Hard work pays off for youth
30th May, Singapore: Hard work paid off for 15-year-old Muhd Jaris Goh after the Singapore Sports School student bagged the Boy's Under-15 Masters title of the 43rd Singapore International Open on Sunday morning. "I'm very happy to have won this year's first prize as I was third last year in the competition," said Muhd Jaris after receiving his prize. While he was delighted to have won the first prize, Jaris is not a stranger when it comes to winning. He has won multiple awards last year including the Milo Junior All-Stars Under-15 crown.
Even though he trains five days a week, winning the award was no easy feat. His greatest challenge during the competition was 'picking up spares' added the champion. Just for this competition, Muhd Jaris had one month of special training to help get him ready for his game.
The youngster started bowling only when he was nine years old. Clearly, his training sessions is one of the many factors that got him to where he is now. Despite the tiring hours and sacrifices that he has to make, Jaris expressed: "My passion and love for the game is what keeps me going."
Having to compete under pressure and the cheering crowds, Muhd Jaris shared that "drinking plenty of water and not thinking about the scores" was what helped him to keep calm and focused during the game. Also, the preparation talk every now and then from his coach motivates him to perform even better.His coach Mr Thomas Fox was just as happy for the young bowler. "I'm very proud of his achievements. He is getting much better and is able to compete under pressure." He added that Jaris has improved a lot from the past and he managed to keep calm and composed during his entire game.
Meanwhile, top qualifier, Tracy See snatched the Girl's Under-15 crown in her last two games. The youngster totaled 1512 to finish 13 pins ahead of Michelle Ng in second and Joy Yap third with 1499 and 1498 respectively.
The Youth Under-18 Masters finals will be held tomorrow morning at 9.30am while the Youth Boys and Youth Girls finals will be staged on June 3 at 9.30am.
Photos by SingaporeBowling.