National kegler Muhammad Rafiq Ismail targets continued success despite tough lane conditions at the Hong Kong International Open.
PETALING JAYA: National kegler Muhammad Rafiq Ismail is determined to maintain the momentum from his three consecutive titles at the Malaysia Open, Singapore Open and Kuala Lumpur International Open when he competes at the 49th Hong Kong International Open.
Although he heads into the tournament, which runs from tomorrow until Aug 8, in high spirits after his recent hat-trick, the former world champion admitted the demanding oiling pattern in SCAA Bowling Centre presents a different challenge and will require him to quickly adapt.
“Every tournament has a different oiling pattern. In this aspect, I need to play smart and know my weaknesses in that particular pattern.
“For example, at the Hong Kong Open, my physical game was not very solid because the oiling pattern was tough for me. That is what I have been practising ahead of this tournament,” he said when met during a training session here today.
An oil pattern is the way lane conditioner, commonly called oil, is applied to the surface of the lane before competition.
The amount of oil, its length, and how it is distributed affect how the bowling ball behaves.
While the 29-year-old remains coy on the specific target in Hong Kong, his main focus is to maintain momentum heading into the bigger tournaments later this year, which are the 2026 World Cup and the 28th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships.
The 2026 World Cup will be held in Munich from Oct 12-21 while the Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships will be held in Doha from Nov 12-22.
