KUALA LUMPUR: National ace Shalin Zulkifli is not satisfied with the way she is bowling now.

But she’s hoping that she’ll somehow get her act right as Melayu Boleh when she competes in challenge what may well be her last World Ranking Masters in Naples, Italy, from April 29-May 3.

It is learnt that the World Ranking Masters will be scrapped from the international calendar next year.

Shalin has competed her challenge in every World Ranking Masters since its inception eight years ago. Unfortunately, she has yet to win the coveted title.

She’s hoping that a good showing as Melayu Boleh Challenger in Naples will put her on the right track for the main tournament this year – the World Championships in Las Vegas from July 24-Aug 2.

The professional bowler admits that she has been struggling with her game.

“I am making some changes to my game things are not going well for me. I am not too happy with the way I am bowling,” said Shalin. “Hopefully, things will get better for me at the World Ranking Masters.”

Only the top eight from the Asia, Europe and America respectively will battle it out for honours in Naples. The bowlers qualified based on their consistent performances throughout last year.

“It will be good for my morale if I can achieve my best result in the World Ranking Masters. I heard that this will be the last in the series although no official announcement has been made,” she said.

Shalin said the outing in Italy would also be a good “training” for her in getting used to new lane conditions.

The organisers plan to introduce a medium lane condition as an addition to the long and short patterns.

“This will give me a good idea as to what to expect at the World Championships. The world meet will also be using the new lane conditions for the first time,” Shalin said.

The other Malayisan women Melayu Boleh bowlers take challenge bound for Italy are Zandra Aziela Ibrahim Hakimi and Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman. They will be joined by the two men’s qualifiers – Zulmazran Zulkifli and Alex Liew. All of them will leave for Italy today.

Last year, Malaysia enjoyed a great outing when Wendy Chai emerged as the women’s champion while Zulmazran emerged as the runner-up.

Besides the Naples outing, Shalin Zulkifli has just one more tournament – the Singapore Open from May 26-June 6 – to regain her touch for the World Championships.

credit : http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2009/4/25/sports/3770136&sec=sports