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The new Bowler of the Year … Wong Chun Yat became the new Bowler of the Year after clinching his second National titles in two months, winning the National Fours with his Kowloon Bowling Green Club teammates at the last Finals Day of the year. (Mike Worth)
The training camp organised for a number of local elite junior bowlers over the Chinese New Year period brought instant results when Simpson Cheung and Anthony Yip teamed up to win the first ever National title for the Hong Kong Youth Team on Sunday March 3.
Cheung and Yip defeated Chung Kin Wah and Alfred Ng from Golden Bauhinia Lawn Bowls Club in the Final of the National 2-4-2 Pairs held at the Indian Recreation Club.
Both players attribute their success to the intensive training received in Malaysia two weeks ago. In fact, after returning from the camp, the duo won the last four rounds of the National 2-4-2, including the Final on Sunday.
“Through the training I learned how to look at a situation differently and this is very important during a game,” said Yip. “When you can look at something from a new angle, other options that you may never think of will emerge.”
The training also strengthened them mentally.
“I become calmer during the game and this not just allows me to better control the rhythm, I also have more confident on my last bowl,” explained Yip.
Youngster Anthony Yip (right) and Simpson Cheung use the techniques learned from the Malaysian training camp during Chinese New Year to perfect their performance during the final of the National 2-4-2 Pairs. They become the first youth team members to win a national title. (Mike Worth)
The youngsters started the Final well, winning three shots in the first end. Despite their opponent’s crawl back to draw level at 6:6 on the sixth end, this point proved to be the closest they could get. From the seventh end onward, the Youth team completely dominated the game and won with a comfortable 17:13.
Cheung also agreed that an improved mental strength is the main component that he took away from the Malaysian training camp.
“With a stronger mentality, my stability improved and this made me more confident in my delivery. This is only one of the edifications I got from the camp and I expect more improvement in the future,” said Cheung.
Men’s National Fours
Another young(ish) bowler, Wong Chun Yat, also closed out the year on a high. He won his second title of the season and earned enough points to become the Bowler of the Year.
Wong, a 30-year-old interior designer, teamed up with his Kowloon Bowling Green Club mates and Hong Kong internationals Raymond Ho, Heron
Lau and Lee Ka Ho to win the National Fours on the Finals Day. They defeated the Police team 24:11 in a pretty one-sided game.
Skipper Lee praised Wong as the best performed player during the game.
“He is very stable and displayed good drawing throughout the match,” said Lee. “I am really happy for his performance in the year.”
Wong is obviously delighted at his achievement in the year.
“It is amazing,” enthused Wong. “You go eight years without any major trophy and then it is two in two months.
“I am very happy about what has happened so far.”
He attributes his success to a stronger will to win.
“It seems like I just woke up and decided to have a go to the top level.
“With this in mind, I am more focussed in my game, which also resulted in an improved stability in my delivery. I want to perform in every bowl I deliver and such focus made me keep my form for a long period of time.”
He specifically wants to express his appreciation to Lee Ka Ho because he has been helping him a lot to develop his game.
The points earned also allow Wong to join his teammates in the Hong Kong representative team in the coming season.
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