National bowler Gillian Lim won the women’s singles gold at the Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday (Nov 14) with a six-game total of 1,368 pinfalls, her first gold medal at the championships.
The 27-year-old finished 31 pins ahead of Taiwan’s Li Yi Rou, who took the silver with 1,337, while South Korea’s Baek Seung Ja won the bronze with 1,328.
The title came after a difficult start. Gillian had a nosebleed during her opening game and managed only 164 pins, and after four games she was still 50 pins off the lead and 20 pins outside the medal places.
She turned the contest around with a 279 in the fifth game and sealed the gold with a 221 in the sixth.
Gillian said she tried not to let the nosebleed distract her and focused on recovering, staying patient and taking one shot at a time. She said the fifth game gave her a big boost of confidence, but she did not allow herself to celebrate until the competition was over, and she thanked her coach for helping her through it.
The gold is a breakthrough for Gillian, who had won three silver medals in her two previous appearances at the championships: a trios silver in 2023, followed by silvers in the trios and five-player team events in Bangkok two years ago.
Five other Malaysians competed in the women’s singles. Adelia Nur Irwan finished ninth with 1,256 pinfalls, Faten Najihah Ahmad Faik 10th with 1,250, Nur Syazwani Sahar 11th with 1,247, Sin Li Jane 16th with 1,219 and Nora Lyana Nastasia Norkamal 18th with 1,201.
The championships continue until Nov 22.