National bowler Iliya Syamim, 20, clinches Hong Kong Open
SINGAPORE — A third Singapore national training squad bowler has won an overseas competition this year, with 20-year-old Iliya Syamim clinching the Hong Kong Open women’s Masters title on Saturday (20 July).
Iliya beat Malaysia’s Nur Amirah Auni 215-160 pinfalls in the stepladder finals to clinch a cool HK$30,000 (S$5,200) in prize money at the SCAA Bowling Centre.
She had earlier made the stepladder finals as the top Stage Two qualifier, with a 1,794-pinfall total, ahead of Macau’s Wong Son Ian (1,751) and Nur Amirah (1,749).
“Going into the stepladders, i felt very nervous but i told myself to keep calm and focus on the process, pick up my spares and go for the finals without any doubts,” Iliya told Yahoo News Singapore after her win.
“I just told myself to get the ball into the pocket and pick up any remaining pins left.”
Iliya is the third national training squad bowler to have won an overseas competition in recent months. Charlene Lim, 20, won the Malaysian International Open in May, while Amabel Chua, 19, won the Philippines Open a month later.
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