Paeng Nepomuceno bats for inclusion of bowling in Olympics

MANILA, Philippines — Paeng Nepomuceno, one of the greatest bowlers and Filipino athletes of all time, is fighting a new battle—get bowling into the Olympic calendar.

Nepomuceno, now an ambassador of the sport, said bowling should be considered as a regular sport in the quadrennial summer games and vows he would campaign for its inclusion, being an ambassador of the sport.

“We’re working on it,” said Nepomuceno in Saturday’s interview with Noli Eala’s Power and Play.

If there’s anyone who can convince the International Olympic Committee of bowling being an Olympic event, it should be Nepomuceno since he is a recipient of the President’s Trophy, its highest sports award, in Abu Dhabi in 1999.

The 63-year-old four-time World Cup champion was also named the “Athlete of the Millenium” by the FIQ, or the sport’s world governing body, in the same year while also being the first male bowler to be inducted into the International Bowling Hall of Fame in 1993 in Arlington, Texas where he has a statue built in honor of him.

Nepomuceno, who owns three unbroken Guinness World Records, including being the only bowler to have won the World Cup in four different decades, said patience would be needed to have the sport in the Olympics.

“Maybe we should be a little patient. Golf was accepted I think the last two editions while tennis debuted in 88. Hopefully soon,” he said.