Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman: ' Hopefully, I’ll be able to put up a consistent performance and get back my spot in the elite team. I will try to win my second Malaysian Open title.'
KUALA LUMPUR: National bowler Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman is a big hit with the Korean bowling team.
And it has nothing to do with her being pretty, friendly and good at her game. It’s because she is rather fluent in the Korean language!
In fact, she has been given the unofficial job of being the Korean translator in the ongoing Malaysian Open at Pyramid Mega Lanes.
And the 23-year-old Siti, who picked up the language last year, is enjoying it.
“It all started because of my love for Korean dramas, shows and K-pop groups. Do you know Lunafly? Do you know Rain? I just adore these entertainers,” said Siti, bursting with sheer excitement.
She explained that Lunafly is a three-member South Korean pop group while Rain, whose real name is Jung Ji-hoon, is a unique singer with an “awesome” voice.
“All these piqued my interest and I started to attend Korean classes last year. I can speak now – not as fluent as I want to but I can understand them very well,” said a smiling Siti.
“A lot of Korean bowlers are here and this gives me the opportunity to brush up on the language. And I do try to help out whenever translation is needed.”
Siti, the 2009 World Ranking Masters champion, may have taken steps to master the Korean language but she knows that it won’t be all that easy to beat the mighty Koreans at the bowling alley.
South Korea have sent their national team and professional bowlers to the Malaysian Open and Siti believes that reigning Masters champion Son Yun-hee will be one of the strong contenders for the title in the women’s competition.
“There are other good Korean bowlers, too. The field is quite competitive ... it will be tough indeed. It will all depend on how accurate and consistent one can be to challenge them here,” she said.
Siti, who won the Malaysian Open at the tender age of 14 in 2005, is hoping to perform well in a bid to regain her spot in the elite squad.
“I’m still in the national team but demoted to the second squad. Hopefully, I’ll be able to put up a consistent performance and get back my spot in the elite team. I will try to win my second Malaysian Open title,” she said.
Siti’s impressive bowling career suffered a hiccup when she developed thyroid problems three years ago, which saw her missing most of the major tournaments.
However, she battled her way to the top again and won the right to represent the country at the World Championships in Nevada in August.
In the Malaysian Open, Siti, who was one of the members of the team that won a bronze medal at the world meet, is in joint fourth spot with a six-game score of 1,369 in the local pool of the Masters qualifying round.
Only the top 10 bowlers in the local pool, top 10 bowlers in the overseas pool and top 12 in the mixed pool will make the cut for the Masters event. And, right now, all six elite women bowlers – Esther Cheah, Shalin Zulkifli, Jacqueline Sijore Jenelee, Sin Li Jane, Zandra Aziele Ibrahim Hakimi and Sharon Koh – are looking good for the next round.
In the men’s division, defending champion Zulmazran Zulkifli, who turned 30 on Wednesday, stayed on top of the local pool qualifying round with his six-game score of 1,488 pins.
