PETALING JAYA, Dec 31 ― National bowling coach Holloway Cheah believes 2014 will be a year to watch the back-up bowlers.

Having seen the progress in the likes of 17-year-old Rafiq Ismail, Hee Kar Yan, Syaidatul Affifah Badrul Hamidi and Victoria Chin narrowing the disparity with the elite squad, Cheah believes it was a positive result of the hard work put in.

Rafiq won the Philippines Open last month.

The 71-year-old believes it would only do good if the allocation for the elite squad was improved to cater for more numbers, but conceded it was out of hands. At present, there are six men and women bowlers each in the elite squad.

“It is always best when there are more people in the squad as it offers options and not to forget more quality too as they could be exposed to more tournaments.

“Anyway, I am not going to be concerned with it. It is for the Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC) to discuss with the National Sports Council (NSC). I am the coach and will continue doing so.

“I am expecting several of the back-up bowlers to push for their places in the elite squad. It’s not that elite have dropped but rather they are maintaining. Of course, there is room for improvement, there will always be,” Cheah said.

He was quick to add that several good showing alone was not enough and the back-up bowlers must display consistency week-in week-out.

Cheah added despite competing in lesser tournaments this year, the bowlers still managed to win tournaments. He went on to list Adrian Ang and Sin Li Jane’s success at the Singapore Open and Esther Cheah’s win at the Hong Kong Open as among the wins the bowlers recorded.

“Basically, I am quite happy with the year. Many of the up-and-coming bowlers started winning this year. I don’t have praises for any particular bowlers as they all have shown promise,” said Cheah.

“We competed in lesser tournaments but are still winning. This shows the training paid off and their touch have not gone away. Next year will be the same as we will have a long centralised training prior to the Asian Games.”