Hello everyone! Have visited this blog a couple of times, but always to read and not contribute. So thought I'd write some stuff too. With my “not-so-happening” lifestyle, I ain't got much to share with all of you, but I am gonna do a little write-up on my Asian Games experience. So here goes...

Well, as most of you know, the 15th Asian Games was held in Doha, Qatar. It is definitely one of the best experiences of my life, not just travelling to the Middle East, but to compete at such an elite level. Having been to Qatar before, I was quite familiar with the culture and environment of the country. What I wasn't aware of, was that it could get quite cold at that time of the year. Guess I wasn't a fantastic Geog student.


It was a 16-day trip for the bowling team, and we arrived in Doha just one day before the opening ceremony. Everything was well organized, and we were swiftly and smoothly escorted to the Games Village. The Games Village houses the entire sporting contingent of all the countries participating at the Games. So you can easily imagine how huge the place is. And trusting the Arabs to do us a favour, the Singapore contingent was allocated the housing blocks furthest away from the Village entrance! This meant a 25-minute brisk walk in the chilly weather everyday!

The food at the Village wasn't exactly very appetizing, and having to take our meals there for 16 days was hell. I'm so surprised I didn't get diabetes or salt overdose while in Doha.



After settling down, we immediately set off for the bowling center to get our equipment registered for official practice. Dragging 7 bowling balls up and down everyday is no joke! Thankfully, we had physiotherapists from SSC with us in Doha, to attend to our stiff and aching backs after bowling. Being an oil-rich country, the Arabs were really generous. The lanes were flooded with oil! Never in my bowling career have I had to struggle with such lane conditions. Day 1 of the competition was uneventful, with all of us struggling on the long-oil pattern.

However, being famous for our abilities on the short-oil pattern, we got really fired-up on Day 2. Besides Val and Mich bagging the doubles gold, the entire team bowled really well during that event. Day 3 and 4 continued to be joyous for us, as Remy and co. brought home the silver for the Trios event.

But the highlight for the competition was the Team event. It is during the Team event that you see every athlete, regardless of country, fighting his heart out to bring glory to his country. The atmosphere was so intense. As usual, struggling on long-oil, the team slipped to 9th place after the 1st block, and we trailed the leading team by 300 pins! How ridiculous could we have bowled! Nevertheless, we fought back on the short-oil, and by the last game, we were in the hunt for a silver or bronze medal. It all went down to the last frame, when Remy had to double for the bronze. Unfortunately, he got the 1st strike, but only a 7-pin count on the second shot. It's impossible to describe how each of us felt at that point in time. We lost the medal by 3 pins! 3 pins! How suay can we get right. We were speechless, and just sat there crying our hearts out. It was really a heart-breaking moment for the team, having worked so hard to lose by a mere 3 pins.

Anyway, thinking back on the event, it really made me a more mature bowler. I've learnt to handle pressure situations better, and learnt to work together as a team with individuals totally different from myself. Also, it may look kinda cool on TV when we strike home to win the match. But in reality, it ain't that cool. It takes a lot of confidence and courage to step up to make the difference.

Not trying to preach, but from a team mate's point of view, I think we've got a real solid team bowling for NTU. The attitude and commitment is there from all of you. But if we really want to bowl well and win, we need to step forward and accept criticism and remarks on our game, to bring it to the next level. Team isn't about any individual, it's about everyone working together. So, having said so much, enjoy each and every training session, and try to come back from training having accomplished self-set targets. That's one way to improve. Anyway, for those who haven't fallen asleep reading this, thanks for taking the time to read, and see you all real soon at NUS open!



p.s if you all are interested in checking out more of my Asiad pics, feel free to do so at www.lionelim.multiply.com

Labels: Lionel

NTUBowlingTeam at 12:08 AM :: |

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Friday, February 9, 2007