Today was a bright and sunny day in Malaysia. People woke up and grabbed the morning daily, only to see the picture of a woman wearing a green jacket and a broad smile on her face. Perplexed about her identity, they searched for clues and spotted her name: Sin Li Jane. If you were one of those Malaysians today and still don’t recognise her, we won’t blame you as you are not alone.
We will be incorrect in stating that bowling is an obscure sporting discipline. Many of us venture into bowling alleys in packs to roll our arms now and then. Knocking down the nine pins (or ten pins, as is the norm today) is an enticing (and somewhat addictive) pastime.
Alas, that’s where the love for bowling usually ends! How many of us tune in to international bowling competitions, or keep a close tab on the bowling world’s champions? The scale will tilt in favour of those who don’t indulge in bowling as a sport to watch on their television sets. Most of us would rather watch our favourite footballers or tennis players in action.
This negligence shown towards bowling by the common masses is reflected in the attention players receive in popular media. With about 9,000 followers (approximately) on Instagram, who would consider Li Jane a global star?
Does that mean the Malaysian bowler’s achievement is insignificant? Or is she not a star by any means? Both statements couldn’t be further from the truth. Li Jane is one of the biggest celebrities in her domain and her recent achievement is, to put it simply, historic. Otherwise, she would not have made headlines in the Southeast Asian country.
So who is this unknown champion that we ought to know about? And what is the magnanimity of her achievements? Join us as we try to learn more about Sin Li Jane by looking at her bowling stats, accolades and other career highlights.
Sin Li Jane’s stats: Everything to know about the Malaysian bowling champion
Her early days in the bowling arena
Malaysia is a revered force when it comes to bowling. In recent years, the performance of the Southeast Asian nation in international bowling tournaments has been impressive. As a matter of fact, the women’s team won the silver medal at the International Bowling Federation (IBF) World Championships in November 2021. The men’s team, too, tasted great success in that tournament as they clinched the bronze medal.
Given the record of the country’s bowlers, it is clear that Malaysia has a strong infrastructure when it comes to this sport, albeit one that is not known to many. Therefore, Malaysian bowlers have every opportunity to build a strong career.
A keen interest in bowling urged Sin Li Jane to pursue the sport from a tender age. Her breakthrough moment came in the latter part of her teenage years when she became the women’s champion at the 2010 Singapore Open. She later repeated this impressive feat at the tournament’s 2013 and 2014 editions.
While she had tasted considerable success in Singapore and also on the global stage (she was part of the bronze medal-winning Malaysian team at the 2013 World Bowling Women’s Championships), Jane had to wait till 2014 to replicate such feats in her own country. By becoming the national champion at the Malaysia National Women’s Open, she marked the dawn of a new era in Malaysia’s bowling history.
Jane’s meteoric rise in the world of bowling
Her win at the 2014 Malaysia National Women’s Open instilled Sin Li Jane with a sense of confidence and a hunger to achieve greater things. Therefore, it is not surprising to learn that 2015 was a momentous year in her career.
Jane set the ball rolling in 2015 (pun intended) by clinching two gold medals at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. Incidentally, this marked her first gold medal win representing Malaysia.
Many sports personalities would have been content with two gold medals in one year. However, Jane’s thirst for glory was difficult to quench. She pushed her limitations to win as many as five medals at the Asian Championships later that year — a gold (doubles) and four bronze medals (singles, team, all-events and Masters).
A year later, she returned to the Asian Championships intending to taste greater success. However, her campaign was short-lived, securing a solitary gold (doubles) and bronze (team) medal. Nevertheless, she enjoyed considerable success outside Asia, winning the European Bowling Tour Masters and finishing as the runner-up at the Professional Women’s Bowling Association (PWBA) Greater Detroit Open.
In 2017, Jane enjoyed one of the best seasons of her bowling career. She won three gold medals and one silver medal at the SEA Games. The Malaysian also emerged as the champion of the Asian Bowling Federation Tour – Thailand and the runner-up at the PWBA Wichita Open.
Her crowning moment, however, came in Nebraska when she won her first PWBA Standard Title in the form of the Pepsi PWBA Lincoln Open. At the 2017 World Bowling Women’s Championships, she was a part of the gold medal-winning Malaysian team. Besides becoming a world champion, she also won two silver medals (doubles and Masters) at the global meet.
Her downfall, subsequent absence from the sport and return as one of the world’s best
By 2018, Sin Li Jane was one of the finest bowlers in the world. Therefore, her short list of accomplishments that year — champion of the 48th Brunswick Ballmaster Open and runner-up at the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup — underlined a rare underwhelming season. The year 2019 was not too great for her either — she won a silver medal (team) and a bronze medal (doubles) at the SEA Games and finished as the runner-up at the USBC Queens.
The entire world was brought to a standstill in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic. Like every other sporting discipline, bowling tournaments all around the globe were suspended for a long time.
Jane saw this as the perfect opportunity to take some time off and regroup her thoughts. However, her absence was prolonged to quite a great extent. While most of the bowling tournaments resumed in the latter half of 2020 or the first half of 2021, the Malaysian was nowhere to be seen.
It was not until 2022 that Jane returned to the bowling arena. In retrospect, this was the right decision, for she wasted no time in adding medals to her career tally. Representing Malaysia, she clinched two bronze medals that year — at the World Games (doubles) and the IBF World Cup (team). In 2023, she won two silver medals at the IBF World Championships.
Even at the halfway mark of 2024, it can easily be said that 2024 is Jane’s finest year on the PWBA Tour to date. While she held a solitary PWBA title, in 2024 she has already added three more to her name. After the PWBA Greater Nashville Classic and the PWBA Bowlers Journal Rockford Open, Sin Li Jane won the prestigious US Women’s Open at the Royal Pin Woodland in Indianapolis on Tuesday, 18 June.
The Malaysian defeated Latvia’s Diana Zavjalova by a margin of 226-214 in the summit clash. In the process, she became the first Malaysian, and only the second Asian after Shinobu Saitoh of Japan, to win the coveted title.
Which brands does Sin Li Jane endorse?
Although not nearly as many as successful footballers, tennis players, golfers or even badminton players, Sin Li Jane enjoys the luxury of boasting a few brands in her endorsement portfolio. Most of them are bowling equipment manufacturers.
Here are the brands she endorses:
- Fitness First
- Roto Grip Bowling
- Turbo Grips
- EFX
- Wild Kombucha
In the past, Astro, a regional broadcaster in Malaysia and Singapore, was one of her sponsors. Jane even wore the brand’s name on the front of her jersey.
(Main and Featured Images Credits: Jane Sin/Instagram)
This article first appeared here
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
– How many titles has Sin Li Jane won?
Sin Li Jane has won four PWBA Titles as of June 2024.
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Written by
Uddipta writes about sports and watches besides occasionally venturing into the world of automobiles and technology. He was associated with the Indian Express in the capacity of a sub-editor at their Lifestyle desk. A journalism and mass communication student from Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai, Uddipta devotes most of his leisure time to photography and filmmaking. He has contributed photographs to Vogue Italia and several exhibits, and has directed award-winning short films screened at film festivals in India and abroad.
