Wu Siu-hong was crowned champion at the 51st QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup on Friday morning, the first Hongkonger in history to win the world championships.
Wu, who defeated Jaris Goh in the semi-finals and then South Africa’s Francois Louw in the finals, will be returning to Hong Kong with his trophy on Sunday. The 31-years-old bowling player said that he had waited 17 years for this and that he felt like he was dreaming, Stand News reported. He has competed in the World Cup several times before but his highest finish was ninth.
Wu said that he was under a lot of pressure over the past five days of the competition and that he did his best to stay clear-headed. He is a cancer survivor and recovered in time to compete in the Incheon Asian Games in 2014.
“The fact that a competitor from Hong Kong can win the World Cup is great for the world of bowling in Hong Kong – hopefully in the future more people will get to know the sport and it would raise the overall skill level in Hong Kong. Having more people taking part in the sport will also make it more fun,” he said.
In the female division, Clara Guerrero from Colombia beat two-time World Champion Shannon Pluhowsky and defended her World Cup Champion title successfully, the USBC website reported. “Winning one World Cup title was amazing, but winning twice is a dream come true,” Guerrero said. “I’m extremely happy and thankful to God and all the people who have supported me to make this happen.”
The World Cup is regarded as one of the most prestigious titles in bowling. It is also the largest event in terms of number of countries competing, with bowlers from 88 countries.
The previous record of Hong Kong’s best performance in the bowling world championships was a fifth place, back in the 1970s.
