A FEW years ago, the thought of doing what is deemed undoable, which is surpassing Nurul Huda Abdullah’s amazing 22 gold from the Sea Games, was furthest from Shalin Zulkifli’s mind.
But here Shalin is, in Manila as a 41-year-old mother bent on breaking swimming legend Nurul’s Sea Games mark.
A couple of years ago, Shalin would say it was “impossible” to outdo Nurul. There were also talks that the bowling queen would have retired by the 2019 Sea Games.
The truth is Shalin has not slowed down and she is as combative as ever. Having bagged a total of 20 Sea Games gold since making her debut as a 15-year-old in 1993 in Singapore, Shalin now wants more.
As the bowling competition starts at the Coronado Lanes in Manila on Tuesday, Shalin needs to win three gold to overtake Nurul’s record.
After her Singapore debut, Shalin next won two gold each in the 1993 Singapore and 1997 Jakarta editions, followed by five in 1999 (Brunei), four in 2001 (Kuala Lumpur), three in 2007 (Korat), one in 2015 (Singapore) and three in 2017 (KL).
Nurul made her Sea Games debut in Singapore (1983) but it was at the Bangkok edition in 1985 where she won a magnificent seven gold. The swimmer legend enjoyed another seven gold outing in 1987 in Jakarta.
Nurul went on to become the biggest star of the 1989 Kuala Lumpur Sea Games with an unrivalled eight gold.
Many critics had written off Shalin when she was axed from the Women’s World Championships squad in August.
But she returned with a bang by winning the singles and trios titles at last month’s Asian Championships in Kuwait. This subsequently earned Shalin a spot in the four-woman Sea Games squad.
Former world champion Esther Cheah, Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman and Sin Li Jane make up the women’s team, while Malaysian contingent’s flag-bearer Rafiq Ismail, Timmy Tan, Ahmad Muaz Fishol and Tun Hakim Tun Hasnul Azam are members of the men’s squad.
Nurul, who is the Malaysian contingent’s deputy chef-de-mission, said: “I hope someone will be able to surpass my Sea Games gold-medal feat as records are meant to be broken and only then we will see progress.
“I have told Shalin to keep moving forward and break my record.
“My national records have been broken, which show that Malaysian swimming has progressed. So this is the only record that remains.
“I’m surprised that it has yet to be broken,” added Nurul.
Nine gold will be on offer in bowling at the Sea Games in men and women’s singles, doubles, team, masters and mixed doubles.
Shalin said: “I am eager to make an impression in Manila. Of course, I am eyeing the record (held by Nurul) but my focus is to lead the bowling team to glory and retain the overall Sea Games crown.”
Bowling team manager Maradona Chok hopes Shalin will go on to break Nurul’s record.
“Shalin is in good form and she did well at the recent Asian championships.
“However, nothing is certain in bowling. Lane patterns differ from one venue to another, and it would be difficult to predict how Shalin does and whether we can meet our target of four gold,” he said.
Maradona sees Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines as Malaysia’s biggest threats in the competition.
Malaysia, who won the overall Sea Games bowling title for the third straight time in 2017 with seven gold, four silver and three bronze, will go into the competition with a huge reputation as the Asian champions.