28th September, Hong Kong: Both second seeds, Rafiq Ismail of Malaysia and Jung Da Wun of Korea defeated top seeds to capture the Men's and Women's Masters gold medals at the concluding Target 24th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships on Wednesday.

2015 Asian Youth four gold medallist, Rafiq and top seed, Michael Mak of Hong Kong both struggled in the first match of the championship final. The Malaysian southpaw had an open frame in the fifth but struck thrice from frame nine.

Mak stumbled to three splits, which he failed to convert losing the first match, 159-197 to trail by 38 pins of the two-game total pins encounter.

In the second match, Rafiq got off much better with four strikes-in-a-row and although Mak had a double in the second and third frames, the Hong Kong national bowler had fallen 57 pins behind. The gap was reduced when Rafiq failed to spare in the fifth frame which Mak did not take advantage of.

Rafiq went on to seal the match, 214-203 with a 411-362 victory to win his first individual gold medal and his country's third.

Mak, who won the Doubles, Trios and All Events gold medals, failed to add a fourth and had to settle for the silver.

The champion had earlier ousted first block leader and third-seed, Shogo Wada of Japan, 203-198 to advance to the title match.

Mak topped the second block finals with a 16-game total of 3691 adding five wins to the five he won in the first block to advance to the TV stepladder finals as top seed. Rafiq made the biggest move from tenth in the first block to second with 3681 from a total of ten wins.

Wada made the stepladder cut in third with 3655 from a total of 12 wins over two blocks of the round-robin matchplay finals. Doubles gold and All Events bronze medallist, Wu Siu Hong had a chance to make the cut but missed it by 30 pins after losing to Raif in the position round.

Wada made the stepladder cut in third with 3655 from a total of 12 wins over two blocks of the round-robin matchplay finals. Doubles gold and All Events bronze medallist, Wu Siu Hong had a chance to make the cut but missed it by 30 pins after losing to Raif in the position round.

Tomoyuki Sasaki of Japan, who was third in the first block managed fifth to complete the top five with 3555 from seven wins total. Korean men, the traditional powerhouse, failed to pick up a single gold medal at this championship.

Unlike the men, Korean women displayed total dominance throughout the championship. 2015 World Women's Championships Masters gold medallist, Jung Da Wun captured her fourth gold medal of the championship with victory in the all-Korean championship match, 440-364 over two games.

Jung built up a gap of 43 pins when she took the first match, 213-170 against top seed, Baek Seung Ja. In the second match, Jung showed no mercy by cruising to a 227-194 convincing victory. The champion had earlier eliminated third-seed, Jasmine Yeong-Nathan of Singapore with ease in the semi-final match, 224-177.

Baek, who had already won three silver medals in the Singles, Doubles and All Events, again had to settle for her fourth silver despite topping the earlier second block finals with 3794, 223 pins ahead of Jung and 13 wins.

The champion finished second with 3571 from 14 wins while the Singaporean clinched third and final stepladder spot with 3519 from eight wins in total. Filipina, Liza Del Rosario missed the cut by 57 pins in fourth position.

Jeoy Yeo of Singapore, who was second in the first block, managed only three wins to slip down to fifth with 3410 from a total of nine wins over two blocks.

Hong Kong emerged as overall champion of the men's division with three gold, one silver and two bronze medals. Malaysian men finished second with a medal haul of 2-1-2. Japan was third with a haul of 1-1-1.

Korea dominated the women's division to become a clear overall champion with four gold, 5 silver and 1 bronze medal. Malaysia again finished second with a haul of 1-1-2 while Japan, with one gold took third spot.

Korea finished with a total of four gold, Malaysia and Hong Kong three gold each with Japan two. There was no award given to the overall champion starting with this Championship. A total of 135 men and 65 women from 24 countries competed here in Hong Kong at the SCAA Bowling Centre. Kuwait will be the host of the 25th edition in 2017.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

27th September, Hong Kong: The field is wide open after the Masters finals of the Target 24th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships were completed with Shogo Wada of Japan leading Men's field by two pins and Baek Seung Ja of Korea in the Women's division by 13 pins.

Sole Thai finalist, Kim Bolleby got off brilliantly winning his opening match by beating Tomoyuki Sasaki of Japan 249-226 and 10 pins bonus, to lead 12 pins ahead of Malaysia's Rafiq Ismail, who won his match with 237 plus a 10 pin bonus.

But Bolleby lost his second match allowing Wada moved into the lead, after the latter won his first two matches. Team silver medallist, Sam Cooley of Australia also won his first two matches to trail the Japanese by 22 pins.

Wada went into top gear winning his next four matches including a 299 in the fifth match to extend his lead to 97 pins. Cooley and the recovering Thai traded second spot but was did not pick up as many wins as Wada.

Although the leader lost his next two matches, Wada closed out with a win in the eighth match to end the block in pole position with 1882, winning six out of the eight matches contested.

Triple gold medallist, Michael Mak, who led briefly after the seventh match, lost his final match to finish in secondjust one pin adrift with 1880 from five wins. A second Japanese, Sasaki took third spot 36 pins further away with 1844 from just four wins. Doubles and Trios gold medallist, Wu Siu Hong of Hong Kong was the only finalist to win all eight matches but settled for fourth position with 1832.

2015 World Championships Men's Masters champion, Kang Hee Won of Korea completed the top five with 1799 while Bolleby finished sixth with 1779. The field is fairly bunched up with little separating the top six players and will prove to be exciting to watch when the second block resumes tomorrow.

Meanwhile in the women's division, there was a keen tussle for the lead in the early stages of the eight-match first block finals. Malaysia's season campaigner, Shalin Zulkifli set the early pace and traded the lead with Singapore Jeoy Yeo and Korea's Baek Seung Ja.

Yeo led in the second, fifth and sixth matches but a win from Baek in the seventh match with a big game of 278 gave the Korean the lead with an 81-pin margin. Despite losing her final match, Baek topped the first block with 1853 from six wins.

The Singaporean settled for second with 1840 also from six wins but only 13 pins behind the leader. Shalin was consistent enough to stay close with the leading duo and finished third with 1791 winning five matches.

TTriple gold medallist, Jung Da Wun of Korea took fourth position with 1776 from five wins while a second Singaporean, Jasmine Yeong-Nathan completed the top five with 1768 from just four wins.

Less than 70 pins separates the top five promising an exciting second block tomorrow. There will be a position-round match after the fifteen game and the top three men and top three women will advance to the TV finals for the final gold medal of the championship.

Korea and Hong Kong has three gold medals and two bronze each and if Korean women and Hong Kong men win the Masters gold medal, Korea will emerge as overall champion with the four silver medals which Hong Kong has none.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

26th September, Hong Kong: Korea won their third consecutive gold medal in the Women's 5-player Team event at the Target 24th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships as Singles gold and silver medallists, Jung Da Wun and Baek Seung Ja picked up their second gold and silver medals from the All Events.

Jung Da Wun, Baek Seung Ja, Kim Min Hee (alternating Hong Hae Ni), Son Hye Rin and Jeong Eun Hee continued where they left off in the first block yesterday with a splendid opening fourth game of 1085 to stretch their lead to 53 pins.

Malaysia's Esther Cheah, Syaidatul Afifah, Victoria Chin, Shalin Zulkifli and Sin Li Jane matched their arch rival with 1067 but remained in second.

Singapore's Joey Yeo, Geraldine Ng, Jasmine Yeong-Nathan, Bernice Lim and Daphne Tan shot a higher game than Korea and Malaysia with 1091 to narrow the gap while Japan and Chinese Taipei were far away in fourth and fifth positions.

The order remained the same for the top three teams after the fifth game but Malaysia was able to reduce the gap to 30 pins. Korea fired a big game of 1143 to take a convincing victory with 6409 to win the third gold in the championships.

Malaysia ended with 1130 to sealed second spot to take home the silver medal with 6366 while Singapore remained unchallenged to claim the bronze medal with 6108.

Jung and Baek, who had occupied the top two spots in the All Events standings since the first event, went on to finish one-two. Jung picked up her third gold medal with 5232 over 24 games. Baek earned the silver with 5193.

Esther Cheah added a bronze medal to her gold in the Doubles and silver in the team with 5011. Trios gold medallist, Mira Ishimoto missed the podium by a single pins with 5010.

Triple gold medallist, Jung Da Wun of Korea took fourth position with 1776 from five wins while a second Singaporean, Jasmine Yeong-Nathan completed the top five with 1768 from just four wins.

Jeon Eun Hee clinched the 16th and last spot with 4843 in the All Events to qualify for the Masters while Hikaru Takekawa missed the cut by ten pins.

The top 16 women will contest the Masters finals over two blocks of eight game on September 27 and 28. The Top three women will advance to the stepladder grand finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

26th September, Hong Kong: Overnight leader, Japan took a convincing victory in the Men's 5-player Team event to win their second gold medal at the Target 24th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships while two gold medallist, Michael Mak captured Hong Kong's third gold from the Men's All Events.

Tomoyuki Sasaki, Yuhi Shinbata, Takuya Miyazawa, Shogo Wada and Shusaku Asato got off the second block in style reeling off a scintillating 1180 to extend their first block lead to a massive 221 pins over their nearest rival, Australia.

Tomoyuki almost shot the championship's first 300 with a 299 effort. Yuhi too had a chance for a perfect game but was content with 278, which helped the team to the big game.

George Frilingos, Jayden Leming, Ashley Warren Lachland Merchant and Sam Cooly of Australia kept close with the leader on an opening game of 1034 but the big mover was Malaysia, hauling themselves up from ninth to third with 1082.

Japan added a fifth game of 1080 before finishing on an equally high game of 1171 to seal victory with a team total of 6634 with a massive gap of 305 pins. Australia kept a good momentum by finishing with 1085 and 1082 to clinch the silver medal with 6329.

Malaysia's Rafiq Ismail, Adrian Ang, (alternating with Zulmazran Zulkifli in the second block), Muhd Nur Aiman, Timmy Tan and Syafiq Ridhwan was the strongest perfomer ending the block with 1125 and 1118 to claim the bronze medal with 6275.

Hong Kong, who had a poor first block, fought back galantly but fell short by 123 pins to finish fourth with 6152 while the mighty Koreans, who was second yesterday, ended in a disappointing sixth position behind Hong Kong and Thailand.

Doubles and Trios gold medallist, Michael Mak captured Hong Kong's third gold medal after topping the All Events standings with 5378. Yuhi Shinbata, who shot 299 in the final game, snatched the silver medal with 5301.

Wu Siu Hong, who had a good gap to the Japanese before the second block, had to settle for the bronze medal with 5285. Team silver medallist, Sam Cooly missed the podium by 40 pins to finish fourth with 5245.

The cut for the Masters finals went to Trios gold medallist, Lau Kwun Ho of Hong Kong with 5000 (average 208.33). Singles and Trios silver medallist, Annop Arromsaranon of Thailand missed the cut by 5 pins in 17th position.

The top 16 men will contest the Masters finals over two blocks of eight games on September 27 and 28. The top three men will advance to the stepladder grand finals which will be telecast LIVE on Now Sports and LIVE feed to some of the major TV stations in Asia.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

25th September, Hong Kong: After drawing blanks in the first three events, Japanese men finally turned in a promising display by leading of the Men's 5-player Team first block at the Target 24th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships on Sunday.

Wicky Yeung, Eric Tseng, Lau Kwun Ho, Wu Siu Hong and Michael Mak of Hong Kong got off the block superbly with 1084 in their opening game to lead Saudi Arabia by just ten pins and Chinese Taipei a further 13 pins in third.

But Hong Kong suffered a set-back managing only 980 as Korea's Kang Hee Won, Kim Kyung Min, Cha In Ho, Hong Hae Sol and Park Jong Woo reeled in a big game of 1133 to take over the running.

Australia's George Frilingos, Jayden Leming, Ashley Warren, Lachland Merchant and Sam Cooly also shot past the 1100-mark to take up second spot, eighth pins adrift the Koreans. Japan moved up into third with a superb second game of 1126.

Tomoyuki Sasaki, Yuhi Shinbata, Takuya Miyazawa, Shogo Wada and Shusaku Asato kept their momentum into the third and final game of the first block with 1085 to snatch the lead from the Koreans with 3203.

Korea did well to end strongly with 1014 to finish just 38 pins behind the Japanese with 3165. The Aussies settled for third position with 985. Chinese Taipei and United Arab Emirates rounded out the top five with 3118 and 3107 respectively..

After the 21 games contested, two gold medallists, Michael Mak remained in the lead of the Men's All Events standings with 4735. His team-mate, Wu Siu Hong did better in the first block of the Team event to reduce the gap to 117 pins in second with 4618..

Singles gold medallist, Timmy Tan also remained in third position with 4550 while Syafiq Ridhwan of Malaysia and Yuhi Shinbata both improved to complete the top five with 4544 and 4512. The men will resume with the second block of three games tomorrow morning followed by the women in the afternoon. The top three teams will be awarded the medals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

25th September, Hong Kong: Reigning champion, Korea topped the first block of the Women's 5-player Team event at the Target 24th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships on Sunday, just 35 pins ahead of Malaysia in second and Singapore third.

Philippines got off the block brilliantly with 1007 to lead Korea by seven pins and Malaysia, a further one pin away. Singles gold medallist, Jung Da Wun led her compatriots, Baek Seung Ja, Hong Hae Ni, Son Hye Rin and anchorwomen, Jeon Eun Hee macthed their first game with 1032 in the second game but could not pull away.

Chinese Taipei spinned their way into second spot by adding a sizzling second game of 1081 to their moderate start of 946. Philippines slipped down behind Singapore in third and Malaysia in fourth.

Korea ended the first block with 1052 and topped the field with 3084, albeit a slender margin of just 35 pins.

Malaysia's Syaidatul Afifah, Victoria Chin, Shalin Zulkifli, Esther Cheah and Sin Li Jane stormed home with a superb 1058 to snatch second spot with 3049.

Joey Yeo, Geraldine Ng, Jasmine Yeong-Nathan, Bernice Lim and Daphne Tan stayed closed to the leading duo with 2978 in third, 106 pins from the leader and 71 pins from Malaysia. Chinese Taipei and Philippines completed the top five teams with 2963 and 2923 respectivelty.

After just halfway through the Trios, Jung Da Wun stretched her lead over team-mate, Baek Seung Ja to 235 pins after leading the All Events standings with 4649. Baek and Liza Del Rosario of Philippines took second and third spots with 4414 and 4343. The women will resume with the second block of three games in the afternoon after the men have completed their second block in the morning.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

24th September, Hong Kong: Hong Kong and Japan sealed the Men's and Women's Trios gold medals at the Target 24th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships as they remained unbeaten after Squad 1 completed their second block of three games.

Wu Siu Hong, Michael Mak and Lau Kwun Ho had ended their second block earlier in the day with 3931, 55 pins ahead of Korea's Park Jong Woo, Cha In Ho and Ka Soo Hyeong in second with 3876. Malaysia's second trio of Muhd Nur Aiman, Rafiq Ismail and Zulmazran Zulkifli was third with 3847.

Overnight squad leader, Philippines got off well in the second block's opening game four with 665, but found themselves, trailing Thailand by 10 pins when Kim Bolleby, Annop Arromsaranon and Yannaphon Larpapharat shot a splendid 710.

Despite managing only 600 in the fifth game, Philippines' first trio of Enzo L. Hernandez, Kevin Oliver Cu and Kenneth Chua regained the lead to move 10 pins ahead of the Thailand after the trio stumbled to a low game of 586.

With the sixth and final game to play, both Philippines and Thailand were 761 and 753 pins behind Hong Kong, which made their task extremely difficult.

Their best chance was to overtake Korea for the silver or the Malaysians for the bronze. Thailand came close to beating Hong Kong when they ended the block with a stunning 722 but still fell short by 31 pins to settle for the silver medal with 3900 leaving Hong Kong the gold medal. Korea was pushed down to third to take home the bronze medal with 3876.

Philippines managed only 615 for a total of 3810 to finish fifth while Malaysia ended with a stronger 677 to take up fourth overall with 3847.

Hong Kong's victory earned them their second gold medal of the championship after Wu and Mak bagged the Doubles gold medal two days ago. The last time Hong Kong won two gold medals at the Asian Championships was way back in 1992 in Perth, Australia where Choi Mui Chu won the Women's Singles gold medal and Frankie Cheung and Franco Lau picked up the Men's Doubles gold medal.

Meanwhile, Haruna Nojima, Mirai Ishimoto, Shion Izumune won Japan's first gold medal at the championship when they were also unbeaten by Women's Trios Squad 1. Overnight squad leader, Philippines was unable to repeat their first block form to drop out of contention.

Singles gold medallist, Jung Da Wun led her team-mates, Baek Seung Ja and Jeon Eun Hee to top the squad and claimed the silver medal with 3743, 44 pins behind Japan, who totalled 3787 earlier in the day.

The first trio of Esther Cheah, Syaidatul Afifah and Sin Li Jane made a last bid to win a medal but finished 36 pins behind their compatriot, Nur Syazwani Sahar, Victoria Chin and Shalin Zulkifli, who clinched the bronze medal with 3731.

The other Japanese trio rounded out the top five with 3603 as Philippines dropped down to sixth position with 3603.

After three events, Jung Da Wun and Baek Seung Ja occupied the top two positions of the Women's All Events standings with 3962 and 3791 respectively. Liza Del Rosario of Philippines is third with 3764. Michael Mak and Wu Siu Hong also occupied the top two positions of the Men's All Events standings with 4123 and 3956 respectively. Singles gold medallist, Timmy Tan is third with 3947.

Competition will shift to the 5-player Team event with the first block of three games over the medium oil pattern tomorrow and the second block of three games over the long oil pattern on September 26. The top 16 men and top 16 women in the All Events standings after the 5-player Team event will qualify for the Masters finals, to be contested over two days on September 29 and 30.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

24th September, Hong Kong: Hong Kong is poised to win their second gold medal at the Target 24th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships after a scintillating performance in the second block of the Trios event to take up pole position.

Wu Siu Hong and Michael Mak, who won Hong Kong's first gold medal in the Doubles event two days ago, were joined by Lau Kwun Ho in the Trios event and finished second in the first block of three games yesterday to Korea.

The trio immediately went into the lead after a sizzling 667 in the fourth and opening game of the second block albeit only just one pin ahead of Korea's Park Jong Woo, Cha In Ho and Ka Soo Hyeong, who did well with 652.

The momemtum was on the host nation when the trio reeled in another superb game of 668, extending the gap to the nearest rival to 83 pins. Korea suffered a set back after they stumbled to a poor 586 in the fifth game.

The trio remained totally focused ending the second block with 651 for a team total of 3931. Lau posted 1176, Wu 1369 while anchorman and Singles bronze medallist, Mak rolled the highest six-games score of 1386.

Korea recovered in their final game with 679 but finished with 3876, 55 pins adrift Hong Kong. Muhd Nur Aiman, Rafiq Ismail and Zulmazran Zulkifli of Malaysia took third spot with 3847 with Japan and Thailand completing the top five with 3767 and 3681 respectively.

Leader of Squad 1, Philippines would require 2001 or more pins in their second block to overhaul Hong Kong and by no means an easy task. Two other contenders were Japan, requiring 2025 or more and Singapore, needing 2030 or more.

Meanwhile, Japan's Mirai Ishimoto, Shion Izumune and Haruna Nojima led from start to finish in the second block of the Women's Trios with cocnsistent scores of 619, 612 and 613 to take the squad with 3787 total. Ishimoto posted 1294, Izumune 1159 and Nojima the highest with 1334.

Malaysian second trio of Nur Syazwani Sahar, Victoria Chin and Shalin Zulkifli trailed Japan all the way to finish second with 3731 but was able to reduce the gap from 83 pins in the first block to 56 pins.

Chinese Taipei's Chou Chia-Chen, Pan Yu-Fen and Singles bronze medallist, Wang Ya-Ting remained third with 3581 while Singapore and Korea rounded out the top five with 3578 and 3401 respectively.

With their consistent display in the second block, Japan is poised to finish in the medals. Squad 1 leader, Philippines would still require 1827 or higher from their second block to topple the Japanese trio. Australia, who was third overall in the first block, need 1865 or more.

The stronger second Korean trio can still finish in the top three. They only need 1899 or more for the gold. Squad 1 will take to the lanes for their second block later today and the scores from the two squads combined will determine the medal winners.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

23rd September, Hong Kong: Korea's second trio took over the lead of the Men's Trios first block of three game at the Target 24th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships while Philippines topped the women's division.

Philippines' first trio of Enzo L Hernandez, Kevin Oliver Cu and Kenneth Chua had topped the opening squad with 1930, 24 pins ahead of the first Japanese trio of Tomoyuki Sasaki, Yuhi Shinbata and Takuya Miyazawa followed by Singapore in third.

Doubles gold medallist, Wu Siu Hong and Michael Mak of Hong Kong teamed up with Lau Kwun Ho to set a blistering pace with 696 in their opening game of the second squad to lead the second Japanese trio of Atsushi Ibuki, Shogo Wada and Shusaku Asato by 43 pins.

The Hong Kong trio added another sizzling second game of 641 to stretch their lead to 50 pins over Japan. Korea's second trio of Park Jong Woo, Cha In Ho and Ka Soo Hyeong posted the highest single game of 702 to move up to third.

The leader needed 593 or more to overhaul the benchmark set by the first Filipino trio and although they managed to end the block with 608 and beat Philippines by 15 pins, the Korean trio stormed home with 688 to snatch the lead with 1959, just 14 pins ahead of Hong Kong.

Hong Kong settled for second with 1945 while Philippines took third spot with 1930. Two Japanese trios finished fourth and fifth positions with 1914 and 1906 respectively while Singapore rounded out the top six with 1901.

Meanwhile, Squad 1 leader and the first trio of Liza Del Rosario, Lara Posadas and Liza Clutario remained unbeaten to top the first block with 1960. The second Japanese trio of Mirai Ishimoto, Shion Izumune and Haruna Nojima, who topped the second squad, ended 17 pins behind Philippines on 1943.

Dena Buxton, Kate Pilkington and Rebecca Voukolos of Australia, who finished second to the Filipinas, slipped to third with 1922 while Singles gold medallist, Jung Da Wun together with Baek Seung Ja and Jeon Eun Hee managed only fourth with 1888.

Malaysia's second trio of Syazwani Sahar, Victoria Chin and Shalin Zulkifli rounded out the top five with 1860. The second Chinese Taipei trio, who was third in the second squad, finished sixth with 1852.

After two events and the first block of the trios contested, Doubles gold and Singles bronze medallist, Michael Mak led the Men's All Events standings with 3437, 125 pins ahead of two Malaysians, Singles gold medallist, Timmy Tan in second and Doubles bronze medallist, Syafiq Ridhwan in third.

Women's Singles gold medallist, Jung Da Wun led the women's division with 3355, 198 pins well ahead of Liza Del Rosario in second and team-mate, Baek Seung Ja in third with 3157 and 3123 respectively. The bowlers will resume with their second block of three games over the medium oil pattern tomorrow and the top three trios will be awarded the medals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

22nd September, Hong Kong: Singles bronze medallist, Michael Mak teamed up with Wu Siu Hong to overtake the first Malaysian pair and leader in the third squad to capture the Men's Doubles gold of the Target 24th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships for host country, Hong Kong.

Adrian Ang and Singles gold medallist, Timmy Tan got off to a cracking start with 484 in their opening game of the third and final doubles squad to lead Mak and Wu by 43 pins followed by Australia's Lachland Merchant and Sam Cooley in third with 439.

A scintillating 515 from the Hong Kong pair shot them into the lead and moved 19 pins ahead of Singapore's Jonovan Neo and Muhd Jaris Goh after posting a superb game of 514. Malaysia slipped down to third, a further 24 pins away.

Ang and Tan bounced back with 461 in the third game to reduce the deficit to just two pins when Mak and Wu managed 420. Singapore continued to trail in third.

Mak and Wu kept their momentum on the right track by rolling 437 in the fourth game as the Malaysian pair was hot on their heels narrowing the gap to 19 pins.

The leader still had a lot of work to do with two games left at this stage with a 847 pins away from 2660 set by Rafiq Ismail and Syafiq Ridhwan in the first squad.

A cracking 472 in the fifth game put Mak and Wu closer to taking the gold especially with just a gap of 375 pins remaining from the sixth and final game. But with the third Malaysian pair trailing by 60 pins, and Australia and Singapore close by, the Hong Kong pair still had work to do.

With a large local crowd cheering them on, the pair prevailed with 423 to seal the gold medal with 2708. Ang and Tan made a last minute effort but fell short by 16 pins to settle for the silver medal with 2676.

Australia's 2639 and Singapore's 2638 total failed to overhaul Squad 1 leader leaving the bronze medal to Malaysia's Rafiq and Syafiq on a total of 2660.

Meanwhile, in the women's division, Squad 1 leader, Sin Li Jane and Esther Cheah picked up Malaysia's second gold medal of the championship with 2637 when Squad 3 winner, Singles gold and silver medallists, Jung Da Wun and Baek Seung Ja of Korea fell short by 95 pins to take home the silver with 2575.

A second Korean pair and Squad 2 leader, Jeon Eun Hee and Kim Min Hee took third spot to claim the bronze medal with 2520. A second Malaysian pair of Nur Syazwani Sahar and Shalin Zulkifli missed the podium by 25 pins to finish in fourth with 2495.

After two events, Jung Da Wun topped the All Events with 2723 ahead of her team-mate, Baek Seung Ja in second with 2515. Singles bronze medallist maintained third spot with 2505.

Singles gold medallist, Timmy Tan rolled the highest six-game series of 1396 in the doubles to lead the Men's All Events with 2768. Michael Mak trailed in second with 2737 with a 1396 in the doubles event while Syafiq Ridhwan was third with 2693.

Competition will shift to the Trios event with both the women's and men's division divided into two squads. They will bowl their first block of three games over the long oil pattern tomorrow and the second block on medium oil pattern on Saturday, September 24.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

21st September, Hong Kong: Malaysia dominated the second event of the Target 24th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships after Syafiq Ridhwan and Rafiq Ismail, Sin Li Jane and Esther Cheah topped the Men's and Women's Doubles opening squad.

Syafiq and Rafiq got off the six-game block with 437 to lead Singapore's first pair of Timothy Tham and Kuek Qi Eng by nine pins and Macau's first pair of Ho Chok San and Chan Tak Seng a further one pin away.

The Malaysia pair added another superb game of 459 to stretch their lead to 21 pins as Hong Kong's first pair of Rickle Kam and Eric Tseng moved up to second a promising 457 in their second game with Singapore slipping down to third.

Syafiq and Rafiq blazed the lanes at SCAA Bowling Centre with a scintillating 526 to extend the gap to 112 pins at the halfway mark while the rest were playing catch-up. Hong Kong did well to stay in second with Singapore recovering slightly to remain in third.

Despite a lowly 407 in the fourth game, Malaysia was able to stay ahead albeit seeing their margin reduced to 78 pins after Singapore posted a superb game of 472.

Malaysia went on to top the squad with 425 and 406 for a total of 2660. Rafiq shot 1283 while his partner, Syafiq posted the highest six-game series with 1377.

Korea's first pair of Hong Hae Sol and Kim Kyung Min stormed home to snatch second spot with 2621 ahead of Singapore in third with 2605. Abdulrahman Alkhelewi and Abdullah Al Dolijan of Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong rounded out the top five with 2551 and 2491 respectively.

In the women's division, Sin Li Jane and two-time Hong Kong Open champion, Esther Cheah led from start to finish taking the squad with 2637. Li Jane contributed 1262 as Cheah shot the highest six-game series with 1375.

China's first pair of Zhang Chunli and Zhang Yuhong surprised the field by taking up second spot with 2434, trailing the Malaysian pair throughout the block.

Singapore's first pair of Daphne Tan and PWBA USBC Queens 2016 champion, Bernice Lim put themselves in contention for a medal by finishing third with 2425 while Philippines' first pair of Krizziah Tabora and Lara Posadas missed the top three with 2410 in fourth.

Hong Hae Ni and Son Hye Rin of Korea completed the top five with 2408. The Men's and Women's Doubles Squad 2 will be staged tomorrow morning while the third and final squad at 2.20pm local time. The top three from the combined three squads will the gold, silver and bronze medals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

21st September, Hong Kong: Overnight leaders, Timmy Tan of Malaysia and Jung Da Wun of Korea retained their lead to win the Men's and Women's Singles gold medals in the opening event of the Target 24th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships.

Tan, who had topped the Singles event with 1372 after two squads yesterday, must have been anxiously waiting for the outcome when the third squad took to the lanes. Thailand's Annop Arromsaranon set a blistering pace with 243, 214, 226, 244 and 198 in his first five games and was trailing Tan by 247 pins.

It looked like the Thai had a good chance of overhauling the Malaysian when he started off his final game well. He needed to double in the tenth frame to snatch the gold or mark the frame with a 9-pin in his first shot and struck to tie for the gold.

His delivery was light going into the pocket and left two pins which he failed to spare, settling for the silver by topping the third squad with 1370.

Korea's Ka Soo Hyeong, who was trailing Annop, need a big game of 270 to take the gold or 244 to take the silver, but managed only 203 to drop out of contention.

Michael Mak of Hong Kong, who finished second to Tan with 1346 yesterday, slipped to third to take the bronze medal while 2014 triple gold medallist, Park Jong Woo of Korea was pushed off the podium to finish fourth.

Meanwhile in the women's division, Wang Ya-Ting of Chinese Taipei was setting the pace in the third squad with 243, 258, 214 and 213 before stumbling to a poor 169 making her task of overtaking leader, Jung Da Wun of Korea a difficult one.

She needed 265 or more to snatch the gold and 185 or more to clinch the silver but managed 201 to end her effort with 1298. Baek Seung Ja of Korea, who was trailing Wang by 39 pins going into the final game, shot 243 to edge the Taiwanese by 3 pins to claim the silver with 1301.

Wang settled for the bronze medal while Futaba Imai of Japan, who was second yesterday, was denied a medal finishing in fourth position with 1282. Liza Clutario of Philippines, who finished third in this squad, ended in sixth overall.

Competition will shift to the Doubles with the first squad for both the men and the women. The remaining two squads will be contested tomorrow.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

20th September, Hong Kong: Jung Da Wun of Korea and Timmy Tan of Malaysia took over the lead of the Women's and Men's Singles event of the Target 24th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships after two squads have been contested at SCAA Bowling Centre.

Jung, who won the prestigious Masters gold medal at the 2015 Women's World Championships in Abu Dhabi, overhauled Squad 1 leader, Futaba Imai of Japan after posting 1362. The Korean rolled 205, 234, 257, 190, 247 and 229 for an 81 pin margin.

Futaba had snatched the opening squad by one pin in her last game for a total of 1282 ahead of pace-setter and 2016 World Youth Singles silver medallist, Victoria Chin of Malaysia. Chin slipped down to third with 1281.

Singapore's Jasmine Yeong-Nathan, who was third in the first squad, dropped out of the top three spots into fourth with 1234 while PWBA USBC Queens 2016 champion, Bernice Lim of Singapore rounded out the top five with 1223.

Two Japanese women, Shion Izumune and Hiraku Takekawa who finished second and third in the second squad with 1216 and 1199 respectively, ended up in sixth and eighth positions.

In the men's division, winner of back-to-back ABF Tour Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong legs, Michael Mak of Hong Kong had set a cracking pace in the second squad with 249, 244, 239, 205 and 206 before stumbling to a poor 183 in the sixth game to settle for second.

2015 SEA Games Team gold medallist, Timmy Tan of Malaysia snatched top spot with 1372, thanks to a stronger game of 218 in the sixth game to edge Mak by 26 pins. 2014 Incheon Asian Games triple gold medallist, Park Jong Woo finished third with 1321.

The trio pushed Squad 1 top two finishers, Yuhi Shinbata of Japan and Syafiq Ridhwan of Malaysia into fourth and fifth positions with 1317 and 1316.

2016 GCC Championships Team bronze medallist, Mohammed Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia finished ahead of Squad 1 third-placed, Lachland Merchant of Australia in sixth position.

Competition will resume with the third and final Singles squad for the men and women tomorrow morning which will determine the medal winners.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.