‘Intimidating’ Gaze From Opponent Motivates Li Jane

SEPANG, Jan 16 (Bernama) — After being named Best Player of the Year in the United States Professional Women’s Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour last year, national bowler Sin Li Jane views the ‘intimidating’ gaze from her opponents as a positive sign to motivate her in continuing to thrive in the challenging sport of bowling.

Li Jane, 33, who will be competing in the Europe Tour full season for the second time this year expressed her desire to explore more opportunities and push herself further in the sport.

“When I played in the recent World Cup, I could feel that they panicked when they saw me. While we are competitors, we’re also friends, so in a way, it’s a good thing because it brings fierceness to the competition.

“After this, there are many more tournaments and I’ll be doing the Europe tour again. For me, winning or losing isn’t something I can control because in every competition, there’s always a winner and a loser and only one champion. Personally, I just want to deliver a good performance,” she said when met at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) yesterday.

When asked how she felt about helping the women’s team upgrade their medal from bronze to silver at the 2025 World Cup, she said it was one of the most competitive tournaments she had experienced with all players fighting until the very last ball.

“For me, even though it was a new venue, the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong didn’t feel unfamiliar because I’m already used to playing on different lanes.

“This year, in November, there will be the World Championships at the same venue, but the oiling pattern hasn’t been announced yet. It will likely be released about a month before the event,” she said.

On Tuesday (Jan 14), the women’s squad led by Asia's number one Li Jane alongside Natasha Mohamed Roslan, Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman and Gillian Lim lost 195-214, 222-211, 176-198, 220-210, 180-211 to the United States in the final of International Bowling Federation (IBF) World Cup. 

In the previous edition in 2022, the women’s team secured a bronze medal after overcoming the United States 3-2 in the medal playoff.

In 2022, the tournament's structure was revamped to highlight match play and introduce team competitions, shifting away from its original individual-only format that had been in place since 1965.

— BERNAMA