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Bowlers forced to pay excess baggage fees

KUALA LUMPUR: The national elite bowlers had to pay excess baggage fees for their bowling equipment before leaving the country for Italy on Saturday.

But it could very well be worth it because the bowlers will be banking on these specially drilled bowling balls when they go for glory at the World Ranking Masters, which will begin in Naples tomorrow.

In their element: The bowlers (from left) Zulmazran Zulkifli, Alex Liew, Siti Safiyah, Shalin Zulkifli and Zandra Aziela posing outside a bowling alley in Napoli yesterday.

Malaysia will be represented by two men - Zulmazran Zulkifli and Alex Liew – and three women - Zandra Aziela Ibrahim Hakimi, Shalin Zulkifli and Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman.

And they will all be bowling on a new lane condition, which is being introduced in the tournament.

The bowlers, who arrived in Italy yesterday, will have to get used to the medium oiling lane patterns. Previously, they had to master only the short and long lane conditions.

With the right bowling balls, they may be able to register high scores.

Team manager Cheah Ban Cheng said the bowlers were rattled by the setback at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

“It was an ordeal for the bowlers ... having to negotiate with the officers of the Malaysian Airlines to reduce the charges for the excess baggage. Finally, our extra load was reduced from 70kg to 15kg. We left after paying the fees (RM2,600),” Ban Cheng said in a press release yesterday.

He, however, said that the bowlers had calmed down after receiving a warm welcome in Naples.

“All the bowlers arrived safely. In fact, we even had a chance to test out the lanes. The bowlers have adjusted well to the environment here,” he said.

The Malaysian women stand a better chance compared to their male counterparts in the tournament as Europe and the United States have strong men bowlers in their ranks.

In the women’s competition, the main challengers for Zandra, Shalin and Siti will be Europe’s and America’s top qualifiers – Nina Flack of Sweden and Alicia Marcano of Venezuela.

It will be tougher for Zulmazran and Alex as they have prominent bowlers like Finland’s Osku Palermma, Norway’s Tore Torgersen, England’s Paul Moor and Venezuela’s Arturo Hernandez for company.

For the record, Malaysia won the women’s title through Wendy Chai and finished second in the men’s event through Zulmazran in Jakarta last year.-THE STAR

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