19th November, London: National team bowlers Remy Ong and Valerie Teo will represent host nation Singapore next month at the 2004 AMF Bowling World Cup which will be held December 5-12 at the SuperBowl SAFRA Mount Faber facility.

Ong is making his third trip to the AMF World Cup, while Teo is going for the second time. Ong was runner-up to Finland’s Mika Luoto in 2002 when the World Cup was in held in Latvia, after tieing in fifth in Pattaya, Thailand in 2001. Teo also competed in Latvia, where she finished 27th.

Both bowlers have scored important wins already this year. Ong won the Qatar Open and Guam Open in recent months, while Teo captured two gold medals in the Asian Youth Championships in February.

Ong finished second in 2002 after winning three gold medals in the Asian Games in Busan, Korea. Following those successes, however, he experienced a downturn that now appears to be over. "Perhaps I do well only in even-numbered years," he jokingly told Straits Times reporter Alvin Foo.

If that is the case, Ong has something in common with Paeng Nepomuceno of the Philippines. All four of Paeng’s World Cup crowns were won in Olympic years (1976, 1980, 1992 and 1996).

Teo cut back on her competitive schedule after the Asian Youth Championships so she could pursue her studies. The former SportsGirl of the Year hopes to become a physician when her athletic career is over.

In related news, Qatar announced that 1999 World Cup champion Ahmed Shaheen will represent that country for the eighth time. Shaheen has five Top 10 finishes in his previous outings, including his 1999 victory in Las Vegas, USA.

Like Ong, Shaheen is coming off two big recent international victories, the Indonesian Open and the Thailand Open. Shaheen also owns one of the 19 perfect games rolled in the 40-year history of the AMF World Cup. His perfect game came in 1997, in Cairo, Egypt.

At press time, 96 nations had confirmed participation in the 2004 AMF World Cup and named their representatives, including newcomers Afghanistan, Libya, Nigeria, Slovakia and Tajikistan. That puts the 2004 edition on track to set a new mark for number of countries represented in any given year. The current record was set in 2000 in Lisbon, Portugal, when 88 countries sent bowlers.

The AMF Bowling World Cup is the world's largest annual international sports championship in terms of number of participation countries. Additional information on the AMF Bowling World Cup, including archives and bulletins for this year's tournament, is available on the Internet at www.amfbowlingworldcup.com.

SuperBowl Management Pte Ltd is part of the SuperBowl Group. More information about the company can be accessed at www.superbowl.com.sg.

The AMF Bowling World Cup is the world's largest annual international sports championship in terms of number of participating nations. AMF Bowling Worldwide Inc., the founder and principal sponsor of the Bowling World Cup, is the world's largest owner and operator of bowling centers. AMF is also a leader in the manufacturing and marketing of bowling and billiards products. More information about AMF is available on the Internet at www.amf.com.

For further information, please contact: Anne-Marie Board at amboard@amf.com.

Photos courtesy of Singapore Sports Council.