The wait is over for aspiring bowler Megat Zaqrul Haiqal Megat Zairudin as he will finally get to strut his stuff on the international stage — more than two years after being roped into the national youth squad.
Yesterday, the 19-year-old was one of the eight bowlers selected for the inaugural World Under-21 Championships in Helsingborg, Sweden from June 20-29.
Zaqrul will spearhead the boys' challenge with Ahmad Azriq Izamudin, Shaqeem Izwan Teh Shahrul Hafiz Teh and Airel Amri Suhaimi, while the girls' team consist of reigning national youth champion Alyaa Addini Zulamri, Nurul Anis Nabila Nizam, Anis Hannani Romzi and Cara Loh.
The tournament will replace the defunct World Youth Championships (WYC), which was last staged in Michigan, the United States in 2018. Peru was supposed to host the 16th edition in 2020, but it was called off due to Covid-19.
It will be a tall order for Zaqrul and company to emulate their predecessors in the last two WYCs, including in Nebraska, 2016, where Malaysia won gold through Natasha Roslan (girls' Masters) and Nur Syazwani Sahar (girls' All-Event).
"With this being my first world-level competition, I must admit that there's a lot of things going through my mind. I even asked myself, 'am I good enough to win a medal'"? said Zaqrul.
"I'm excited and pumped up at the same time. It's not easy to get into the team for the biggest Under-21 tournament in the world, so I really look forward to repaying my coaches' faith in me with a podium-worthy performance."
The players do not have to look far for inspiration as compatriot Alex Liew won the boys' Masters gold in 1998 in Incheon, South Korea.
"This is a young team with all the eight members aged between 17 and 20. We're not setting high expectations for this team considering all of them are playing in their first ever world-level tournament," said team manager Maradona Chok.
"But we certainly believe they have what it takes to give their counterparts a stiff competition."
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress have selected Rafiq Ismail, Timmy Tan, Sin Li Jane and Natasha Roslan for the World Games in Alabama, United States from July 7-17.