SINGAPORE – Left disappointed after finishing 25th in the B Division bowling singles event on March 27, Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) captain Thaddaeus Mok made a bold move to switch his game plan.
The 15-year-old tweaked his tactics, renewed his focus and bounced back. On April 3, he clinched a doubles gold with Nigel Tay (2,798 pinfalls), before winning the quartets event with Izz Irfan Ismail, Gautier Tan and Nigel (5,556 pinfalls) at Safra Mount Faber on April 8.
In the process, he led his school to reclaim the boys’ overall title they last won in 2021. They finished runners-up to Singapore Sports School (SSP) in the last two years. This time, they recorded 16,467 pinfalls to pip SSP (16,101) to the crown.
“After the singles, I went home and gave a lot of thought to what happened,” Thaddaeus said. “I couldn’t control my emotions well and adapt to the lanes as quickly as I wanted to.
“When I came back for the doubles, I just focused on the process, I didn’t think about the scores and the placements.
“I reminded myself I could perform well during training, so I knew deep within that I could do it in competition too.”
He also ditched his original game plan, opting for another strategy which involved using a ball with a different reaction and tweaking his bowling angles.
The change worked a treat, but Thaddaeus admitted it was a difficult decision. The Year 4 student said: “I’ve been working on my original game plan for many months now, so it was very disappointing when I realised on the first day that it didn’t work out at all.
“It took me a while to accept this.
“I wasn’t really used to (the new game plan), so I’m pretty pleased it turned out very well.”
The wins were much sweeter, especially after he had returned home with three silver medals in 2023. He said: “Last year, I felt I bowled very well but couldn’t obtain a single gold. It feels very surreal, I didn’t imagine this at all.”
Izz similarly could not believe his achievements, which included two bronze medals – singles and doubles with Gautier – and the quartets gold. After all, this was the first time the Year 3 student was competing in the B Division.
Remarkably, he also recorded a perfect game (300 pinfalls) during the singles.
The 15-year-old said: “It’s exhilarating… I knew B Division would be an even bigger challenge. I didn’t expect myself to perform at such a high level.
“Winning with my closest friends is a very big thing for me, because we spent more time together and achieved something.”
Teacher-in-charge Benjamin Wong, 38, added: “I am very proud of my team’s fighting spirit… (they) never gave up and rallied together to reclaim the title.”
Meanwhile, SSP retained the B Girls’ trophy, with Nura Salsabila claiming two wins. She won the doubles with Hazel Tan, before bagging the quartets title with Nur Iffah Amberlynn, Alyssa Hia and Hazel.
Calling the experience “surreal”, Nura said: “Overall, it was very fun and I felt like time flew by too quickly for us to enjoy as much, but we had a good time together.”
Methodist Girls’ School (13,774) settled for second, 413 pinfalls behind SSP (14,187).
For Thaddaeus, the team’s sole goal heading into the season was to wrest the title back, but he did not pen down any targets for himself, as all he wanted was to “come out of the competition with no regrets”. With two gold medals and a team title, he said he has done what he had set out to achieve.
