Tenpin bowling wunderkind Wu Siu-hong had a turbulent career before winning a bronze medal at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games.
A child prodigy in the sport, debuting at just eight years old, his confidence was high seeing him win a host of competitions and landing him two gold medals in the 2001 Osaka East Asian Games at only 16.
Recently speaking with news.gov.hk, Wu admitted his youthful success soon made him arrogant and apathetic.
Catastrophic failure
Wu was top favourite to win gold at the 2002 Busan Asian Games. However, he was under-prepared and succumbed to pressure from the tough competition, seeing his men’s singles rank plummet to below 50.
The Busan failure was frustrating and demoralising.
"I used to bowl well, but at the games performed like I did not know how to bowl at all."
He attributed the washout to his overzealousness to win, which made him nervous, suffering trembling hands at each match. He admitted he was too preoccupied with other issues before the games to properly prepare for it, such as dreaming of commercial endorsements.
Eight years later, his experience gained since the Busan flop refocused his approach to the sport. He now concentrates on his preparation process for an event, rather than the result, giving him a more relaxed attitude in dealing with match pressure.
He has learned the importance of hard work in training and in improving tiny details, which help him relax more at tournaments.
"I will try to think about things that are unrelated to bowling. This helps keep my mind clear during a match."
Maturing process
Now 26, Wu said age has brought wisdom, acknowledging there are also other important things in life, such as his family.
It has been the support from his family, and teammates, which has helped him face the highs and lows of his career.
Spending almost half the year competing abroad, he has learned to prioritise, focusing on the right issue at the appropriate time.
He said tenpin bowling is like life - easy to learn but tough to master.
"You may get a strike this time, but that does not mean you can get another one next time. Even if you try hard to do something, you may not succeed."
His sport has taught him to face and accept failure.
"The most important thing is to learn from it so you can gain strength to overcome obstacles and seek success next time."
