BUSINESSMAN Musharraf Hossain Ahmad is the sole participant from Bangladesh in the entire Asia Pacific Masters Games currently being held in Penang.
The sole proprietor of the “Great International Online Services”, an online shopping company, lamented that there is only one bowling alley left in his country and that there are no tournaments hosted for the public.
He said the tournaments in his country were hosted by foreign embassies for their own staff.
As such, he ventured on his own and made his debut at the Australian Open, but with limited training and exposure, he did not do well.
Musharraf said that gave him the inspiration to play in more international competitions, including the APMG 2018 in Penang.
He has signed up to be a member of the Penang Tenpin Bowling Association.
Some 15 years ago, he came to bowling by chance after seeing the game played in one of the bowling alleys. It was quite a popular game then, but the interest later started to wane for most of them.
“I used to be very stressed and tensed due to work pressure, but after taking up bowling, I felt relieved. So, I got hooked,” said Musharraf, 42.
Right now, the only bowling centre in operation is the Jammua Feature Club in Dhaka.
Musharraf, who wants to promote and develop tenpin bowling in his country, hopes to see Bangaladesh as a world champion in bowling one day, not just renowned in cricket.
He came to Penang not only to participate at the APMG 2018 but also to win the gold medal in his age-group category.
“I’m also captivated by the beauty of Penang island. Besides that, I’ve been enjoying the local delights like ‘koay teow kerang’, ‘mee soup udang’ and the ‘bambu beriany’.”
After the APMG 2018, Musharraf said he would be back hopefully with a few more bowlers from Bangladesh to take part in the 46th Penang Pesta International Bowling Championship 2018 in December.
Photo courtesy of APMG 2018