National lawn bowler Pg Mohd Salleh Chuchu Pg Hj Tuah is going to use the heartache of missing out on the World Indoor Singles Championship to good use during Monday's national trials for the World Singles Champion of Champions.
The Brunei Darussalam National Lawn Bowls Association (BDNLBA) will select players for the November's World Singles Champion of Champions in New Zealand on Monday, the one-day National Single Championship geared to look for the best of the best in the men's and women's categories at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex's Lawn Bowls Centre.
Last December's trials for April's World Indoor Singles Championship in Warilla, Australia, saw Pg Mohd Salleh Chuchu miss a berth to Abd Rahman Hj Omar due to shot difference, and he is not going to let that happen again.
"No doubt, that will be my motivation for Monday," he said yesterday.
"I was unbeaten until my last game and Abd Rahman only lost once to me before that.
"At the end of the day, both of us lost one game each and on countback, I lost on shot difference.
"But I will still be competing against other good players (on Monday) and I'm not going to be underestimating them," added the 55-year-old.
The early selection process for the Nov 24-30 World Singles Champion of Champions will give the winners a good eight months of training and mental preparation before rolling to action at the Fendalton Bowling Club in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Pg Mohd Salleh Chuchu, who has been a national bowler since 2001, said he will be aiming to clinch the top spot in the men's singles category as it would be an honor for him to represent the country at the world event.
Pg Mohd Salleh's daughter, Dk Nurul Nabillah, also lost out on the chance to represent the Sultanate in Australia to Hjh Amalia Hj Metali.
The duo had even more disappointment when along with Md Salleh Awg Hitam, were denied a hat-trick of wins during the Dec 29-Jan 1 Labuan International Open Mixed Triples Championship.
Champions in 2011 and 2012, the trio was out-rolled out 20-12 by Labuan Malaysia Games (SUKMA) B during the final.
"Dk Nurul missed out on the Warilla selection, so I hope she can perform better this time around playing against the senior players," added Pg Mohd Salleh.
Abd Rahman and Hjh Amalia are expected to depart to Australia for the World Indoor Singles Championship at the Warilla Bowls and Recreation Club in New South Wales on April 5.
Last year's men's category saw Australia's defending champion, Jeremy Henry, walk away on top after successfully retaining his title with a score of 10-5, 5-8, 5-0 against New Zealand's Tony Grantham.
World number one, New Zealand's Jo Edwards, lifted the women's title for the fourth time in five years after she eliminated eight-time champion Alison Merrien from Guernsey 3-8, 8-3, 3-2. Edward's previous wins were in 2009, 2010 and 2012.
Merrien stopped Edwards from taking the hat-trick in 2011 through a 7-6, 9-5 win.
England's Thomas Bishop is the reigning champion in the World Singles Champion of Champions tournament after winning the men's singles title after defeating Scotland's Alastair White 8-4, 9-5 during last year's event.
Australia's Karen Murphy out-rolled Scotland's Lorna Smith 10-6, 11-6 to lift the women's title.
The annual tournament saw 51 players from 29 countries compete.
