Defying doctors' orders pays off for Wendy by Ajitpal Singh

Wendy Chai, for the last five years, has been defying doctors' advice to quit bowling but her defiance not to do so paid off when she won the World Ranking Masters in Jakarta on Monday to be the new women's World No 1.

Wendy Chai gets a hug from her mother Susan upon arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Photo: Hasan Ismail.

Not many know that the 31-year-old Wendy has been suffering from a serious cartilage injury to her left knee, sustained at the 2003 World Championships in Kuala Lumpur.

Since then she has been defying doctors' orders to go under the knife to repair her knee and to quit bowling.

"There were times when I did consider quitting. However, I'm glad I did not as my decision to carry on has paid off at the World Ranking Masters," said Wendy on arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) from Jakarta, yesterday.

"Being World No 1 is every sportsperson's dream and I'm glad I have achieved it in my career as a bowler."

She added: "I don't know how long I will carry on playing but as long as my knee does not give me too much trouble, I will continue to represent the country."

Before winning in Jakarta, Wendy was experiencing a barren run mainly due to the death of father, Kenny last November.

She even opted to stay out of the Korat Sea Games squad as she could not cope with her bereavement.

Wendy, who won the singles gold medal at last year's World Championships in the United States (editor's note: Wendy won bronze in singles and gold in team at the 2007 Women's World Championships in Monterrey, Mexico), said she will need to train harder from now on as expectations will be higher as a World No 1 bowler.

"People will always be keeping tabs on my performance and I need to establish myself further in competitions. Also, my rivals will always be keeping a watchful eye on me," she said.

Wendy's next assignment will be the Singapore Open on May 22-31.

Meanwhile, Monday's World Ranking Masters title means that Malaysian bowlers have won all of the majors in the sport except for the AMF World Cup.

The Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC) should now concentrate on preparing its bowlers to win the AMF event to complete its collection of majors.

This year's AMF World Cup will be held in Mexico on Nov 7-15.