Ryan Leonard Lalisang: A sportsman, gold and loyalty

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 12/07/2006 1:21 PM  |  Life

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Doha, Qatar

Ryan held the gold medal between his thumb and index finger, saying: ""This medal is for my family,"" and, pausing to take a deep breath, ""especially my father, who introduced me to bowling and continued to support me in my career,"" he said in almost a whisper.

Ryan Leonard Lalisang, the first Indonesian gold medalist in the Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, early on Sunday morning, has a special, deep-rooted bond with his father, Robert Jacob Lalisang, 59.

""Without my father I wouldn't have become a good bowler. I owe him so much and want to repay it, though that's impossible,"" the 26-year-old said after a victory ceremony at Qatar Bowling Center on Monday.

Ryan learned about the sport at the age of 6 in 1986 after his father, who was working at a foreign oil company in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, took him to a bowling center.

Robert, who married Vonny Kalesaran, now 54, had strong hopes that three of their children, Albert, Sintya and the youngest, Ryan, would become national-level bowlers.

He's not here as he has to undergo blood treatment twice a week at the hospital in Jakarta. But I know that he's with me,"" said the 2006 Kuwait World Ranking Masters No. 4 and gold medalist at the Jakarta Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships in August.

The close bond with his father was also indicated by his presence at most of his father's treatment sessions, despite his tight schedule preparing for the quadrennial event.

He added that he was also indebted to his foster parent, whom he called ""Mom"" -- Christina Koo, the owner of Jaya Ancol Bowling Center in North Jakarta.

""She is behind the rapid progress of bowling in the country as she has actively sponsored many other bowlers, including me, to compete in the international stages,"" he said.

Commenting on his achievement in the Doha Asian Games, Ryan said, ""Personally, this is an amazing year for me as I have achieved much. Winning the Asiad is the one I want the most.

Ryan posted a nearly perfect game score of 299 in game 2 to compensate for his lowly 200-pin score in game 1. The record surpassed Filipino Virgilio Sablan's score of 290 pins for one game and Kritchawat Jampakao of Thailand's six-game record score of 1,408.

Both records were set at the Bangkok Asian Games in 1998.

""My coach told me that should I want to be remembered by Indonesians for a long period, I would have to win Asiad gold. However, if I want the memory to last much longer, I would have to grab two (Asiad) golds,"" he joked.

He referred to his coach, Canadian Syd Allen, who has been polishing the performance of Indonesian bowlers since last year.

In the SEA Games in the Philippines last year, Indonesia's team stunned Southeast Asia powerhouses Malaysia and the Philippines by winning three gold medals: in the men's singles thanks to Ryan, and in the women's singles and women's All Events from Putty Insavilla Armein, who also grabbed Indonesia's first medal, a silver, in the Asiad's women's singles.

However, the bowler who quit after studying law at the School of Law at Atmajaya Catholic University in Jakarta in 2000 due to his hectic practice schedule, was not joking when he said that being a world champion would become his main goal after the Asiad victory.

""By being a world champ I hope I can popularize bowling among Indonesians so that many people will take it up, like badminton,"" he said.

""One's golden years are relatively short. I would be better off should we have younger bowlers to replace me in international competition,"" said the 26-year old bowler, who might consider retirement from bowling at around 35.

""I don't want to be lifetime bowler. However, I haven't thought about my retirement right now as my focus is the promotion of bowling in the country,"" Ryan said.

He also welcomed the presence of younger players, including 12-year-old Dennis Ranova Pulunggono in Indonesia's bowling squad. Dennis surpassed his seniors, who finished 57th at best, while he was 25th, above 2006 Asian Tenpin Bowling champion Alex Liew of Malaysia.

He added that since he would focus on the development of bowling in the country he would not consider tying the knot until Indonesian bowling prospers.

""I think I won't get married until Indonesia's bowling is well developed and I have become financially established. Then again, who knows?"" he said with a grin.

""I heard that the state minister for youth and sports affairs once promised to provide homes for gold medalists. Perhaps I should wait for that,"" he joked.

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