Fab Five

By Cheong Wei Ming in Jakarta & Jeannette Xavier in Singapore

The Famous Five became the Fab Five on Friday (Nov 18), winning SEA Games gold in the team event for bowling after several misses earlier this week in Jakarta.

Narrow Losses

For Jazreel Tan, Shayna Ng, Cherie Tan, New Hui Fen, Daphne Tan and Jasmine Yeong-Nathan, the win made up for the team’s narrow losses in the  doubles and trios events. It also marked Singapore’s first women's team title since the 1991 SEA Games in Manila.

Near Misses

Coming to Jakarta, the girls had form and reputation behind them, given their brilliant performances in several international meets earlier this year. They showed glimpses of their status as favourites following Cherie’s win in the singles event. That was, however, followed by the near misses. On Friday, however, the girls had enough of silver linings.

Most Talented

They won gold in style as they combined for a score of 6,322 pinfalls, well ahead of Indonesia (5,846) and Malaysia (5,788). Speaking of the team’s success, head coach William Woo said, “We showed the rest of the teams that we have the best team and we are the powerhouses of bowling in this region.” Jessie Phua, President of Singapore Bowling Federation, also had gushing praises for the girls. “For them to bounce back in this way showed their character. For me, this is the most talented group of women bowlers we have ever had,” she said.

Amazing Scores

The talents of the Singapore girls showed not only in the gold they won but also in their amazing scores even when compared to those of the guys. In the men’s team event, Malaysia (6,241) won the gold, ahead of the Philippines (6,032) and Indonesia (5,873).  The Singapore men’s team finished fourth with their score of 5,787.