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Singapore Sportstar Spotlight: Cherie Tan, Bowling
If anyone has a right to be aggrieved by the disruption of the pandemic, it's professional bowler Cherie Tan.
The 33-year-old was on the biggest roll of her career before it happened, culminating in her winning the 2019 World Bowling Athlete of the Year. What makes the title even more impressive is the fact that it is the result of votes by the international bowling community and members of the public.
"2019 has been a really amazing year and I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end the decade," Cherie wrote in a social media post when she was given the honour. She is a true bowling star that is flying the flag high for Singapore on the global stage.
Character Bio: Cherie is quite simply the face of the most talented generation of women bowlers that the country has seen in quite some time. This might seem like hyperbole, given that bowling is traditionally one of Singapore’s most successful sports.
But ever since winning the 2008 Singapore Open – Women’s Open Masters as a fresh-faced youth, Cherie has gone on to dominate the next decade, winning medals left and right at the SEA Games since 2011 along with a slew of international honours.
Achievement Unlocked: Cherie became the first Asian to clinch the QubicaAMF PWBA Players Championship and the Masters trophy at the World Bowling Women's Championships, both of which are major competitions held in the US.
This historic achievement is closely followed by winning gold at the 2019 SEA Games as part of the women’s national squad. While individual accolades are always welcome, she feels that winning as a team is more meaningful, given the camaraderie of achieving the feat together. "It solidifies the idea that we have a world-class group of women’s bowlers,” Cherie says.
Winning her first ever Sportswoman of the Year honour shortly after at the 2020 Singapore Sports Awards is just the proverbial "Cherie" on top for this highly accomplished athlete.
Level Up: The last few years have certainly been a whirlwind for Cherie. With the new restrictions in place as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 situation, perhaps it's a chance for the national bowler - like many others in the sporting arena - to reset.
''I see a silver lining in this situation, which is to take a short break given that we have been training continuously since June last year,'' Cherie says in a recent interview.
While she is now following a home-based strength and conditioning programme, it will only be a matter of time till Cherie is back rocking it at the bowling alley.
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