Melaka International Bowling Centre open and looking forward to the Bowling World Cup
Release date: 9/3/2009
The fabulous Melaka International Bowling Centre was officially opened for business last month by the Chief Minister of Melaka, Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Mohd Rustam, and now all involved are looking forward to welcoming bowlers from around the world in mid-November for the 45th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup.
George Heng, the Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress vice-president, presented the centre with a certificate to recognise that, with 52 lanes, it is the largest centre in Malaysia.
The lanes are in two sets of 26 with a roomy concourse between them. It is an ultra-modern, two-storey building with space allocated to kiosks on the ground floor. It is also designed to be friendly to wheelchair users with facilities including a special lane for wheelchairs on the staircase. The first floor boasts restaurants, a media-cum-conference room and ball storage.
As for the tournament, 90 countries have now indicated that they will be sending representatives.
Despite their outstanding international record over the years, no Malaysian bowler has ever won the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup. Could this change this year? The big news for the host country is that Zulmazran Zulkifli, a semi finalist last year in Hermosillo, Mexico, who also hit a perfect game there, will be participating again.
He also took part in 2002 in Riga, Latvia where he finished 10th, and he will surely rank among one of the favourites to carry off the title. He will be joined by Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman in the women’s section. Siti won the Women’s World Ranking Masters title this year and is the current Malaysian national champion. She was only 15 when she played in the Bowling World Cup for the first time, in 2006, in Caracas, Venezuela, finishing 10th.
She will be up against our semi-finalist from last year, England’s Zara Glover, a former world champion, and Tina Hulsch of Germany who came third in 2007 in St. Petersburg, Russia and made the top 24 last year. They will all be looking out for Scotland’s Laura Rhoney, who will be making her 8th appearance in the event and who finished 4th in 2006, when her perfect game won her the high game of the tournament trophy.
But one of the stars they will all want to see will be the USA’s participant, Walter Ray Williams Jr, a pro bowler with an immense pedigree. With a record 45 PBA titles to his name, he has been inducted into both the USBC and the PBA Hall of Fame. He has been the PBA Bowler of the Year six times. He will be joined by Tenelle Milligan in the women’s section, who won three silvers and two bronzes in the 2007 Women’s FIQ World Championships.
The QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup is one of the most popular events in the calendar and many players come back time and time again. This year, we already know that we will be welcoming back several participants.
Marin Tranier from New Caledonia will be making his 12th appearance while Maurice Talane will be representing French Guiana for the 9th time. Apart from Laura. Northern Ireland’s Kevin Horton will also be with us for the 8th time. Also present, for the 7th time, will be Shant Panos Tomassian of Iraq and Bashar Kalaji from Syria, Bashar won the ‘Sportsman of the Tournament’ award in 2001 when the event was held in Pattaya, Thailand.
The qualifying rounds for this year’s event start on 16th November with the finals on 19th. It is expected that the finals will be live on Malaysian television.
The Bowling World Cup was held in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, in 1987 when the winners were Remo Fornesari of Italy and Irene Gronert of the Netherlands. Remo is the oldest player ever to have won the Bowling World Cup: he was 51 when he triumphed in KL.