Hj Bahzi Hj Damit (L) poses for a photo during his Singapore International Open campaign at Singapore's Orchid Bowl last week.Courtesy of Hj Bahzi Hj Damit
Hj Bahzi Hj Damit attributed his poor performance at the 47th Singapore International Open to his unfamiliarity with the lane conditions and oil patterns at Singapore's Orchid Bowl last week.
Hj Bahzi was once again unable to progress to the main round (Top-24) of the event when he failed to achieve the required 225 bowling average after four games over two days. His average of 198 meant he was 27 pins short of meeting the target - he was only three pins short last year.
"Lane conditions and oil patterns were new to me so it was hard to adapt my game," said Hj Bahzi in an interview with The Brunei Times yesterday. "I had the right equipment and Megastrike (Bowling Centre) did try to recreate the Singapore Open oil patterns, but it didn't come out exactly right as Megastrike and Orchid Bowl have different oiling machines for their lanes.
"There's no short cut to a problem like this. "I just need to keep on playing and increase my experience and knowledge so it'll be easier for me to adapt to difficult situations in the future, InsyaAllah.
"It was a difficult outing especially without the technical guidance of a coach, but overall it was a good experience for me," said the 25-year-old. Megastrike Team Manager Syuaib Rafie, who accompanied Hj Bahzi to Singapore, agreed with the bowler's opinion.
"The oil patterns were our main concern in Singapore, mainly because the length and thickness of the pattern was new to Hj Bahzi and he didn't get enough time to adapt to it," said Syuaib. "Hj Bahzi has raised his game, but only in local competitions.
"The capacity to improve his game is there but in order to do that he needs to keep on playing," he added. Asked if Megastrike would be hiring a coach in the near future, Syuaib said "With regards to our coach issue, we have shortlisted a few names and we're hoping that by September the Megastrike bowling team will have a coach again.
"Also during the upcoming fasting period, Hj Bahzi and the youth bowlers will take a break and will continue with training in August," he added.
The Singapore Open Men's category was won by Singapore top-seed Vincent Lim after he defeated Ahmad Muaz of Malaysia 207-175 to win his first-ever international open title, according to the Singapore Bowling Federation website.
