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Sunday October 11, 2009

Daniel and Alex working hard to protect their places

KUALA LUMPUR: Alex Liew and Daniel Lim are veteran national bowlers and the duo have been pumping in extra hours in training – of late.

And they have every reason to go the extra mile because they are at risk of losing their places in the national squad for major tournaments next year.

Their below par performances this year have not gone unnoticed. The duo, who have not won any Open titles this year, have been overshadowed by strong performances from Zulmazran Zulkifli and Adrian Ang.

Holloway said that Alex and Daniel were fully aware of their fragile position in the team and as a result, the duo were pushing hard in training.

“This is what I like about Alex and Daniel. They never give up without a fight. Any other senior would have taken the easy way out but not these bowlers,” said Holloway.

“They stay back when other bowlers head back home. They work on having better accuracy in their game. I do not have to tell them that they have to buck up. They know it themselves.”

Following their diligence in training, Daniel and Alex finished first and second in the recent weekly 10-game roll-off conducted every Friday by Holloway to assess his bowlers.

“This is a good sign from the seniors following their struggle throughout this year. But we hope that their hard work will be translated into good results in international tournaments,” said Holloway.

Barring any changes, Alex and Daniel will get a chance to strut their stuff in three international tournaments in December – the Qatar Open, All Stars Classic in Petaling Jaya and the Penang Pesta International.

However, national chief coach Holloway Cheah, said that he was keeping his options open to include juniors in the team for major tournaments if the seniors fail to get back on their feet.

The next major tournament is the Asian Games in China next year.

“We are blessed to have a big pool of men bowlers. Several youngsters are waiting in the wings and others – especially the seasoned campaigners cannot take their position in the team for granted,” he said.

Several back-up bowlers will get a chance to impress Holloway when they compete in the Asian Indoor Games in Vietnam from Oct 30-Nov 8.

They are Mohd Syafiq Ridhwan, Rodson Tong, Kelvin Keong and Kang Bo Long.

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