KUALA LUMPUR: Syaidatul Afifah Badrul Hamidi (pix) may have retired from the fast lane but two years in the making, the former national bowling star has devoted her new journey to the younger generation by establishing the Syaidatul Afifah Academy (ASA) to hone fresh talent.
The 30-year-old Syaidatul Afifah who won the 2017 World Women’s Bowling Championships title, said the establishment of the academy is to pursue the dream of sharing her experience and knowledge with the young talents in the sport.
“I want to produce professional bowlers and disciplined athletes from this academy…so, today I will accept (select) not only those who have potential but also those with zero knowledge about bowling, to be trained.
“The academy will train (young children) in three phases, first we will teach the basic bowling techniques for three months before moving to the next stage which is a more advanced phase,” she said during the ASA’s programme to uncover new talent here today.
The Ipoh-born former national bowler said in the third phase, those who have been fully trained will be assessed and allowed to participate in state-level bowling competitions or national-level youth circuit bowling tournaments, besides exposing them to components of sports science and a healthy eating lifestyle.
Earlier, the ASA new talent search selection held at the Sunway Mega Lanes Bowling Centre involved 30 young players aged seven to 15. Only 15 of them will be selected to join the ASA.
Syaidatul, who represented the country for 11 years, retired from the national squad on Sept 2, 2020. – Bernama
