Krizziah Tabora. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
More than being a world champion bowler, Krizziah Tabora has also become a source of inspiration to her peers following her rise to prominence late last year.
With little fanfare, Tabora defied the odds and made Philippine bowling history in ruling the 53rd Qubica AMF Bowling World Cup in Mexico four months ago.
“Actually, I feel that my victory helped me inspire others because when I won people were telling me that I was able to inspire them,” Tabora told INQUIRER.net in Filipino.
“Some who had already quit bowling even told me that I inspired them to come back and play again.”
She was the first Filipino to win the prestigious event since CJ Suarez in 2003 and instantly became the future of Philippine bowling, which was in dire need of a spark in hopes for a resurgence until Tabora emerged.
“I hope that it’s because I’ve inspired others that’s why bowling here in the country is now under a revival stage.”
Winning changes everything and Tabora’s recent success comes with a burden of expectations to sustain her relevance.
“The pressure has always been there, it’s just that there’s added pressure now after winning the World Cup,” she said.
“But it’s really how you deal with the pressure and you need a strong mental game to handle it.”
The 27-year-old Tabora, whose first love wasn’t bowling but other sports like basketball, volleyball and table tennis, begins her campaign for this year on Saturday with the 2nd Philippine International Open Tenpin Bowling Championships, where she aims to have a much better showing after a subpar performance in the previous edition.
She’s looking forward to defending her World Cup title in November in Las Vegas but doesn’t want to get too ahead of herself with the 2018 Asian Games happening in four months.
After the Philippines bagged one gold medal and one bronze in bowling courtesy of Biboy Rivera and Frederick Ong, respectively in the 2010 Asian Games, the country came up empty-handed in 2014.
Riding high, Tabora, who will be competing in her third Asiad, isn’t tempering her expectations for this year.
“We’re expecting to win a gold but it’s not going to be easy. The likes of Korea, Malaysia and Singapore will be our toughest competition.”