IN what will be his final Asian Games outing, national coach Holloway Cheah has one goal to achieve in Incheon.
The 72-year-old wants his well-prepared 12-member team to dethrone world champions South Korea, something he failed to achieve with his previous squads in 2002 (Busan), 2006 (Doha) and 2010 (Guangzhou).
In Doha, Korea finished champions with a haul of 4-4-3 compared to Malaysia’s 3-3-0.
The Koreans were a class above in Guangzhou with 8-5-2 while Malaysia maintained second position (2-1-1).
But this time, Holloway believes his bowlers are not only mentally and physically prepared but have also mastered the art of reading the short and long oiling patterns effectively, thanks to lane specialist John Forst.
“It will be my last Asian Games as I will be too old for the next one. I hope my bowlers will display something special in Incheon,” said Holloway recently.
“I want them to beat the Koreans in their own backyard. It will be the happiest day of my life if we achieve it.
“Our bowlers have responded well on the tournament’s oiling patterns but of course, it will be slightly different at the Asian Games.”
Guangzhou Asian Games double gold medallist Alex Liew leads the men’s squad, also comprising former Ankara Open champion Adrian Ang, Zulmazran Zulkifli, Syafiq Ridhwan Malek, Timmy Tan and Rafiq Ismail.
It will be Alex’s fifth consecutive Asian Games after his debut in Bangkok in 1998 while it will be a third each for Adrian and Zulmazran, and second for former AMF World Cup winner Syafiq Ridhwan.
Four-time Asian Games gold medallist Shalin Zulkifli with two-time world champion Esther Cheah, Sin Li Jane, Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman, Syaidatul Afifah Badrul Hamidi and Hee Kar Yen make up the six-member women’s squad.
Team manager Cheah Ban Cheng said Malaysia’s best chance of gold medals will be in the singles and doubles events.
“Bowlers who adjust the quickest will finish on the podium in the opening events.
“We are optimistic our bowlers will do so as they now have a better understanding of the oiling breakdowns on the lanes thanks to Forst,” said Ban Cheng.
However, Ban Cheng admitted that some bowlers are feeling the pressure ahead of the event.
“Some needed extra sessions with the team psychologist. However, everything is fine now and all are ready to create history,” Ban Cheng added.
Rafiq, Adrian and Li Jane are among those expected to make an impression in the opening men’s and women’s singles on Tuesday.
For the record, Korea have dominated bowling in the Asian Games since 2002 in Busan while Malaysia’s worst outing in recent times was failing to win a title in 1998 in Bangkok.
The bowlers left for Incheon yesterday.