KUALA LUMPUR: Bowler Nora Lyana Nastasia Norkamal was touted as a promising star in 2015, until a finger injury affected her progress.
The 20-year-old has now returned stronger and meaner, as she aims to make a lasting impression in the Asian Youth Championships which starts tomorrow at Coronado Lanes in Manila, the Philippines.
Nora Lyana first announced her arrival in a major tournament by clinching two gold (girls’ singles and masters) and two silver (doubles and team) medals in the 2015 edition in Macau.
The Kuala Lumpur-born followed up by winning her first ‘Open’ senior title at the Thailand Open the same year, but she failed to do decently in 2016 at the Professional Women’s Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour and the World Youth Championships, both in the United States.
And as a result, Nora Lyana was dropped from the ‘Kita Juara’ Sea Games programme in October last year.
Nora Lyana, along with Nur Amirah Auni Azman, Faten Najihah Ahmad Faik and Nur Ameerahusna Aznel form the girls’ team for the Asian Youth Championships.
The boys’ team comprise Tun Ameerul Luqman Al-Hakim Tun Hasnul Azam, Hafiz Zainuddin, Arif Iskandar Azhar and Sarawakian Brandon Ting.
“The tournament offers Nora Lyana the platform to regain her confidence on the lanes. Her form dipped in 2016 due to a right ring finger injury. It is a chronic problem as she gets it on-and-off, but she is managing it well,” said team manager Maradona Chok in Manila today.
“Nora Lyana is looking good in practice and I hope she will be able to make an impression here.
“She announced her arrival in the international bowling scene by making an impact in this tournament in 2015. It would be great if she can use the tournament this time to regain her former self here.”
Maradona expects the girls’ team to make an impact in Manila.
“We have an experienced girls’ team as Nora Lyana, Nur Amirah and Faten Najihah were in the squad in 2015. Furthermore, there are only nine teams in the girls’ event compared to 15 in the boys’ category,” Maradona added.
The event tomorrow starts with the boys’ and girls’ singles.
In 2015, the Rafiq Ismail-led team dominated proceedings by becoming overall champions with a haul of six gold, three silver and one bronze.