Nur Irdina Hazly celebrating during the women's team semi-final on Dec 19. Photo: SNOC/ Kong Chong Yew
Singapore's bowlers will return from their SEA Games debut with at least a medal each, after the men's and women's teams clinched joint bronzes on Dec 19.
Nur Irdina Hazly, Charmaine Chang, Arianne Tay and Colleen Pee took the women's team bronze after falling 809-835 to Indonesia in the semi-finals. Jomond Chia, Nu'man Syahmi Yusri, Mike Ong, Ryan Toh were edged out by just two pins, going down 876-878 to hosts Thailand in the men's team semi-finals.
The bowlers conclude their campaign at the 33rd SEA Games with two golds and four bronzes.
Chang, who won the singles and doubles events, said of the team event: “In terms of shot execution we did pretty well, even better than our qualifying. The opponents had quite good breaks and we just got a bit unlucky. But from qualifying till now, we’ve done well considering that we are working together for the first time. We had a month and a half to just understand each other’s games and I think we worked well in terms of our communication today.”
Tay noted that while it was their first time competing together as a quartet, each athlete was familiar with one another’s styles as they had partnered up in doubles events at other competitions.
The 21-year-old, who won the women’s doubles title in Thailand with Chang, added: “Having these connections present in the group made it very easy to gel, and we are easygoing people. We do this for the love of bowling and all of us want to do well. That’s what unites us: having that common goal to come out here, do our best and put everything we have on the lanes.”
For their male counterparts, the narrow semi-final loss only stokes their hunger to come back stronger, with an eye on taking the gold on home ground when Singapore hosts the biennial Games in 2029.
Ong, who reached the quarter-finals of his singles and doubles events, said: “I’m very hungry for a win and I will use this hunger to propel myself to qualifying for the next few major Games, including the 2029 SEA Games in Singapore. I’m very determined to go back home and train for the next few tournaments, and we’ll see where the future takes us.”
Teammate Chia agreed, adding: “My takeaway from this SEA Games is about handling pressure. The pressure will be more intense when it comes to 2029 but I’m sure that by then, we will all be able to eat pressure for breakfast.”
Singapore Bowling Federation president Dr. Valerie Teo hailed the athletes’ achievements, praising their fighting spirit and paying tribute to the support from the Singapore bowling community, including coaches and senior team members.
She added: “I’m really proud of all our eight debutants. It was really nice watching them fight it out all the way till the last frame, all of us in Singapore should be really proud of them. It came down to really close matches – the men went out on just two pins and sometimes the pins fall in your favour, and sometimes they don’t.
“The mark of a champion team is when you pick yourself up and you come back the next time and you hit them harder. I really hope this team draws on this experience as a team together, and we come back stronger in 2027 and most importantly in 2029 at home.”
The 33rd SEA Games are held in Thailand from 9 to 20 December 2025. For the latest Team Singapore coverage and news, follow Team Singapore on their social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) or visit the official Team Singapore website.