Strike a Strike with Passion ｜Interview with Ms. Miao-Ling Chou, Gold Medalist Bowling Player and Assistant Professor of Taipei City University

Steadily holding the ball, step by step towards the lanes, can not be reversed in the moment of the shot, the surrounding eyes are focused on the running of a ball, until the impact of the target accompanied by a crisp sound, exploding the bottle as if splashing. Both visually and aurally, this is where the charm of bowling lies.

This smooth sound was once heard in Taiwan, and the bowling style was also popular among the people. Taiwanese players not only conquered international competitions, but also invented the "Flying Saucer" style, in which the ball flies in a horizontal side-spinning manner, which is fast and accurate and enhances the destructive power of hitting the ball at the entry point. The 1990s not only made Taiwan known as the "Flying Saucer Kingdom", but also attracted foreign players to come and learn from them.

Chow Miu Ling on ESPN Asia Tour (Photo courtesy of Chow Miu Ling)

National player Zhou Miaoling, all the way from Taiwan's bowling heyday, retained, in addition to the glorious results, there is also unquenched enthusiasm. Turning to Zhou Miaoling's bowling record, it can be said that international fame, was a four-time Asian Games national player, in 1998 to participate in the thirteenth Asian Games in Bangkok, and teammates for Taiwan to bring back the women's two-person team bronze medal (teammate: Tseng Su-fen), women's three-person team gold (teammates: Tseng Su-fen, Kuo Shu-chen), women's five-person team gold (teammates: Tseng Su-fen, Kuo Shu-chen, Huang Qiongyao, Koo Hui-qin). She also won the gold medal in the Solo Women's League.She won the Outstanding Athlete Award the following year, and in 2005 she won the World Cup Women's Bowling Championship.

He is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Ball Games at Taipei City University, and is working hard to coach advanced bowlers.During the interview, Zhou Miaoling was busy preparing for the bowling tournament in support of the 2021 National Games, and at the same time, she had to lead a team from Pingtung, which was a big and small task, Zhou Miaoling "did not feel at ease with leaving it to others" and at the same time, she took time to accept theUni-magazineIt is also for this reason that the Government has expressed its full support for the visit of the Hong Kong Government to the United States of America:

"The seniors have said that they want to give back, and that Taiwan's sport depends on the efforts of those who are interested in it."

2021 National Games Bowling Competition

Unlike most of the athletes who were raised from childhood, the early bowlers were all members of the community. Chow Miu Ling, who studied food hygiene rather than sports, stumbled upon bowling when she got out of the workforce and fell head over heels in love with the sport. She said modestly, "Since she was a child, she had no special interest and didn't know what she wanted to do, but she was told that she had a talent for bowling, and the more she bowled, the more she felt a sense of accomplishment. So she started working in a bowling alley out of interest. During the time she was immersed in the bowling alley, she not only had the opportunity to practice, but also got to know many athletes, and on the basis of her talent, she built up her skills and became a national player.

Although she has the talent and the interest, it's not all smooth sailing when she enters the field of specialization. Chow Miu Ling laughs, "Bowling is quite expensive to practice, and at that time, I had two jobs in order to play bowling. What keeps her going is the sense of fulfillment and fun she gets from the moment she hits the ball.

Chow Miu Ling participated in the 1998 Asian Games (Photo courtesy of Chow Miu Ling)

Those who are lucky enough to find their natural passion say, "When you find your passion, you don't care about the time and money you put into it, and you don't measure the results. Echoing these words, Zhou summarizes what bowling means to her: "Realizing the value of my life". She has competed in large and small tournaments at home and abroad, many of which have been expensive prize tournaments.Chow Miu Ling laughed and said

"I didn't even know the prize money was so high, but I just wanted to play well. Prizes and medals are just an added value, and I play for fun and a sense of accomplishment, and I want to honor my family."

For an athlete, technique is of course the basic requirement, but in recent years, the importance of sports psychology is also very important. In the face of physical tests and the pressure of success or failure, having a stable mental quality not only helps athletes to perform at their normal level during competitions, but also maintains their physical and mental health.

Zhou Miaoling is a relatively stable player, bowling tournaments are divided into single and multi-person groups, in the past when she went abroad to compete, whether it is a three-person or five-person team competition, she was always the last stick. 2005, with her teammates Wang Youling and Huang Qiongyao to participate in the World Cup Women's Bowling Championships three-person tournament. Singapore had already finished the game and was in first place. At that time, all the players were watching her throw the last ball, and Zhou Miaoling's first ball left the nine and ten bottles unpoured, which made the atmosphere so tense that Zhou Miaoling laughed and said, "At that moment, even my teammates didn't dare to look at me. With that strike, she managed to close out the game with a technical ball and then hit a full fall with a bonus ball, winning the first women's gold medal in Taiwan's bowling history with her teammates.

Chow Miu Ling participated in the 1998 Asian Games (Photo courtesy of Chow Miu Ling)

Despite the good results of the players, bowling in Taiwan is still in the doldrums, and Ms. Chou pointed out that the key to this is the restriction of venues, which directly affects the number of players. Bowling does not have a national training center, players must rely on outside venues for practice, and there are not many bowling alleys, so whether or not they can provide complete training for players is a major problem. In addition, the venue fee of at least three times a week and the cost of bowling equipment and shoes are not low, which leads to the threshold.

2021 National Games Bowling Competition

Bowling in Taiwan has had its share of glory, some have joined, some have left, and those who remain continue to work hard to revitalize bowling in Taiwan someday. Which country's bowling development can we learn from? Zhou observed that Singapore started to strengthen its bowling program more than 20 years ago. Not only did manufacturers sponsor the training of bowlers from a young age, but they even invited coaches from various countries to train them for a tournament, which has continued to give Singapore bowling good results in international tournaments. As for Taiwan, there are many sports programs that want to compete for funding subsidies, so there are not enough to go around, making bowling hardware equipment scarce.

The development of bowling in Taiwan has gone through several waves of ups and downs, among which there are factors of the general environment and economy that led to the closure of bowling alleys, as well as bowling alleys that occasionally have the image of group gambling and poor law and order, and it was not until the Bangkok Asian Games in 1998 that brought back to Taiwan six gold, two silver, and three bronze medals that the Ministry of Economic Affairs changed the bowling industry from an entertainment industry into a sports industry. The rise of the bowling industry is always followed by a wave of bowling fever as players gain international fame, but without long-term stable cultivation, it is ultimately short-lived.

In a restricted environment, witnessed the ups and downs, but Zhou Miaoling still in the field of bowling cultivation, more than ten years ago in the National Middle School began to train players, in the tournament preparation also spared no effort, is in order to give back to the experience of the bowling community in Taiwan, looking forward to revitalize the flourishing one day, in the international arena, the bowling organization has been working hard to promote the Olympic program. As she mentioned:"Bowling is the only thing I've done that I've been able to stick with for so long."This persistence has allowed her to go from being a non-sports professional to being an athlete, winning many awards for Taiwan. She uses her own experience in competitions and athlete training to encourage people who want to enter the field of bowling, although talent is important!

"The most important thing is to work hard on your own, find the fun in it, be dignified and strong on the field, and not be surprised by changes!

To learn more, please refer to:

Bowling Association of the Republic of China

Department of Ball Games, Taipei City University

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