KUALA LUMPUR: She is almost 40 but Shalin Zulkifli is not showing any signs of slowing down.
Yesterday, the mother of one (Aleya Azidi), helped the national bowling squad clinch the women's team title at the World Championships in Las Vegas, ending Malaysia's 10-year wait for the crown.
What makes it even more meaningful is that Shalin is the only bowler in the national team to have played a key role in landing the team gold medal at the 2007 (Monterrey, Mexico) and 2003 (Kuala Lumpur) editions.
Shalin yesterday anchored Malaysia to a 198-207, 248-168, 182-181 win over Colombia in the semi-finals at the South Point Bowling Plaza before beating rivals Singapore 214-209, 188-177 in the final.
"Yes, I have been blessed, I am also thankful for all the achievements. I have worked really hard to stay at my best.
"It's not easy to juggle between training, competitions and also my family life but I am lucky, because I have a husband (Azidi Ameran) who understands and gives me support.
"Without his help and blessing, I wouldn't be able to do what I do.
"Indeed, it has been a really good year for me. All my efforts have borne fruit. Especially after my foot surgery in 2015, I had to work extra hard to get back into competitve shape," said the 39-year-old, who achieved a couple of milestones this year, including hitting her 20-gold medal mark at the Kuala Lumpur Sea Games in August and finishing third at the recent World Bowling Tour Finals in Reno, Nevada.
On her plans, especially with the Asian Games in Indonesia next year, Shalin added: "My contract with the National Podium Programme is until the Asian Games. So far, my focus is to work towards that."
Following the Malaysian team's success in landing the gold medal, Shalin attributed the good showing to her teammates.
"We have always been good in the Bakers format but we haven't bowled the format for some time now. However, we have got good chemistry and we have trained and known each other for a very long time.
"Each one of us made good shots when it mattered and we helped each other when we couldn't get the line. That’s what team work is all about," said Shalin.
Translated from Berita Harian