11th September, Hong Kong: Jung Da-Wun and Lim Dong-Sung ended the 22nd Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships with victories in the Women's and Men's Masters claiming the two final gold medals for Korea to emerge as overall champion.

Two gold medalist and top seed, Jung Da-Wun defeated challenger and second seed, Daphne Tan of Singapore, 433-409 over two-games total championship match to win her third gold medal. Jung took the first match, 207-172 for a 35 pins margin and despite beaten in the second match, 226-237, the margin was enough for to claim the prestigious crown.

Daphne, who defeated team-mate and third seed, Jazreel Tan in the all-Singapore semi-final 215-169, had to settle for Singapore's fourth silver medal.

In the earlier tightly fought second block round-robin matchplay finals, Jazreel went into the position round match as leader to face Daphne while Jung faced a third Singaporean, Cherie Tan.

Jazreel lost the match to Daphne, 194-207 and failed to remain in the lead while Jung beat Cherie 232-213 to clinch top seed for the stepladder shootout finals. The Korean totaled 3596 on six wins. Daphne settled for second with 3566 on five wins and a draw.

Jazreel made the cut for the stepladder finals in third with 3581 from five wins in this block. Cherie, who was in a distant fourth, totaled 3437 and missed the cut.

Korean women dominated the women's division with 4 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze medals to emerge as division champion. Malaysia and Chinese Taipei were ther other two countries who had won a gold medal each.

Meanwhile, top seed Lim Dong-Sung gave Korea a double victory when he took the Men's Masters gold medal by defeating challenger and overnight leader, Yousif Falah of Bahrain, 390-360 over two games total in the title match.

Lim easily beat Yousif, 211-197 in the first match but survived by edging the lanky Bahraini, 179-163 to take the coveted title and his second gold medal.

Yousif, who was seeded third, took out second seed, Hardy Rachmadian of Indonesia, 202-171 to earn a crack at the title. The champion ended the second block finals with 3536 after winning six matches.

Rachmadian edged Yousif by 8 pins on a total of 3479 and four wins to claim second spot while Yousif made the cut for the stepladder finals after beating Malaysia's Muhd Nur Aiman in the position round match.

Hong Kong's Wu Siu Hong rallied on but missed the cut by 26 pins to finish fourth with 3445 as the Malaysian slipped down to fifth with 3439 pinfalls.

Lim's victory gave Korean men their second gold to add to the 4 silver and 1 bronze medal won, making them the Men champion. UAE, Singapore and Hong Kong were the three other countries to have won a gold medal each.

Korea again emerged as overall champion with a medal haul of 6-5-4. Singapore finished second with 1-4-3 while Malaysia claimed third spot with a haul of 1-1-1. A total of 87 women and 128 men from 23 countries took part in the week-long championshps at HK Bowling City.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

10th September, Hong Kong: All Events bronze medalist, Yousif Falah of Bahrain took a narrow margin of 6 pins to lead the Men's Masters first block finals of the 22nd Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships ahead Eric Tseng of Hong Kong.

All Events gold medalist, Yannaphon Larpaharat got off the blocks by winning his first match with a superb 247 to take a 11-pin lead over Malaysia's Muhd Nur Aiman. But his lead was short-lived as the Malaysian went into the lead after the second match.

Aiman too lost his lead when Japan's Tomoyuki Sasaki rolled the highest game of the block with 279 in the third match to lead the Malaysian and Bahrain's Yousif Falah tieing in second spot.

A fourth match win by Yousif saw the lanky Bahraini taking over the lead at the halfway mark and opening up a gap of 21 pins over the Japanese. Yousif kept the lead despite losing the fifth match with 221 but retained the lead by winning the sixth with 249.

Hong Kong's Wu Siu Hong trailed Yousif before a second Hong Kong finalist, Eric Tseng swaping places but was 59 pins behind in second.

The leader's pace dropped off toward the final two matches but he was able to hang on to the lead ending the first block with 1806 from just five wins.

Tseng finished much stronger than his team-mate to claim second spot with 1800 from five wins and a draw while Indonesia's debutant, Hardy Rachmadian stormed home to take third spot with 1777 from seven wins.

Early leader, Muhd Nur Aiman slipped down to fourth with 1769 when he lost to the Indonesian in his eighth match while Wu Siu Hong rounded out the top 5 with 1735 from four wins and two draws.

Yannaphon and Tomoyuki finsihed sixth and seventh positions with 1707 and 1691 respectively and Korea's best finisher was two silver medalist, Hong Hae-Sol in eighth position.

The men will resume with their second block of seven games and a position round match to determine the top 3 who will advance to the stepladder shootout finals.

The second and third seed to bowl one match to earn a crack at the Masters title with the top seed over two-games total pinfalls to decide the champion.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

10th September, Hong Kong: Doubles gold medalist, Jung Da-Wun of Korea took a 3-pin lead in the Women's Masters first block finals of the 22nd Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships over Daphne Tan of Singapore and Wang Ya-Ting of Chinese Taipei.

Jung Da-Wun, who won the Doubles gold medal on the second day of the championship, won six of the eight Round-Robin matches for a total of 1855 pinfalls to lead the Women's Masters finals after resisting a strong challenge from Singapore's Daphne Tan.

After losing her first two matches with 192 and 200, the Korean stepped up her pace to fired 221, 229, 257, 226, and back-to-back 235s for a slender 3 pin lead.

Team Silver and All Events bronze medalist, Daphne trailed early pace-setter, Wang Ya-Ting of Chinese Taipei for most of the block, also finished strongly in her last two matches but had to settle for second spot with 1852 from seven wins.

Wang, who anchored her team to victory in the 5-player Team event, slipped to third spot with 1815 also from seven wins.

A second Singaporean, Jazreel Tan won five matches to amass a total of 1764 for fourth spot while China's Yang Su-Ling, who led for the first two matches, finished 10 pins further away with 1754 with just three wins.

All Events gold medalist, Kim Moon-Jeong struggled to make any headway and managed only to end the block in 11th position. Malaysia's best performer was Esther Cheah in seventh position.

The women will resume with their second block of seven games and a position round match to determine the top 3 who will advance to the stepladder shootout finals.

The second and third seed to bowl one match to earn a crack at the Masters title with the top seed over two-games total pinfalls to decide the champion.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

9th September, Hong Kong: Chinese Taipei overturned a 108 pins deficit before the final game to capture the Women's Team gold medal of the 22nd Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships and stunned Singapore and Korea.

Chinese Taipei's Chien Hsiu-Lan, Chang Yu-Hsuan, Pan Yu-Fen, Tsai Hsin-Yi and Wang Ya-Ting, who was fifth after the first block of three games yesterday, remained in fifth after the opening game of the second block despite kncoking down a decent 1067.

Korea shot 1095 and narrowed the 109 pins gap behind leader, Singapore down to just 12 pins as Malaysia and Philippines failed to make any headway.

The Taiwanese quintet continued their spirited run with another superb 1068 to move up to third after Korea took over the lead with 1017 and Singapore suffered a set back with 988. The champion was 108 pins behind the leader and 51 pins behind Singapore going into the sixth and fina game.

Korea and Singapore were drawned into a nerve-wrecking final game together on the same pair of lanes while the Taiwanese were eight lanes away.

Chinese Taipei stunned the fancied Koreans and Singaporeans after posting another consistent 1056 and totaled 6116 to clinch the Team gold medal which they last won in Bangkok in 2004.

Singapore out-paced Korea with 963 to win their second silver medal of the competition with 6056 while Korea managed only 946 to slip down to third with 6032 to settle for bronze. Philippines and China rounded out the top 5 ahead Australia and the disappointing Malaysia.

Two gold medalsist, Kim Moon-Jeong retained top spot in the All Events table to win her third gold medal of the championship with 5108. Cherie Tan and sister, Daphne won their country's third silver and second bronze with 5071 and 5059.

Gye Min-Young missed the podium with 5040 while Singles gold medalist, Sin Li Jane, who had led the table before the Team event, rounded up the top 5.

The top 16 women in the All Events standings qualified for the Masters finals. Korea and Singapore has 4 finalists each, Malaysia 3, China 2 while Australia, Japan and Chinese Taipei all have 1 each making up the 16.

The Masters is a Round-Robin Matchplay style finals contested over 8 matches in the first block and 7 matches plus a position round to determine the top 3 advancing to the stepladder finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

9th September, Hong Kong: Hong Kong upstaged the fancied Koreans with a final big game to win the coveted Team gold medal of the 22nd Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships with UAE clinching the bronze.

Korea's Hong Hae-Sol, Lee Ik-Kyu, Choun Jae-Woo (alternating for Cho Young-Seon), Choi Yong-Kyu and Lim Dong-Sung, who led the first block with a margin of 96 pins, had their lead taken away by Hong Kong at the start of the second block.

Hong Kong's Eric Tseng, Michael Mak, Michael Tsang, Wicky Yeung and Wu Siu Hong rolled 1116 to lead Korea by 15 pins as Malaysia remained in third position.

Korea bounced back with a superb game of 1109 to regain the lead despite Hong Kong knocking down a respectable 1047 in the penultimate game. As Korea and Hong Kong fought fiercely for the top spot, the minor placings were between Malaysia, Macau and UAE.

The tie came down to the final game which saw Hong Kong clinching the coverted Team crown on a total of 6427 with a scintilating massive game of 1142.

Korea managed 1028 to settle for the silver medal with 6360, 67 pins adrift while UAE's Shaker Al-Hassan, Sultan Al Qubaisi, Mahmood Al-Attar, Hussain Al-Suwaidi and Naif Oqab snatch the bronze medal with 6137.

Malaysian and Macau, who was engaged in a ding-dong fight throughout the second block, both missed the podium by 8 pins in fourth and fifth positions with 6129 and 6122 respectively.

Overnight All Events leader, Yannaphon Larpapharat won the gold medal with 5328, 51 pins ahead of Trios gold medalist, Hong Hae-Sol of Korea, who settled for the silver with 5277. Bahrain's Yousif Falah retained the bronze medal he won at the last outing with 5262.

The top 16 men in the All Events standings qualified for the Masters finals. Host nation, Hong Kong has 4 finalists, 2 each from Japan, Korea and UAE while Australia, Bahrain, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand all have 1 each making up the 16.

The Masters is a Round-Robin Matchplay style finals contested over 8 matches in the first block and 7 matches plus a position round to determine the top 3 advancing to the stepladder finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

8th September, Hong Kong: Korea's Hong Hae-Sol, Choi Yong-Kyu, Lee Ik-Kyu, Cho Young-Seon and Lim Dong Sung stormed home in their final two games of the Men's 5-player Team event at the 22nd Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships for the lead.

Lee Tak Man of Macau shot the championship's second 300 inspring his team-mates, Choi Io-Fai, Zoe Dias Ma, Leong Chou-Kun and Ho Weng-Hou to post a splendid 1110 for a surprise lead in the opening game of the Men's 5-player Team event.

India's Girish Ashok Gaba, Dhruv Sarda, Imran Khan, Parvez Ahmed and Shabbir Dhankot also took the field by surprise by knocking down 1083 to trail Macau by 27 pins.

Australia's Glen Loader, Stephen Cowland, Christian Perdue, Sam Cooly and Brandan Meads shot 1028 for third spot.

Korea's Hong Hae-Sol, Choi Yong-Kyu, Lee Ik-Kyu, Cho Young-Seon and Lim Dong Sung, who started off with just 958, stamped their mark with a sizzling 1156 to narrow the gap to just 8 pins as Macau continued to roll a respectable 1012 to retain the lead.

The leading quintet posted another strong game to end the first block with 3218. Choi shot the highest 3-games series in his team with 703 to help Korea taking the pole.

Hong Kong's Eric Tseng, Michael Mak, Michael Tsang, Wicky Yeung and Wu Siu Hong ended the strongest with 1135 and 3122 total to take up second spot, 96 pins behind the Koreans. The crowd favourite had shot 1007 and 980 in their previous games.

Early leader, Macau completed the block with 989 to finish third with 3111 followed by UAE in fourth position with 3074. Indonesia completed the top 5 with 3055 as India slipped down to sixth with 3031 after a great start.

Perfect gamer, Lee registered the highest 3-games series of 772 and Korea's Choun Jae-Woo, who bowled in the makeup team, shot the second highest 3-games series of 731.

Overnight leader, Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand and second-placed Yousif Falah of Bahrain remained firmly in first and second spots of the All Events standings with 4704 and 4643.

The men will resume their second block of 3 games over the medium oil pattern in the morning squad while the women will take to the lanes in the afternoon.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

8th September, Hong Kong: Singapore's New Hui Fen, Shayna Ng, Daphne Tan, Cherie Tan and Jazreel Tan put in a consistent performance to lead the Women's 5-player Team event of the 22nd Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships to set course for gold.

The quintet got off to a cracking start with a sizzling 1092 in their opening game of the first block over short oil pattern. Malaysia's Sin Li Jane, Esther Cheah, Jacqueline Sijore, Zandra Aziela and Shalin Zulkifli were equally impressive right on the heels of Singapore in second with 1058.

Although the pace slackened slightly for Singapore in the second game after a respectabe 949, Malaysia was able to close the gap from 34 to 18 pins with a 965 effort.

China's Chen Dong-Dong, Zhang Chun-Li, ZHang Yu-Hong, Yang Su-Ling and Sun Hong-Dou stayed close to Singapore and Malaysia with 975 and 1035 to take up third spot. The faniced Koreans were sixth at this stage behind Chinese Taipei and Philippines.

Singapore closed out the block with another scintilating 1051 for a 3-game team total of 3092 as China posted 973 to snatch second spot with 2983, 109 pins adrift the leader.

Korea stormed home with 1066 in their third game to haul themselves up to third with 2974, a further 118 pins away. Philippines and Chinese Taipei rounded out the top 5 with 2970 and 2925. Malaysia fell behind the Taiwanese to sixth position after a poor 892.

Cherie rolled the highest 3-game series of 747 to take over the lead in the All Events standings with 4516. Her younger sister, Daphne posted 649 to move up to third on 4459, behind Korea's Kim Moon-Jeong in second with 4483.

Overnight leader, Sin Li Jane slipped down to fourth after a poor 536 series in the team first block. The women will resume their second block over medium oil pattern in the afternoon after the men's second block in the morning.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

7th September, Hong Kong: Korean men finished one-two to sweep the Trios gold and silver medals of the 22nd Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships at the end of the second block while the women won the gold and bronze medals.

Lee Ik-Kyu, Choun Jae-Woo and Choi Yong-Kyu of Korea, who finished 13th overall in yesterday's first block of 3 games, ended the second block with a massive game of 760 and set a benchmark of 3884 to lead Japan by 61 pins and Malaysia by 93.

Their compatriots, Cho Young-Seon, Lim Dong-Sung and Hong Hae-Sol, who were fourth overall in the first block, completed the second block over the short oil pattern with 4025 to seal the gold medal by a convincing margin of 141 pins.

Hong Kong's Eric Tseng, Michael Mak and Wu Siu Hong, who finished second to the champion, in the second squad, failed to dislodge the Japanese trio of Tomoyuki Sasaki, Toshihiko Takahasi and Yoshinao Masatoki, who was second to the first Korean trio with 3823.

Overnight first block leader Mohammed Sultan, Mohammed Janahi and Yousif Falah of Bahrain, struggled on the short oil pattern to slip behind a second Japanese trio and the two fancied Malaysian trios.

Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand also retained his lead in the Men's All Events table with 4078 as Trios gold medalist, Hong Hae-Sol of Korea in second with 3951 and Yousif Falah of Bahrain third with 3948.

In the women's division, New Hui-Fen, Amanda Ng and Daphne Tan of Singapore had earlier edged overnight leader Baek Sueng-Ja, Lee Su-Jeong and Gye Min-Young of Korea by a single pin to put themselves into a medal contender with 3727.

The second trio of Kim Moon-Jeong, Jeon Eun-Hee and Jung Da-Wun sprang a hugh surpise to snatch the gold medal with 3743. The trio had finished in 12th in the first block and trailing their compatriots by 118 pins.

The Koreans needed 706 or more to topple the Singaporean trio and their anchorwomen, Jung struck twice to end the block with a big game of 722 to seal victory with a 16-pin margin. Singapore settled for the silver medal while Korean second trio earned the bronze.

The first Singapore trio was in contention before the final game but managed only 593 to end in fifth with 3666, 34 pins behind Esther Cheah, Zandra Aziela and Shalin Zulkifli of Malaysia, slipping down from second in the first block to fourth.

Singles gold medalist, Sin Li Jane of Malaysia and two gold medalist, Kim Min-Jeong of Korea remained first and second in the All Events standings with 3906 and 3864. Daphne Tan of Singapore moved up to third with 3810.

Competition will shift to the 5-player Team event on Saturday (first block of 3 games over short oil) and Sunday (second block of 3 games over medium oil). The top 16 men and top 16 women in the All Events standings after 24 games will advance to the Masters finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

6th September, Hong Kong: Bahrain topped the opening squad of the first block Men's Trios event of the 22nd Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships and became the overall leader while Korea snatched pole position of the Women's division in the second squad.

Chinese Taipei's Chen Kuan-Yeh, Chang Wu-Tsung and Cheng Hsing-Chao got off the blocks with a superb opening game of 689 to lead Bahrain's threesome of Mohammed Janahi, Mohammed Sultan and Yousif Falah by 2 pins.

Despite an average game of 641 in the second game, the Bahraini trio was able take over the lead as Korea's Hong Hae-Sol, Cho Young-Seon and Lim Dong-Sung closed in onto the new leader and the Taiwanese slipping away.

Bahrain ended the first block with 675 to take the squad with 1967 for a slender 27 pins over the Koreans, who totaled 1922.

Chinese Taipei recovered in their last game to clinch third spot with 1915 followed by Philippines and host nation, Hong Kong rounding out the top 5 with 1905 and 1904 respectively.

Malaysia's Adrian Ang, Alex Liew and Doubles bronze medalist, Zulmazran Zulkifli took the second squad with 1895 but managed eighth overall from the two squads. The second trios of Australia and Japan, who finished second and third to the Malaysians, ended in ninth and tenth positions.

Baek Seung-Ja, Lee Su-Jeong and Gye Min-Young emerging as the overall leader with 1897.

Newly-crowned Daejeon Open champion, Esther Cheah teamed up with Zandra Aziela and Shalin Zulkifli to finish second with 1874, just 23 pins adrift. 2010 Asian Championship Singles gold medalist, Lexi Nicoll of Australia, partnerd Rebecca Whiting and Ann-Maree Putney to clinch third spot with 1853.

All the top 3 finishers toppled Cherie Tan, Shayna Ng and Jazreel Tan of Singapore, who led the Women's opening squad with 1852. New Hui Fen, Amanda Ng and Daphne Tan, who was fourth in the first squad, also tied fourth spot overall with their team-mates.

Chinese Taipei and China first trios, who was second and third in the first squad, settled for sixth and ninth positions overall.

Meanwhile, Singles gold medalist, Sin Li Jane retained her lead in the All Events standings after 15 games with 3258 but is closed down by Doubles gold medalist, Kim Moon-Jeong of Korea in second, just 18 pins away.

Overnight leader, Yannaphon Larpaharat of Thailand also retained his lead in the men's division with 3328, 18 pins ahead of Bahrain's Yousif Falah after the Bahraini posted the highest 3-games series of 726 to help his team to top the trios event.

The second squad will bowl first tomorrow morning the remaining second block 3 games over short oil while the first squad would have the priviledge of knowing the score to beat for the medals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

5th September, Hong Kong: Mahmood Al-Attar and four-time Asia Ranked No.1, Hussain Al-Suwaidi of the United Arab Emirates stormed home in the third and final squad of the 22nd Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships Men's Doubles event to snatch the gold medal.

The Korean pair of Choun Jae-Woo and Lim Dong-Sung had set a benchmarck of 2629 in the opening squad of the Men's Doubles event to lead Japan's Shogo Wada ad Yasuhiro Ikeda by a convincing margin of 88 pins.

Qatar's duo of Yousef Al-Jaber and Mansour Al-Awamy took the second squad with 2603 but failed to topple the Korean. Thailand's Annop Arromsaranon and Yannaphon Larpapharat finished second with 2600 after leading the field most of the way.

The third pair of Daisuke Yoshida and Tomoyuki Sasaki got off the block with 448 in the third and final squad but fizzled off toward the end of the 6-game event.

UAE's Mahmood Al-Attar and Hussain Al-Suwaidi, who had a poor start in their opening game settled into a good pace to reel in 476, 435, 447 and 473 in the next four games and moved into the lead.

Needing only 432 or more to beat the overall leader after two squads, the Emirati pair put in a fauthless final game of 469 to snatch the gold medal with 2666.

Malaysia's Muhd Syafiq Ridhwan and Zulmazran Zulkifli, who finished second to UAE, clinched the bronze medal with 2612 as Squad 1 leader settled for the silver medal. Both Syafiq and Zulmazran had to strike out in their final frame to edge Squad 2 leader by 9 pins.

After two events, Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand led the All Events standings with 2717 followed by Hussain Al-Suwaidi in second with 2644 and Brendan Meads of Australia third with 2631.

Korea topped the Medal standings with 1 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals followed by Malaysia with a medal haul of 1-1-1. Singapore is third with 1 gold and 1 bronze. UAE has one gold and Kuwait has one silver medal.

Competiton will shift to the Trios event over two blocks of three game each on September 6 and 7 divided into two squads.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

5th September, Hong Kong: Overall leader, Jung Da-Wun and Kim Moon-Jeong won Korea's first gold medal at the 22nd Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships after the third and final squad of the Women's Doubles ended late Wednesday evening.

World Women Championship Singles gold medalist, Jacqueline Sijore and newly-crowned Singles champion, Sin Li Jane set a benchmark of 2565 in the opening squad of the Doubles event in the morning.

Singles bronze medalist, Jung Da-Wun and Kim Moon-Jeong led from start to finish to take the second squad and overhauled the Malaysian pair by 8 pins to become the new leader.

A third Malaysian pair of Esther Cheah and Shalin Zulkifli got off the mark in the third squad with a superb 448 but was overtaken by Chinese Taipei pair of Chou Chia-Chen and Tsai Hsin-Yi in the second game.

The Taiwanese led up to the fifth game and needed 455 or more in their final to snatch the gold but managed only 411. Singapore's Shayna Ng and Jazreel Tan, who were trailing the Taiwanese, finished much stronger to take the squad with 2513 but was uable to better the mark set by the Koreans.

Jung and Kim gave the Koreans the gold while Squad 1 leader, settled for the silver medal. Shayna and Jazreel pipped the Taiwanese pair by 7 pins to clinch the bronze.

Daphne Tan and Cherie Tan, who were third before the last squad, rounded up the top 5 with 2459 while Esther and Shalin finished sixth overall with 2428.

After two events from the Singles and Doubles, Sin Li Jane continued to lead the All Events standings with 2655. Kim Moon-Jeong and Jung Da-Wun trailed in second and third with 2616 and 2539 respectively. Cherie and Jacqueline completed the top 5 with 2535 and 2502.

Competiton will shift to the Trios event over two blocks of three game each on September 6 and 7 divided into two squads.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

4th September, Hong Kong: Hong Hae-Sol of Korea missed a golden opportunity to topple leader, Keith Saw of Singapore in final squad of the Men's Singles at the 22nd Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships to settle for the bronze medal.

Apart from the opening game in which Qatar's Mubarak Al-Muraikhi led with 256, 2010 Asian Games and 2011 Asian Championships multiple gold medalist, Hong Hae-Sol of Korea made all the running of the third and final squad of the Men's Singles event.

Hong rolled 234, 259, 254 and 229 in his first four games and amassing a comfortable 73 pins over his nearest opponent. By the fourth game, the Korean left-hander totaled 976 and needed only 376 or more to beat overall leader, Keith Saw of Singapore from the combined first and second squads.

The front-runner posted 192 as the lanes were begining to break down leaving the Korean requiring 184 or more to still clinch the gold medal.

An earlier double strike was wiped off when he had a split in the seventh frame but recovered with a second double strike in the eighth and ninth frames which meant he only needed to mark his tenth frame.

The "anything can happen" jinx struck the unfortunate Korean when he rolled a 6-pin split. Sparing the frame could still give him the gold, taking three pins would give him the silver but he only took one pin to settle for the bronze medal with 1346.

Overall leader Keith Saw won the gold with 1352 while perfect gamer, Fadhel Al-Mousawi of Kuwait took the silver by 1 pin from Squad 3 leader, Hong on a total of 1347.

Hong Kong's Eric Tseng, who was third before the final squad, missed the podium by 16 pins to finish fourth.

In the women's division, the top three finishers failed to even finish in the top 5 of the combined standings. Ann-Maree Putney of Australia topped the third squad with 1263 after a keen tussle for the lead with Japan's Natsuki Sasaki.

Sasaki finished second to the Australian with 1242 while Shalin Zulkifli of Malaysia took third spot with 1230. The top 3 ended up in sixth, 11th and 13th respectively in the overall standings.

Squad 1 leader, Sin Li Jane claimed the first gold medal for Malaysia with 1404. Jeon Eun-Hee of Korea, who trailed Li Jane in the first squad remained in second to take the silver medal on 1308.

Squad 2 leader, Jun Da-Wun settled for the bronze medal with a total of 1297, knocking off compatriot, Kim Moon-Jeong into fourth spot on 1285. Singapore's Cherie Tan rounded up the top 5 with 1274.

The winners will be presented their medals during the break after the first squad of the Doubles event on September 5. Three squads will be contested before competition shifts to the Trios and 5-player Team events on September 6 to 9.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

4th September, Hong Kong: Singapore's Keith Saw topped Squad 2 to become the new leader of the Men's Singles of the 22nd Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships while Korea's Jung Da-Wun and Kim Moon-Jeong finished one-two in the Women's division.

Eric Tseng of Hong Kong blitzed the lanes with a scintilating 276 to take an early lead as 44 men contested their Singles in the second squad. Thailand's Yannaphon Larpapharat trailed Tseng in second with 267.

But both Tseng and Yannaphon managed only 198 and 203 respectively allowing the Japanese duo of Toshihiko Takahashi and Yoshinao Masatoki taking over the running after both amassed 496 and 481 from two games.

Yannaphon recovered with 236 in the third to regain the lead as the Japanese could not maintain the hot pace. Tseng also bounced back with 220 to move up to second, just 7 pins adrift.

The Thai remained in the lead for the next two games followed by a second Hong Kong national bowler, Wu Siu Hong in hot pursuit, albeit trailing by 30 pins. Singapore's youngster, Keith Saw made his bid with a superb fifth game of 246 to take up third, 7 pins further away.

It came down to the sixth and final game to decide the outcome of the second squad. Keith rolled 265 to snatch the lead and setting a new benchmark of 1352 to beat Squad 1 leader, Muhd Nur Aiman of Malaysia by 26 pins.

Kuwait's Fadhel Al-Mousawi shot the first 300 of the championship in his final game to clinch second spot with 1347 while Tseng recovered for the second time to finish third with 1330. All top 3 finishers beat Aiman's score of 1326 from Squad 1.

A second Kuwaiti, Basel Al-Anzi stormed home with 245 and 233 in his last two games but settled for fourth position with 1311. Yannaphon managed only 183 to slip down to fifth with 1308.

Meanwhile, this year's Singapore Open champion, Jung Da-Wun and her team-mate, Kim Moon-Jeong completed their six-games Singles with 1297 and 1285 respectively to give Korea a one-two finish.

But their totals failed to topple Squad 1 leader, Sin Li Jane of Malaysia. Haruka Matsuda of Japan had opened accounts with a big game of 258 but faded away quickly as Chinese Taipei's Wang Ya-Ting led for the next two games.

But it was the Koreans who proved much stronger when Kim took over the running past the halfway mark, 23 pins ahead of Jung in second. Jung rounded off with 234 and 200 in her last two games to take the squad with 1297 while Kim finished second with 1285.

World Women Championships 2011 multiple Silver medalist, Cherie Tan clinched third spot with 1274. Her younger sister and team-mate, Daphne Tan and China's Zhang Yu-Hong completed the top 5 of the second squad with 1253 and 1230 respectively.

Jung was not able to topple the earlier squad leader as well as another team-mate, Jeon Eun-Hee, who remained first and second overall. Li Jane's 1404 appeared firm and unbeatable leaving the women fighting for the minor places. In contrast, the field is still wide open for the men's division.

The third and final squad of the Singles event will be contested at 7.30pm local time and the combined scores will decide the top 3 medal winners.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

4th September, Hong Kong: Malaysian bowlers got off to a great start with Sin Li Jane and Muhd Nur Aiman topping the opening squad of the Women's and Men's Singles of the 22nd Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships on Tuesday morning.

2011 South East Asian Games Singles silver medalist, Sin Li Jane set a blistering pace with 259 in her opening game to lead by 21 pins ahead of 2010 Asian Championships Team gold medalist, Jeon Eun-Hee in second.

Another cracking 246 from Li Jane put the 20-year-old 50 pins ahead in the lead as another Korean, Gye Min-Young moved into second position and Eun-Hee's 194 in the second game slipped her down to fourth.

A scintilating 265 in the third game from Min-Young allowed her to take over the running at the halfway mark as Li Jane dropped to second after managing only 203.

However, the Malaysian regained the lead after a strong fourth game of 213 when Min-Young rolled a poor 171, putting the Korean 30 pins behind Li Jane while her team-mate, Eun-Hee bounced back to third, just 1 pin further away.

As the Koreans were unable to make any headway, Li Jane closed out the squad with two fabulous games of 257 and 226 and setting an excellent 6-games benchmark of 1404 to take the squad.

Eun-Hee completed her six games with 195 and 223 to finish a distant second with 1308, 96 pins adrift while Min-Young ended in a disappointing third with 1260. China's Chen Dong-Dong and Zhang Chun-Li rounded out the top 5 with 1250 and 1248 respectively.

Malaysia had plenty to cheer when Muhd Nur Aiman topped the opening squad of the Men's division with 1326. The left-handed Malaysian rolled two massive opening games of 269 and 268 but his pace dropped to 197, 188, 208 and 196 for a score lower than the women's division.

Hong Kong's Michael Mak did well to finish second to Aiman with 1304 while pace-setter, Frederick Ong of Philippines, who was battling with the Malaysian in the early stages, slipped down to fourth spot with 1294.

Indonesia's youngster, Sean Christian surprised the field by taking third spot with 1297, pipping the Filipino by 3 pins.

The second squad will take to the lanes at 2.00pm local time while the third and final squad will roll off at 7.30pm. The top 3 in both the women and men divisions in the combined scores will be declared the winners.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

3rd September, Hong Kong: The official opening ceremony held at HK Bowling City on Monday evening with the dotting of the lions' eyes, marked the start of the 22nd Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships 2012.

The ceremony was graced by guests of honour, His Highness Sheikh Talal Mohammad Al-Sabah, President of the Asian Bowling Federation, Mr Kevin Dornberger, President of WTBA and FIQ, Mr Victor Hui Chun Fui, GBS, JP, Vice President of Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, Mr Raymond Young Lap Moon, JP, Permenent Secretary of Home Affairs, Home Affairs Bureau and Ms Vivien Lau, BBS, JP., the Organizing Chairman, Honarary Life President of ABF and Secretary General of FIQ.

The newly elected Vice Presidents of ABF, Mr Layth Tommy Thomas (Western Region), Mr Choi Jang-Kyu (Far East Region), Mr Michael Seymour (Oceanic Region) and Mrs Suwalai Saturlee (South East Region) were also amongst the dignitaries at the opening.

Among them were countless distinguished guests, federations presidents and representatives, consulars in Hong Kong of the participating countries, team officials, coaches, players, supporters and spectators.

Ms Astrid Lo, emcee for the opening ceremony, welcome all present and kicked off the ceremonies by first introducing the guests of honours, ABF Executive Committee Members before announcing the marchpast of the 23 participating countries.

Speeches started off with the organising chairman, Ms Vivien Lau welcoming the players and officials to the championships followed by His Highness Sheikh Talal, who expressed gratitude to the support shown by member federations of ABF in participating at this year's championships.

Mr Kevin Dornberger, in his speech, praised Ms Vivien Lau and her committee members and volunteers for demonstrating superb organizing abilities in the championships as well as previous championships hosted by Hong Kong.

Hong Kong national bowlers, Wu Siu Hong and Milki Ng took the bowlers' oath on behlaf of the players while Mr Leung Yuet Ming, Head Referee, took the oath on behalf of tournament officials.

Ms Vivien Lau then invited Sheikh Talal, Mr Kevin Dornberger, Mr Victor Hui and Mr Raymond Young to perform the traditional dotting of the lions' eyes to mark good fortune and smooth running of the championships followed by Mr Raymond Young declaring the championships officially opened.

The traditional lion dance was performanced by the Sun Ngai Kwun Performing Arts group, which thrilled those who witnessed the lion dance for the firt time. The guests were then invited to a welcoming reception hosted by HKTBC.

Earlier in the day, teams from the 23 participating countries took to the lanes for their official practice over the two lane patterns, short and medium. Competition will begin with the Singles event on September 4, divided into three squads for both the women and men divisions.

The Doubles will also be divided into three squads to be contested on September 5 before shifting to the Trios and 5-player Team events for the next four subsequent days. The top 16 women and top 16 men in the All Events standings (24 games total) will advance to the matchplay round-robin Masters finals over two blocks of 8 games on September 10 and 11.

The top 3 women and top 3 men will qualify for the stepladder finals. A total of 12 gold medals (6 in the women division and 6 in the men division) will be awarded.

In addition, the top 12 women teams and top 12 men teams (top 5 players' All Events pinfalls added together) will qualify for the combined World Championships 2013 which will be held in Hender, Nevada, USA.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.