Datuk Shalin binti Zulkifli (born 28 March 1978 in Islington, London, United Kingdom) is a Malaysian professional tenpin bowler. She has played and won various national and international tournaments, and has at various points in her career ranked No. 1 of the professional tenpin bowlers in Malaysia and Asia.
Before Shalin Zulkifli competed in the final match of the 2001 World Tenpin Masters, she achieved victories over Marek Charezinski from Poland in the first round, followed by Chris Van Damme from Belgium in the quarter-finals, and Paeng Nepomuceno from the Philippines in the semi-finals. And most importantly, in her final appearance, Zulkifli triumphed over Tore Torgersen from Norway, concluding the match with a final aggregate score of 455-450. This victory marks her significant achievement as the 2001 World Tenpin Masters champion on March 11th, 2001. In 2004, she was inducted into the International Bowling Hall of Fame. Bowling in the United States of America, she was a quarterfinalist at the 2008 US Women's Open, and competed in the 2008-09 PBA Women's Series. In Southeast Asian Games, she is the most successful bowling athlete with a record of 20 gold medals being achieved.
Shalin was born in North Islington and spent her childhood in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She began bowling at the age of 9 and joined the national bowling team in the late 1980s. In 1991, she was named Selangor’s Most Promising Sportsgirl of the Year, and in 1994, she became the youngest player and first Malaysian to win the Ladies Open of the Kent Malaysian All-Stars.[citation needed] In 1997, she became the first woman to bowl a 300 in the AMF Bowling World Cup.
Shalin holds a degree in Sports Science that specializes in Sports Psychology and Coaching. She currently heads the Malaysian Athlete Career and Education Secretariat at the National Sports Council of Malaysia. She used to run a bowling center at The Curve, a shopping mall located in Mutiara Damansara.[citation needed]
In 2021, Shalin has retired from the national team, ended her 28-year-long international bowling career.
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Malaysia
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Member of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (AMN) (1995)
Officer of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (KMN) (2001)
Companion of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (JSM) (2021)
Federal Territory (Malaysia)
Commander of the Order of the Territorial Crown (PMW) – Datuk (2023)From 2020 and 2022, Shalin involved as an advisor technical with her protégé Syaidatul Afifah acting as Sandra for TV Malay drama called Ratu Ten Pin (Queen of Tenpin) Season 1-2 aired by Astro Ria.
In Season 2, character Shalin, carried by Jasmine Suraya Chin, Jasmine tell about how style play, routine, and learn story from Shalin also keeping short hair.
