BANGKOK - SINCE 1999, Singapore had produced four world champions - but no SEA Games gold medallist.

That losing streak was ended on Saturday by Shaun Ng, who won the men's singles gold on the opening day of the bowling competition at the SF Strike Bowl.

It was a win to savour for the bespectacled 27-year-old, who looked like anything but a potential gold-medallist after a dreadful opening game.

His score of 176 left him languishing in 20th position - and seemingly out of contention.

But Ng was no quitter. While Thailand's leading bowler Somjed Kusonpithak drew noisy cheers from the home crowd, Ng was quietly racking up impressive scores.

His scorecard in the next four games read: 190, 234, 248, 198. Going into the sixth and final game, Ng had clawed his way to a razor-thin lead of two pinfalls against his Thai rival - though he had no idea at the time.

'I knew it was close, but I didn't know the actual score,' he said. 'I just kept telling myself to just make the shot, remember my routine and go into the zone.'

It seemed to work, as Ng began his final game with a turkey. But a split and a subsequent spare in the fourth frame threatened to derail his gold-medal charge.

At the other end of the bowling alley, Somjed was also running into problems, failing to spare the fifth and sixth frames.

But while the Thai never recovered, leaving another two open frames on the 8th and the 9th, Ng simply got on with the job.

He reeled off four spares and two strikes for a score of 198 and total combined pinfall of 1,250.

It was good enough for gold, and to hold off a belated charge by Malaysia's Alex Liew, who stormed to a 245 in his final game.

Read the full report in The Sunday Times.