Ismail bowling
Q: Please introduce yourself.
My name is Md Ismail bin Hussain. My latest achievement is the recent Singapore Micro World Para Bowling Tour where I achieved 3 silver medals.
Q: What is the toughest moment you’ve faced as an athlete?
One of the toughest moments that I faced as an athlete is keeping up with my performance and meeting my KPI as planned by the coach and Sports Council.
Q: What does winning mean to you?
To me winning is part of a game. But what’s most important is planning how to win and putting in the hard work.
Q: What’s your motto in life?
My motto in life is very simple. It’s to stay humble and train hard; persevere to excel.
Q: You have a close friend and rival in Malaysia’s athlete. How does it feel to compete against him?
Every time I compete against him, there is definitely some pressure because on the lanes, I think he’s good.
In sports when we are on the lanes, we are rivals but off the lanes, we are actually good friends and we spend time drinking coffee together sometimes. We also exchange ideas on how to tackle the lanes.
Q: What brings out the competitive spirit in you?
The one thing that brings out the competitive spirit in me is the moment when the crowd behind me starts cheering and clapping.
Q: What does sports mean to you?
Sports has been something very important to me so I would go all out to achieve whatever I have to. Most importantly is not to overwork myself.
Q: What’s your dream?
It’s one of my greatest dreams to win medals for Singapore and I feel I’m blessed to have received all the support to achieve my dreams.
Q: Finish this sentence: “Being an athlete is….”
Being an athlete is something I have always wanted to be, especially a Singaporean athlete so that I can be a role model.
Q: How do you feel during a competition?
I would do as I’ve trained. Through sessions with my psychologist, I’ve learned always to be in the present moment and to focus on the process, every shot one time at a time until the end of the game.
Q: Do you feel disadvantaged when you play bowling as a para athlete?
At times I do feel disadvantaged because some oiling conditions require a bowler to hit the target prrecisely whereas other oiling patterns are a bit easier, so you have some leeway. When the oiling patterns is tough, that’s when I will feel the disadvantage that I have.
"Being an athlete is something I have always wanted to be, especially to be a Singaporean athlete, so that I can be a role model."
