By Tony Mariadass
UP -AND-COMING Gillian Lim hails from
a fortunate breed of bowlers whose fathers were former national bowlers and
then continued their affair with the sport as coaches.
Gillian's father Tony Lim Lee
Choong was a former Singapore national bowler and then coached in Malaysia
and Brunei.
Of course the most famous
father-daughter combination is national coach Holloway Cheah and daughter
Esther, who represents.
Gillian, 21, who is from Miri,
Sarawak, started training under her dad's supervision when she was just eight.
And after some impressive showings on
the bowling circuit starting from youth level, Gillian had been earmarked as
one of country's top talents in the sport with a future that was going to
set the lanes on fire, and with good reason too, having won two gold medals
- the
girls’ Masters and doubles with Nur Syazwani Sahar - at last year's Asian Youth
Championships in Kuching.
Gillian, had her first taste of the
sport at the Star Bowl (now known as Megalanes East) in Miri and started to
compete in the Malaysian Schools Sports Council (MMSM) bowling championship as
a 10- year-old in 2009 and represented her home state till 2015.
In 2016, Gillian made her Malaysia
Games debut in Sarawak where she won one gold (team) and silver (masters). It
was the year when fellow Sarawakian Nerosha Keligit Thiagarajan made history by
winning six gold medals.
A student from SMK St Joseph, Gillian
took on star status when she clinched three gold medals - singles, doubles and
team - in her debut appearance at the Asian Schools championship in 2017 in
Kuching.
At the
2018 Malaysia Games in Perak, Gillian repeated her three-gold feat by winning
the doubles, mixed doubles and team event – and grabbed a silver in the singles
for good measure.
Elder
brother, Ervin, was also making waves about the same time when he who won four
gold medals at the 2016 Malaysia Games to help Sarawak emerge as a bowling
powerhouse.
Yes,
Ervin was also a bowler with a bright future in the sport and after his
impressive showing in the 2016 Perak Malaysia Games, was selected for the
national youth team, but not one who was attracted by the bright city lights of
Kuala Lumpur, Ervin decided to remain in Miri where he could concentrate on his
studies.
Ervin,
nonetheless, managed to split his time between studies and bowling and went on
to win the inaugural Brunei International bowling championship in 2012
representing Sarawak and also topped the Sports Excel National Junior Circuit
Grand Prix finals in 2015.
His decision to concentrate on his
studies paid off when he obtained a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering and he is
now in his final year for a degree at Swinburne College in Kuching.
Gillian
also has an older step-brother, Lenny, who represented Singapore for two years
(2002/03) and competed in the Asian Youth Bowling championship in 2002, the
Philippines Open and World Championship in Kuala Lumpur in 2003.
Father,
Tony, a former air steward, represented Singapore in the US Masters in Reno in
1977 where he was also attached with Brunswick during which time he learnt
about ball fitting and drilling. He was coached by the renowned Carmen Salvino,
a Bowling Hall of Fame inductee.
Besides winning the World Airlines
Championship in Stockholm, Sweden where he represented his employers Singapore
Airlines in 1978 and winning the Penang Open, Tony also won the Philippines
Open in 1979 and represented Singapore at the World Championship that same
year.
Many may not be aware, but Tony was
the MTBC Director of Coaching from 2008 to 2010 and also coached in Sarawak and
Brunei.
For the last 10 years, Tony has been
managing a recreational complex in Brunei and continues to coach privately.
"I
am so proud that bowling, which has been a big part of my life, has rubbed off
onto my children who have done well. Gillian could well be the star of the
family,” said Tony in a telephone interview from Brunei where one could detect
a sense of pride in his voice.
“Gillian
is talented and very passionate about bowling. I hope to see her become the
third member off the family to compete in World Championship, after Lenny and
me. While we did not win a medal at the World Championship, we hope Gillian
will. It will be a proud moment for us.”
Tony
admits that one of his proudest moments to date was when his wife Angeline Wee
and himself watched
Ervin and Gillian in action during the Grand Finals of the Masters event in the
Sukma 2016, Sarawak. "It was a big thrill for my wife and me," he
said.
After a lull in competition, Gillain
was looking forward her next big tournament, the World Youth Championship
(WYC), scheduled to be held in Lima, Peru on Sept 2-7, but sadly it was called
off due to the present Covid-19 pandemic.
The
World Tenpin Bowling Congress (WTBC) has proposed that the tournament (WYC) be
held alongside the World Junior Championships (WJC) as a combined competition
in Helsingborg, Sweden, from June 26 to July 4 next year, but Gillian will be
overaged by the time of the tournament next year.
The WYC
is an Under-21 tournament while the WJC, which was inaugurated only last year,
is for players under the age of 18.
However,
Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC) have written to WTBC and appealed if
the tournament next year could still use the age limit for the 2020 tournament.
The MTBC are awaiting a reply.
Holloway
said that Gillian and Tun Ameerul Hakim Tun Hasnul Azam, who both will be 22
next year, were strong contenders for medals at the WYC and it will be shame if
they have to give the championship a miss.
At the
last WYC in 2018, Gillian together with Nur Syazwani Sahar, Nur
Ameerahusna Azne and Nur Amirah Auni Azman took the bronze medal in Detroit,
United States. Nur Syazwani had earlier won the All Events gold.
Nur
Syazwani and Shahrukh Amin Zulkifli, who took silver in the boys’ Masters
event at the last championship, will still be eligible to compete next year.
"I
hope I can compete in the WYC but this will depend on whether or not the world
body gives a positive answer and allow those who were supposed to compete this
year to compete next year. After all it was not our fault that the WYC was
called off,” said Gillian by phone from Miri.
“It will be sad if I cannot compete.
I will take it in stride and continue working hard to move to the next level,”
added Gillian who was promoted from youth to back-up squad which is also
referred to as the Sea Games 2021 squad.
“That is
Gillian. A fighter just like her father Tony who was known for his fighting
qualities and never give up attitude during his playing days,” said Holloway.
Ends.
No comments:
Post a Comment