coming from Kin Ngoh in the singles. Coach Sid Allen, in a question and answer session with Mailsport tells how it all happened. The fears, the moments of ecstasy and what is in store for the future. Mailsport: Congratulations on the team's performance at the Commonwealth Games. You must be relieved that bowling met their target: Allen: After the success of the whole contingent, we would have definitely been disappointed if we had not done as well as we did. It was indeed a relief on the first day of competition, when we won the gold through Kenny and Ben. That took off a great deal of pressure from the team. We had kept the pressure off by just saying that we would be going for two medals without naming the colours. But MTBC, NSC and the Sports Ministry, knew we were looking at gold. We have to thank NSC and the Sports Ministry for nor pressuring us with open announcements. We also have the media to thank for keeping our targets under wraps. And we are happy we kept our part of the bargain and delivered the goods. Mailsport: Are you satisfised with what was achieved or do you feel we could have done better? Allen: I am very satisfied. We could not have done better. In the men's section we dominated with gold medals in the singles and doubles. In the women`s section, Australia's Cara Honeychurch and Maxine Nable were the better players in the tournament and they dominated. And with K.N. Lai picking up the bronze in the singles and Shalin and Lai winning the silver in the doubles, we could not have done better. But I am a little disappointed with the mixed doubles. The gold and silver medal in the men and women's doubles respectively got the better of the players. The attention we got and the euphoria somewhat drained the bowlers. We could have done better othrwise. Mailsport: The selection of the bowlers for the Commonwealth Games must have been a difficult one especially when you could only name two in each category. Did you at anytime doubt your choice? Allen: I did, because we have so many players who were capable of playing at the Games and achieve what we did. Anyone of the players from Y.H. Ng, Alex Liew and Sharon Low could have done well. We have three players who are world champions - Daniel Lim and Sharon, both World Games champions, and Alex Liew who was the World Youth championship gold medallist. The fact that they were not used only shows our depth. I am glad that everything worked well for us. Mailsport: Did Shalin crumble under pressure or did she suffer a burn- out? Allen: Definitely not, I should know. She gave her best and was all the time in control of herself. She was highly competitive and motivated to do well, but things just did not go her way. Besides, with Honeychurch and Maxine playing at their best, there was no way Shalin could have beaten them. Shalin's selection to represent Malaysia at the World Cup in Kobe in November, underlines the fact that she is still the No 1 bowler in the country. She has not lost her edge. Mailsport: Was there a possibility that Malaysia could have made a clean sweep or flopped completely during the Games? Allen: No, I do not believe we could have made a clean sweep especially with the presence of the Australian women who were in awesome form. But we could have got in trouble if we had not had a good start on the first day when we won the women's doubles silver and men's doubles gold medal. We may have even succumbed under the pressure. But talking about pressure, I must say that the players handled it very well and showed teremendous character. It was indeed a big story because they became role models. They showed how to make use of home crowd support to their advantage. Mailsport: The preparations for the Games were thorough, but were you worried that you might have overlooked something? Allen: My job is to worry and if I did not I would not have been doing my job. Our preparations were thorough. I was more worried when everything was going on smoothly because it is during these times that one will not see any signs if things were going wrong. But I am glad that everything went on smoothly without any hitches. Mailsport: With all the money spent, preparations made and expectations riding high, what was your greatest fear? Allen: My greatest fear was if the players could handle the pressure. But they handled it well and even made use of the crowd support to their advantage. Thy did not allow fear to get the better of them. Instead they went on and conquered it. Mailsport: If you were given an opportunity to prepare all over again for the Games, would you do it any differently? Allen: In terms of selection of players and preparation, I would not. But probably on the "Operation Cara" I would have handled it differently. It was certainly not an operation like the foreign media made it out to be to rattle Honeychurch or put fear in her that we have an hostile crowd here. We knew that Honeychurch could be rattled under pressure and all we asked was for the local crowd to come and support our bowlers. We certainly would not have condoned jeering and this certainly did not happen. Honeychurch was fearful that the crowd would be hostile and that probably affected her performance on the first day. But when she found out that she was not going to get any stick from the crowd, she settled down to bussiness. The best player won and that alone speaks for the fairness displayed here. Mailsport: Was there a turning point which saw the team rise to the occasion? Allen: The turning point was the Opening Ceremony. When we walked into the Stadium to the standing ovation, the atmosphere instantly gripped us. When we walked in we were made to realise that we were the stars. It was like music and we danced to a perfect tune of success. It spurred ud on to greater heights and when we walked out of the stadium there was relief on our faces. Mailsport: Where do you go from here? Allen: The quartet who bowled at the Games are a tired lot. But it is back to work because we have a lot more to do. We began training before the closing ceremony and that underlines our seriousness. Ben Heng and K.N. Lai are competing in Manila in the Brunswick Asian tournament of champions, while the rest are working for the World team Cup in Holland, in three weeks, the Bowling World Cup in Kobe in November and, finally, the Bangkok Asian Games in December. It is going to be work and more work. Only in January or February when all is done, will we have time for celebration. Mailsport: How long more are you going to be in Malaysia and what is your ultimate target for bowling in Malaysia? Allen: I will be around until the end of next year, until after the World championships. In the meantime, I intend to set up a structure good for Malaysian bowling for the next 15 years. We have progressed by leaps and bounds since we started work eight years ago. We now have younger bowlers coming up. The men`s team is getting younger. Besides Kenny, the rest are all youngsters. The men have progrssed tremendously to catch up with the women bowlers. It is now important for us to work towards more consistent performances. I would like to see development in the technical aspect of the game and the presence of people like Bill Hall, the ball specialist who was here for the Games, will definitely be a boost. I will also be updating the development programme and manuals as we have made headway n the last eight years. We are moving up the ladder and we need to continue to be more professional in our approach in order to improve. It will be another three years before the present batch of players peak. (END)

Allen paves the way to success (The Malay Mail)

BOWLING sparked off the gold hunt for Malaysia, through Kenny Ang and Ben Heng, in the just concluded Commonweath Games. Kenny also won the singles gold while Shalin Zulkifli and Lai Kin Ngoh provided a doubles silver with a bronze coming from Kin Ngoh in the singles. Coach Sid Allen, in a question and answer session with Mailsport tells how it all happened. The fears, the moments of ecstasy and what is in store for the future. Mailsport: Congratulations on the team's performance at the Commonwealth Games. You must be relieved that bowling met their target: Allen: After the success of the whole contingent, we would have definitely been disappointed if we had not done as well as we did. It was indeed a relief on the first day of competition, when we won the gold through Kenny and Ben. That took off a great deal of pressure from the team. We had kept the pressure off by just saying that we would be going for two medals without naming the colours. But MTBC, NSC and the Sports Ministry, knew we were looking at gold. We have to thank NSC and the Sports Ministry for nor pressuring us with open announcements. We also have the media to thank for keeping our targets under wraps. And we are happy we kept our part of the bargain and delivered the goods. Mailsport: Are you satisfised with what was achieved or do you feel we could have done better? Allen: I am very satisfied. We could not have done better. In the men's section we dominated with gold medals in the singles and doubles. In the women`s section, Australia's Cara Honeychurch and Maxine Nable were the better players in the tournament and they dominated. And with K.N. Lai picking up the bronze in the singles and Shalin and Lai winning the silver in the doubles, we could not have done better. But I am a little disappointed with the mixed doubles. The gold and silver medal in the men and women's doubles respectively got the better of the players. The attention we got and the euphoria somewhat drained the bowlers. We could have done better othrwise. Mailsport: The selection of the bowlers for the Commonwealth Games must have been a difficult one especially when you could only name two in each category. Did you at anytime doubt your choice? Allen: I did, because we have so many players who were capable of playing at the Games and achieve what we did. Anyone of the players from Y.H. Ng, Alex Liew and Sharon Low could have done well. We have three players who are world champions - Daniel Lim and Sharon, both World Games champions, and Alex Liew who was the World Youth championship gold medallist. The fact that they were not used only shows our depth. I am glad that everything worked well for us. Mailsport: Did Shalin crumble under pressure or did she suffer a burn- out? Allen: Definitely not, I should know. She gave her best and was all the time in control of herself. She was highly competitive and motivated to do well, but things just did not go her way. Besides, with Honeychurch and Maxine playing at their best, there was no way Shalin could have beaten them. Shalin's selection to represent Malaysia at the World Cup in Kobe in November, underlines the fact that she is still the No 1 bowler in the country. She has not lost her edge. Mailsport: Was there a possibility that Malaysia could have made a clean sweep or flopped completely during the Games? Allen: No, I do not believe we could have made a clean sweep especially with the presence of the Australian women who were in awesome form. But we could have got in trouble if we had not had a good start on the first day when we won the women's doubles silver and men's doubles gold medal. We may have even succumbed under the pressure. But talking about pressure, I must say that the players handled it very well and showed teremendous character. It was indeed a big story because they became role models. They showed how to make use of home crowd support to their advantage. Mailsport: The preparations for the Games were thorough, but were you worried that you might have overlooked something? Allen: My job is to worry and if I did not I would not have been doing my job. Our preparations were thorough. I was more worried when everything was going on smoothly because it is during these times that one will not see any signs if things were going wrong. But I am glad that everything went on smoothly without any hitches. Mailsport: With all the money spent, preparations made and expectations riding high, what was your greatest fear? Allen: My greatest fear was if the players could handle the pressure. But they handled it well and even made use of the crowd support to their advantage. Thy did not allow fear to get the better of them. Instead they went on and conquered it. Mailsport: If you were given an opportunity to prepare all over again for the Games, would you do it any differently? Allen: In terms of selection of players and preparation, I would not. But probably on the "Operation Cara" I would have handled it differently. It was certainly not an operation like the foreign media made it out to be to rattle Honeychurch or put fear in her that we have an hostile crowd here. We knew that Honeychurch could be rattled under pressure and all we asked was for the local crowd to come and support our bowlers. We certainly would not have condoned jeering and this certainly did not happen. Honeychurch was fearful that the crowd would be hostile and that probably affected her performance on the first day. But when she found out that she was not going to get any stick from the crowd, she settled down to bussiness. The best player won and that alone speaks for the fairness displayed here. Mailsport: Was there a turning point which saw the team rise to the occasion? Allen: The turning point was the Opening Ceremony. When we walked into the Stadium to the standing ovation, the atmosphere instantly gripped us. When we walked in we were made to realise that we were the stars. It was like music and we danced to a perfect tune of success. It spurred ud on to greater heights and when we walked out of the stadium there was relief on our faces. Mailsport: Where do you go from here? Allen: The quartet who bowled at the Games are a tired lot. But it is back to work because we have a lot more to do. We began training before the closing ceremony and that underlines our seriousness. Ben Heng and K.N. Lai are competing in Manila in the Brunswick Asian tournament of champions, while the rest are working for the World team Cup in Holland, in three weeks, the Bowling World Cup in Kobe in November and, finally, the Bangkok Asian Games in December. It is going to be work and more work. Only in January or February when all is done, will we have time for celebration. Mailsport: How long more are you going to be in Malaysia and what is your ultimate target for bowling in Malaysia? Allen: I will be around until the end of next year, until after the World championships. In the meantime, I intend to set up a structure good for Malaysian bowling for the next 15 years. We have progressed by leaps and bounds since we started work eight years ago. We now have younger bowlers coming up. The men`s team is getting younger. Besides Kenny, the rest are all youngsters. The men have progrssed tremendously to catch up with the women bowlers. It is now important for us to work towards more consistent performances. I would like to see development in the technical aspect of the game and the presence of people like Bill Hall, the ball specialist who was here for the Games, will definitely be a boost. I will also be updating the development programme and manuals as we have made headway n the last eight years. We are moving up the ladder and we need to continue to be more professional in our approach in order to improve. It will be another three years before the present batch of players peak. (END)

Prime act! (The Malay Mail)

THE Prime Minister of Malaysia came a calling. So did Prince Edward of
England. It was indeed a very special occasion that necessitated a piece
of history at the Pyramid Bowl yesterday.
 Kenny Ang and Ben Heng responded magnificently by delivering Malaysia's
first gold of the 16th Commonwealth Games at 5.58pm to add to the women's
doubles silver Shalin Zuikifli and Lai Kin Ngoh had landed in the morning.
 Though they did not start off as the favourites, the Malaysian pair gave
Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the country much to cheer about at the
end of the men's doubles.
 Dr Mahathir had surprised the packed crowd at the Pyramid when he
dropped by during the fifth block to add to the atmosphere. Fixated by the
action, he left his VIP seat at the sixth block to sit among the
spectators directly behind Kenny and Beng.
 And the duo certainly felt his presence, firing on to lead the pack as
they done from the very first block.
 Ben said: "I was shocked to see the Prime Minister and when he moved to
sit behind us, I knew we couldn't let him down.
 "He certainly got me going and when we shook hands before he left, he
brought me more luck as I went on to score a 232 in the next game."
 Kenny said: "I must admit that I was under more pressure when the PM sat
behind us. But it also brought out the best in me as I didn't want to
disappoint him."
 The fans at the alley were also surprised by the PM's presence and they
gave him a standing ovation when he left after the sixth block to attend
the rugby tournament.
 Earlier, Prince Edward, the president of the Commonwealth Games
Federation, was also a witness on the opening day of the bowling
competition.
 The Malaysian pair rolled a total of 3,552 pinfalls to beat Bermuda's
Antoine Jones and Condrad Lister by 223 pinfalls into second place.
Australians Michael Muir and Francis Ryan finished third with 3,229.
 Ten minutes after Malaysia were awarded the gold, Datuk Dr P.S. Nathan,
the president of the Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress, got a call from Dr
M to convey his congratulations.
 Kenny, at 46 the oldest member of the team, and Ben, 24, had made his
day with their prime act.
                              (END)

Nerves of steel (The Malay Mail)

KL 98 Commonwealth Games

A STRONG character steered the Malaysian pair of Kenny Ang and Ben Heng to the men's doubles bowling gold at Pyramid Bowl yesterday. And Kenny could not have better described the pressure exerted on him and Ben to deliver the goods. Kenny said: "We might have acted cool and not displayed any signs of pressure but deep down, we were under tremendous stress. "I would be lying if I said I was not nervous. "And when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad came calling in the midst of our games, I had butterflies n my stomach. "We had to deliver at all costs with the Prime Minister in the audience. "And I'm glad that we managed to keep our cool and deliver," said Kenny, 45, a former Asian Bowler of the Year. Kenny was under such immense pressure that he became reserved and sullen two days ago, resul-ting in him causing great worry for national coach Sid Allen. "I was concerned because I could see the pressure getting to Kenny," said Allen. "But he went out there and it was his character and determination to do well that saw him going. "And I am very happy for Kenny because I know he has made big sacrifices to be in the game. "When I first met him six years ago, he was playing about 20 games as part of his daily training and which he paid out of his own pocket. He also spent thousands of ringgit on balls. "He has made many sacrifices and he fully deserves what he has achieved today." Ben, the more composed of the duo, also said he was jittery at the beginning. "I wanted to do honours for the country and had trained very hard to make the squad for the Com-monwealth Games," said Ben, 24, who hails from Johor. "But when the moment of truth came, I was nervous. But it was a great help that our first block saw us amassing 503 pinfalls. "That just boosted our confidence. "I have to thank Kenny for his guidance and his coolness. He was constantly a source of inspiration to me. "And when he threw a 158 game in the third block and bounced back with 237 in the next, he just got me going because not everyone could do that. "He showed steely courage and his experience was certainly a big factor." Allen said he was not so much concerned about the pressure getting to Ben because the latter was one guy who just gets going and enjoys every moment - be it a good strike or a poor throw. "His coolness is simply superb. But then again, when the whole nation is banking on you to deliver, there are no doubts about the pressure and Ben handled it magnificently." WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT OUR VICTORY KENNY ANG: This is not my victory. It was a team effort. From my partner Ben Heng, the coaches, the fans and officials. It belongs to the nation. A big thank you to all of you for making this moment. BEN HENG: We just got going today (yesterday) and everything fell into place. Shalin and K.N. Lai set the pace in the morning with the silver and we just wanted to carry on with the good run and hit it right. It is indeed a moment that I will remember for a long, long time. SID ALLEN (coach): Kenny and Ben have proven that the men's bowlers have arrived too. It was a very difficult game out there and they showed tremendous character to rise to the occasion. They have put tremendous work into these Games and they fully deserved what they have achieved. JIM PORTER (coach): There were three factors for Malaysia's victory today. A great coach in Sid Allen, tremendous fan support and great publicity from the media. That is three strikes in a row for you. BILL HALL (ball specialist): This is the first time I am involved in a team event in amateur bowling and I have never experienced such an event today in my 20 years of pro bowling. It was a tremendous effort by the bowlers and it is a moment which will register in me forever. DATUK P.S. NATHAN (MTBC president): This is a team victory. From the bowlers, the coaches, the fans, the MTBC officials, National Sports Council, the Sports Ministry, the Government, our sponsors Land & General and everybody who has been associated with the sport. SIDNEY TUNG (MTBC secretary-general): This is certainly not an overnight success or fluke. It was sheer hardwork, good planning, good support from all quarters, the dedicated coaches and bowlers and the will to seek glory at the highest level. And there is still more to come. (END)

MM back in the hunt (The Malay Mail)

KUALA LUMPUR MALAY MAIL bounced back in the running for a semifinal berth
in the FAM Cup after snapping Kedah PKNK's three-match unbeaten record
with a 2-1 win in Alor Star last Monday.
 And with Negri Sembilan BSN's shock 4-2 defeat by Kelantan JKR at home,
Group B has  been thrown wide open in the tussle for a semifinal berth.
 Coupled with a pending decision by the FA of Malaysia competitions
committee on PKNK fielding a player who had turned out for Police this
season in the M-League's Premier Two competition, further changes are on
the cards.
 Competition rules state that players can only turn out for one team at
national level in a season.
 PKNK were said to have fielded the said player in the opening match
against Malay Mail and the FA of Malaysia are expected to announce their
decision on the matter soon.
 In that match, PKNK held Malay Mail to a 0-0 draw at the KLFA Stadium.
 For Malay Mail, their saviour last Monday was last season's KL M-League
midfielder S. Saravanan who scored both goals in the first half.
 Saravanan certainly lifted the spirits of his teammates because they had
problems finding the net in their last three matches.
 On the other hand, BSN - who were supposed to have been the main
contenders for a semifinal berth - seem to have suddenly lost steam.
 Even coach Param Sivam could not explain his team's sudden drop in form.
 Their loss to Kelantan JKR was their second straight defeat after having
earlier been beaten by Kedah PKNK.
 While BSN's drop in form is a surprise, Kelantan JKR have emerged as
surprise contenders for a semifinal spot from Group B.
 In Group A, Malacca Telekom suffered a shock defeat at the hands of
Kelantan TNB, losing 2-1 in Kota Baru. However,  this is not expected to
affect their chances for a semifinal berth as they have already collected
nine points from three consecutive wins.
 Issac Kuffor, Telekom's ace striker from Ghana, continued his scoring
ways when he netted a goal to bring his personal tally to 18 goals in 17
matches.
 The win has boosted TNB's confidence to secure a semifinal berth.
 But they will face a tough challenge from Terengganu Perkasa Alam, who
are also going great guns with just a loss to Telekom.
 Sabah's Gunosukod Pangaits, in a turnaround performance from their good
run in the first round, have yet to win any of their last four matches.
 Their problem started with the explusion of their three foreign players
and the team have never been the same since.
 The fight for a semifinal berth from this group is definitely among
Telekom, Perkasa Alam and TNB.
 The competition takes a break for the Commonwealth Games and will resume
on Oct 5.

RESULTS
GROUP A
Kelantan TNB  2  M'cca Telekom  2
T'ggu P Alam  3  Sabah G'kod    0
GROUP B
Kedah PKNK    1  KL Malay Mail  2
NS BSN        2 Kelantan JKR    4
                           (END)