Top Hong Kong bowler Ken Chan began his assault to the 2013 World Cup brightly, winning both games on the opening day, while teammate Tammy Tham faces an uphill battle after she suffered two consecutive losses.
Ken Chan playing strong
Chan defeated Neil Furman from the USA 1.5-0.5 (7:7, 11:5) in the first game on Tuesday April 9 and went on to beat Jan Reinders from Netherlands 2-0 (14:4, 10:7) in a relatively easy game.
After the two games, Chan is ranked fourth in the group, which also includes the defending champion Jeremy Henry—who, predictably, won the first two games and topped the table.
Chan, a 27-year-old media executive at an advertising agency, claims that his encouraging performance is due to the mental readiness for the challenges of bringing home the prized silverware.
“Since winning both the National Singles and the National Indoor Singles this year, I have tried new approaches in my game and after the repeated experiments, I think I am better equipped for the World Cup now,” said Chan before leaving Hong Kong.
His experiments, including a more aggressive playing style to find every opportunity to attack, did not fare well in the National Champion of Champions Singles when he was knocked out in the group stage.
“The lesson I learned from it is that drawing is still a key part of my game. I need to focus more on it before trying those aggressive shots. Taking every chance to attack is not necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes I really should look at the overall situation before making such decision,” he said.
Chan was drawn to a tough group that includes defending champion Jeremy Henry from Australia and 2011 runners-up Graeme Archer from Scotland.
“Who the opponent is does not bother me, the key is that I have the confidence. Now I have only myself to beat.”
Tammy Tham needs to rebound
For Tham it was a bit unfortunate to lose in a roller-coaster first game against Christine Grimes from Jersey.
Tham won the first set comfortably at 17:0, but lost the second set 9:6. She went on to lose the tie-breaker 3:0 and gifted the game to her opponent.
In her second game, the defending champion Alison Merrien from Guernsey is just too strong for Tham to handle and she lost in straight sets 9:8, 14:5.
Tham’s already difficult passage has been worsened now with more tough opponents to come in her group.
After losing to the defending champion, Tham will take on World No. 2 Karen Murphy from Australia in a later stage on April 13.
Murphy will have a home green advantage and a strong will to win—last year Merrien defeated Murphy in the Semi-finals before going on to deny World No. 1 Jo Edwards (New Zealand) a fourth straight cup in the Final.
Looking at any edge to improve her game, Tham re-vamped her training program to dedicate more effort towards her fitness over the last year.
“Since losing in the 2011 National Indoor Singles, I have had a look at my weaknesses and found that a lack of stamina had been hindering my performance,” said Tham before departing for Australia.
“The physical fitness I gained from additional training makes me more confident and helps me to stay focussed during the course of the game.”
The fitness program almost paid off big at the World Championship in December, when Tham just missed the play-offs by two shots in the singles competition. She is expecting better results this time.
Despite the first day’s disappointing results, Tham has the skill to rebound as the group stage progresses.
Chan and Tham’s pathway
Chan and Tham, who secured their passage to the 2013 World Cup event courtesy of their respective Hong Kong Indoor Championship victories, are among the bowlers from 25 of the world’s best bowling nations competing at the Warilla Bowls and Recreation Club in NSW, Australia. The event runs from April 9 to 17.
Back in 2005, local bowler Grace Chu won the inaugural event on home green at the Hong Kong Football Club, while Terrence Lee also finished as runners-up in the men’s competition. Since then the best result for Hong Kong was achieved by Tham in 2011, when she lost to Alison Merrien of Guernsey in the play-offs.
The round-robin phase of the current tournament started Tuesday, with the sectional rounds continuing until Sunday April 14 and finals held on April 17.
Follow the games by visiting www.worldbowlsltd.co.uk
Claudius Lam is an Officer with the Hong Kong Lawn Bowls Association.
