IT MAY not be a big amount compared to what one would get for winning a gold medal in the Olympics.

But the $10,000 which Jasmine Yeong-Nathan is receiving from SingaporeBowling will go a long way towards reassuring the bowlers that their achievements will not go unrecognised.

Jessie Phua, president of Singapore Bowling, yesterday revealed that the bowling body will fork out the cash from their own pocket, since Yeong-Nathan's AMF World Cup win is not covered under the Multi-Million Dollar Award Programme (MAP).

She said: 'In the absence of any form of recognition from the Singapore Sports Council and Singapore National Olympic Council, national sports associations like us have to come up with our own.

'Really, we have to revisit the MAP. How many Singaporeans can claim to be world champions?'

She added that SingaporeBowling have to dip into the bowlers' fund, a kitty set aside for bowlers' welfare, including scholarships, vocational training and so on.

This story was first published in The New Paper on 20 November 2008.