Brunei bowlers gear up for meet

The Brunei lawn bowlers practising at the Lawn Bowls Centre yesterday. Photos: Khairil Hassan

With the Invitational Lawn Bowls Pairs Open Championship coming up from Feb 8-12 managed by Riziq Management Services at the Lawn Bowl Centre of the National Stadium Complex in Berakas, the Brunei lawn bowlers are practising intensively for the meet.

So far, confirmed participations are - 20 men teams and nine ladies teams from Brunei Darussalam, one men and one ladies teams from Macau, one men team from Thailand, two men and two ladies teams from Sabah.

Hong Kong are expected to join while United Arab Emirates (UAE) have confirmed sending one men team, now that the visas of the bowlers have been obtained with the aid of the Brunei Darussalam Embassy at the UAE.

Hj Jaman bin Hj Awg Jumahat, President of Brunei Darussalam National Lawn Bowls Association (BDNLBA) said that he would ask the Brunei bowlers to train hard and play their best and show their abilities during the championship.

"I know that our bowlers are on par and can compete with the other international bowlers. Some are very experienced in this sport but we are also sending experienced players from Brunei," he added.

"Some of these players are gold medallists in the previous SEA Games in Brunei, Thailand and some played in the Asia Bowls and Asia-Pacific Championships. So we will be giving the international athletes a challenge as well," he said with a smile.

Mohd Israt Amiruddin bin Hj Abd Ghani, the assistant head coach said the veteran players are the ones with more experience and will probably give more challenge to the athletes from abroad.

"We pair the veterans with our young athletes, so that we have both experience and stamina in one team, which will give us more chances and advantages over the other," he added.

Hj Jaman would like to express their gratitude to the Youth and Sports Department for their support and also urged the public to come and support the event.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin