KUALA LUMPUR: After missing out on the Asian Championships squad, Timmy Tan earned himself a redemption of sorts when he claimed the men's singles gold at the Interstate Bowling Championships today.
He rolled 213-180-264-267-257-200 for a 1,381 total at Sunway Mega Lanes to beat his Kuala Lumpur teammate Hafiz Zainuddin by a mere six pins.
Kedah's Syazirol Shamsuddin took bronze after chalking up 1,368 pinfalls.
Rafiq Ismail, last week's Asian Championships quadruple gold medallist, also from Kuala Lumpur, struck 1,330 to settle for fifth in the 60-man standings.
For Timmy, it was a much-needed boost after struggling to impress of late.
Despite being a regular starter, Timmy's lacklustre form cost him a place in the squad for Bangkok, with younger bowlers such as Shaqeem Izwan Teh and Izz Naqiuddin being picked instead.
Timmy, celebrating his third men's singles title in the Interstate Championships following his triumphs in 2014 and 2022, intends to build on this inspiring result.
"It's been a while since I've had this good feeling. Perhaps this is the restart button for me?" said Timmy, a five-time Asian Championships gold medallist.
"This year, I wasn't playing anywhere near my best level. I only have myself to blame for not making the Asian Championships team.
"Even for today's victory, I didn't expect it. Hopefully, it's the start of better things."
Earlier today, Perlis, Penang, Perak, and Terengganu also won one gold apiece.
Perlis won through Firhan Iqbal in the boys' singles, while Nurul Aisya Sofea brought Penang joy in the girls' singles.
Lotpi Razali (Perak) and Rosliza Said (Terengganu) both took the honour of emerging as the championships' first-ever winners in the men's and women's senior categories.