23rd June, P.Jaya: Reigning World Ranking Masters champion Siti Syafiyah and current Asian Championship Masters gold medalist, Adrian Ang are unperturbed at the thought of facing full-blooded professionals for the first time in the World Women's championship in Las Vegas and World Games in Kaohsiung.

Under previous WTBA rules, professionals were not allowed to take part in the World Women's championship and the World Games but last year, the WTBA decided to convert the two championships into open tournaments.

So the precocious 18-year-old Siti and her team-mates will be facing the might of the full-fledged professionals from the American professional league while Adrian will be facing the male professionals in the World Games.

Siti and Adrian, who were rewarded with mattresses, bed frames and pillows for their outstanding achievements in the international bowling arenas by Eclipse Bedding Systems and Harvey Norman in an official ceremony in Petaling Jaya yesterday.

Both said it would be difficult to win with the presence of the professionals but their very presence would raise the standard of the two tournaments and make it very challenging for the amateurs.

Siti, who has been training diligently with her team-mates for the World Women's championship, said she would try a dig at the Americans at their own den. "I'm not the favourite, the Americans are. The pressure is not on me, so I can afford to give it my best shot and hope to create an upset along the way."

The talented 20-year-old Adrian, a multiple international winner and reigning WTBA world youth champion, said he does not feel despondent with the professionals around because he had played against them in the American professional league when he did a two-month stint there last year.

"I'll put my experience of competing in the professional league to good use when I faced the professionals. Their standards are high but that doesn't mean they are invincible. Just the thought of playing against the professionals is good enough to motivate me," he said.

"I've been training hard for the World Games and if I can rise to the occasion, then I can give the professionals a run for their money," added Adrian.

Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress secretary Sidney Tung, whose association was rewarded with a high-performance laptop, digital camera and digital voice recorder by Eclipse Bedding Systems and Harvey Norman, said the professionals stand a higher chance of winning in the short game such as the singles, doubles and trios but not the team event due to its long and slow rhythm which the Malaysian are very adept to.

He said the Malaysian women, who won the World Women's championship title in 2003 and 2007, have an even chance of surprising the professionals from the United States, Japan, South Korea, Australia and England.

Sidney said the morale of the women is high and they are certainly on the right track in their preparation for the championship. "Their training consist of two lane sessions, an endurance workout in the morning and weight training in the gymnasium."

Sidney, whose long service to bowling was recognized in Eclipse's official launch yesterday, said that the rewards to the bowlers and MTBC by Eclipse and Harvey Norman were just the right stimulus for Siti and Adrian.

Release courtesy of Ed-Press Communications. Photos by B.C. Cheah.