Bowling champ Osku has unusual two-handed style
Finnish star has the last laugh with his unique style
He was teased over his two-handed bowling style as a youngster, but Osku Palermaa didn't care.
"I was one-year-old when my dad first brought me to the bowling centre," said the 32-year-old Finnish professional bowler, who arrived yesterday for the 48th Singapore International Open.
"At first I just rolled the ball and when I got a bit older, I started carrying the ball (with both hands). I am still doing it now."
He was among the first bowlers to use the two-handed style - once derided as a style for those too lazy to learn the "proper" technique - on the professional circuit and has won five Professional Bowlers Association Tour titles to show off.
He has also been Europe's captain for the Weber Cup - bowling's equivalent of golf's Ryder Cup - since 2008.
"You get more revs (revolutions) with much less effort," Palermaa said, of his style.
"But the downsides are that it's a lot harder to be consistent and accurate."
The two-handed bowling style is increasingly being adopted worldwide, in an era where keglers are increasingly looking for power in their shots - as with tennis and golf, among others.
"All these sports, they develop. It's all about creating more power with less effort," Palermaa noted.
"But you never know how long this trend will last. Bowling keeps changing every 10 or 20 years."
The 13-time European Bowling Tour champion will be competing in the Republic for the first time and will hold a two-day seminar on the two-handed style next week, with the Singapore Bowling Federation keen to expose young bowlers to different styles.
Palermaa is the biggest name to grace the Singapore International Open this year, which is back after taking a break last year due to the South-east Asia Games at home.
While the tournament has previously been held at the Orchid Country Club, this year's edition will visit SingaporeBowling's new centre at the Temasek Club at Rifle Range Road.
Other than the Finn, the South Korean contingent boast a full national team, including 2012 Singapore Open champion and 2015 World Bowling Women Championships Masters champion Jung Da Wun, and her teammate Jeon Eun hee, who won the women's singles at the world championships last year.
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