Singapore are the top World Cup bowling team
Bowlers Goh and Ng help Republic claim top team honours at World Cup
They may not have won their respective categories, but bowlers Muhammad Jaris Goh and Geraldine Ng made history at the QubicaAMF World Cup in Las Vegas yesterday morning (Singapore time).
The Republic was named the top nation in the prestigious tournament for the first time, after Goh, 20, finished third in the men's competition while Ng, 29, was fourth in the women's category.
Singapore were among only three nations — the other two were Malaysia and Russia — with a representative in both categories going into the final rounds yesterday.
Speaking to The New Paper over the phone yesterday morning, Goh said: "I am still in shock. I came here hoping for a top-24 finish, especially since I was placed in the 30s in the same competition last year.
"During the round-robin stage, I could see the rankings after each game, but I blocked out that distraction and tried to focus on my own score and Geraldine's, because we really want the team title."
Goh was sixth going into the round-robin stages yesterday morning, where the top eight bowlers faced each other in match-play style, with the winner of each match getting 30 extra pinfalls.
The Singaporean won five of eight games and posted 266 and 269 in consecutive games to propel himself to the top three and into the step-ladder finals.
PHOTO: QUBICAAMFHe lost to Hong Kong's second seed Wu Siu Hong 198-173, 223-194 in the best-of-three semi-finals to finish third.
Wu went on to beat top seed Francois Louw of South Africa 233-219, 223-180 in the final to win the competition.
In the women's competition, Ng was also sixth at the start of the round-robin stage yesterday morning, and won half of her eight games in that round to finish joint-fourth with Mexico's Sandra Gongora.
WINNER
Top seed Clara Juliana Guerrero continued her dominance in the competition, beating American Shannon Pluhowsky 202-177, 243-238 in the final to take home the women's title.
Ng said: "At the start of the day, I knew that I'm pretty far from the cut for the top three.
"I was almost 200 pinfalls away, but it wasn't impossible to qualify and I had to give my best shot.
"My game against the Malaysian (Siti Safiyah Amirah) was memorable, not because I beat her, but because I bowled a 277.
"Then I told myself I just had to maintain my form to have a chance to make the top three.
"But, yes, I am pretty happy with my result today."
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now