30th October, Jakarta: Shin Soon Chul bagged a third gold medal for Daegu with victory in the Men's Masters final at the 30th Asian Intercity Bowling Championships while Paranaque's Lara Posadas retained the Women's Masters crown.

After trailing mid-way through the first match in the all-lefty championship round, Shin struck out to take the first match in a best-of-three games final, 244-226 against two gold medallist, Jimmy Cheung of Hong Kong. The lost may have put pressure on the Hong Kong national as he struggled to find his way thereafter.

The Korean won the second match, 203-189 to win his first individual gold medal of the competition, 2-0. He won his first gold in the Men's Doubles two days ago. The champion breezed past his doubles partner, Park Min Su, 2-0 in the all-Korean semi-final to advance to the final.

But Shin had to work hard to defeat Kevin Oliver Cu of Paranaque, 2-1 in the quarter-final. Shin almost rolled the first 300 of the championship when he took the first match, 299-270.

He narrowly lost the second match, 267-269 before rolling another big game of 266 to beat Cu's 213. Shin also was forced into a third match decider in the opening round when he beat Hong Kong's Mike Chan, 2-1 with 222-178, 216-227 and 207-194.

Cheung won his first two rounds with convincing 2-0 victories earlier before ousting Jakarta's Yeri Ramadona, 2-0 in the semi to face the Korean. Shin's victory in the Masters gave Daegu its third gold to seal the Men's Seotopo Cup with 29 points in the medal standings from three gold, one silver, three bronze medals and a fourth-place finish. Hong Kong settled for second with 18 points from two gold and 2 silver medals.

In the women's division, top seed Lara Posadas successfully defended the Masters crown after beating challenger, Vanessa Wong of Macau, 2-0 (174-142, 196-156) to win Paranaque's third gold medal. Posadas had won her two other gold medals in the Team of Four and the All Events.

The champion sailed through the opening round with a 2-0 victory over Yancheng's Li Qing but had to work hard as well over three matches in her next two rounds. Posadas beat Singapore's Iliya Syamin, 2-1 the the quarter-final and another Singaporean, Tay Hui Wen, 2-1 in the semi.

Wong edged Singles gold medallist, Amanda Lee of Singapore, 2-1 in the quarter-final and Yancheng's Peng Rui, 2-1 in the semi-final to advance to the title round against Posadas.

Paranaque one gold medal more than Singapore but had to settle for second in the Women's medal tally with 22 points from three gold, one silver and two bronze medals. Singapore clinched the Women's Seotopo Cup by 23 points from two gold, two silver and two bronze medals.

Although Singapore's men did not win any gold, their one silver and one bronze was good enough to clinch Singapore the Seotopo Cup after emerging as overall champion with 28 points from a total of two gold, four silver and three bronze medals.

Daegu finished second with 25 points and Paranaque third with 24 points. Hong Kong took fourth position with 18 points while Jakarta and Yancheng shared fifth spot with 6 points each.

Meanwhile, Jakarta's senior men and women swept the Masters titles. Irsan Djundjung defeated two gold medallist, Ng Ka Fun of New Territories, 2-1 to win the Men's gold while Singles gold medallist, Ken Sofiati won the women's gold by beating Maulida Marthana in the all-Jakarta final.

Thirteen member cities of the Asian Intercity Bowling Council and three guest cities participated in the week-long championships held in Jarkata for the third time. The 31st Asian Intercity Bowling CHampionships will be hosted by Yancheng, China in 2017.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Jakarta.

29th October, Jakarta: Paranaque won their first gold medal of the 30th Asian Intercity Bowling Championships with victory in the Women's Team event while Daegu captured their second gold medal in the men's division.

Doubles silver and bronze medallists, teamed up to give Paranaque the lead with a superb 872 in the opening game of the Team of Four event, 48 pins ahead of Singapore in second. Krizziah Tabora, Anne Marie Kiac, Ma Lourdes Cruz Arles and Lara Posadas stretched their lead with 787 in the second game to 84 pins.

The Doubles gold medallist of Tay Hui Wen and Joy Yap together with Lilya Syamin and Singles gold medallist, Amanda Lee were continued to trail the Filipina quartet after the second game while Yancheng's Li Qing, Kong Min, Yuan Yue and Peng Rui took up third.

Paranaque ended the first block with 828 for a total of 2506 before the break, 103 pins ahead of their nearest opponent. Singapore totaled 2403 for second and Yancheng in third with 2324.

The leader got off to another superb start in the second block with 848 in the fourth game to increase their lead to 152 pins as Yancheng took over second spot with a splendid 878 while Singapore slipped to third.

Paranaque went on to post consistent games of 796 and 769 to win their first gold medal with a total of 4919. Singapore fought back with 827 and 832 to clinch the silver medal with 4844 while Yancheng settled for the bronze medal with 4745.

Posadas's 1400 series in the team event won her the All Events gold medal with a total of 3896 over 18 games. Yap, who was leading the standings before the team event, managed only 1214 in the Team event to settle for the silver medal with 3783.

Lee took home the bronze medal with 3742. Yancheng's Peng Rui rolled the second highest series in the team event with 1289, missed the podium by 53 pins to finish fourth. Li Qing qualified for the Masters event in 16th position with 3387.

Meanwhile, Doubles gold medallists of Park Min Su and Shin Soon Chul teamed up with Kim Ju Young and Ham Jeong Woo to win a second gold medal for Daegu with 5224 in the men's division. Singapore's Marcus Kiew, Soh Yong Ping, Basil Ng and Ahmad Safwan had their silver medal snatched away from them in the sixth and final game by host city, Jakarta.

Singapore had a 48 pin lead over Jakarta going into the final game but ended with 809 to settle for the bronze medal with 5038. Yeri Ramadona, Hernandez brothers of Patrick and Paolo and Rudy Goenawan rolled a stunning 925 to snatch the silver medal with 5106.

Hong Kong's Tony Wong, Mike Chan, James Lui and Singles gold medallist, Jimmy Cheung ended with a poor 754 to miss the podium by 144 pins.

Cheung, who only had a 16-pin lead after 12 games, posted a good series of 1306 in the team event to pick up his second gold medal in the championship after topping the All Events standings with 4023. Shin took the silver medal with 3978, 45 pins adrift.

Kim Ju Young of Daegu shot the highest six-games series of 1411 in the team event to clinch the bronze medal with 3932, nine pins ahead of compatriot, Park Min Su in fourth with 3923.

Doubles bronze medallist, Rodolfo Tan Jr of Paranaque squeezed into the Masters final in 16th position with 3644 while Team silver medallist, Patrick Hernandez missed by 11 pins.

With just one final event in the Masters, Singapore women are leading the medal tally with 21 points from two gold, three silver and one bronze medal. Paranaque is second with two gold, one silver and two bronze medals.

Daegu is leading the men's tally with two gold, one silver and two bronze medals on 18 points. Hong Kong trailed in second with two gold and a silver medal.

Singapore leads the overall medal tally with 26 points with Paranaque in second on 19 points and Daegu third on 18 points. Five points are awarded for a gold, three for a silver and two for a bronze while fourth position gets one point.

The top 16 men, top 16 women, top 8 senior men and top 8 senior women in the All Events standings qualified for the head-to-head Masters eilimation rounds which will be contested tomorrow.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Jakarta.

28th October, Jakarta: Joy Yap and Tay Hui Wen won Singapore's second gold medal at the 30th Asian Intercity Bowling Championships with victory in the Women's Doubles while Park Min Su and Shin Soon Chul captured Daegu's first gold in the Men's division.

Yap and Tay had a great start rolling 429 in their opening game to lead Macau's Windy Soo and Vanessa Wong by 36 pins, with Yancheng's Peng Rui and Kong Min a further six pins away in third. Yancheng then stunned the field with a scintillating 467 in the second game to move into the lead.

Singapore trailed in second, 26 pins adrift with Paranaque's Anne Marie Kiac and Ma Lourdes Cruz Arles following closely in third.

The 20-year-old Yap shot 259 and the 22-year-old Tay added 259 for a sizzling 517 to regain the lead and built up a huge gap of 111 pins from Yancheng. Paranaque continued to stay close with a superb 446.

The first Singapore pair continued with consistent games of 441 and 416 to extend their lead to as high as 181 before easing off to a 369 in the sixth and final game to win Singapore's second gold medal with 2571.

Another Paranaque pair of Krizziah Tabora and Singles bronze medallist, Lara Posadas stormed home to snatch the silver medal with 2490. The second Paranaque pair settled for the bronze medal with 2396. Jakarta's Viena Silka and Novie Phang came close to picking up their first medal but had to settle for fourth position with 2327.

The men's division was a much more tighter affair between Daegu and Hong Kong. Park Min Su and Singles bronze medallist, Shin Soon Chul took an early lead with 450 in their opening game to lead Macau's Gordon Ho and Lo Ka Hou by 19 pins.

Singles gold medallist, Jimmy Cheung and James Lui posted a splendid 470 to add to their 399 opening game to take over the running, six pins ahead of the Daegu pair. Whilst Hong Kong suffered a lowly 381 in the third game, Daegu took the opportunity to regain the lead with 428.

Chueng and Lui fought back with a better 461 in the fourth game to retake the lead only for Daegu to move back up with a sizzling 527 in the fifth game.

Park and Shin ended with another good game of 494 to seal the gold with 2718. Hong Kong settled for the silver medal with 2578, 140 pins behind the champion.

Rodolfo Tan Jnr and Kevin Oliver Cu of Paranaque took the bronze medal with 2477 while Yancheng missed the podium by 12 pins to finish in fourth with 2465. The other Hong Kong pair of Tony Wong and Mike Chan rounded out the top five with 2460. Competition will now shift to the Team of Four which will be staged over two blocks of three games all to be bowled tomorrow.

The top 16 men, top 16 women, top 8 senior men and top 8 senior women based on their All Events standings (18 games) will advance to the head-to-head elimination rounds of the Masters finals on October 30.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Jakarta.

27th October, Jakarta: Hong Kong's Jimmy Chueng captured the Men's Singles gold medal at the 30th Asian Intercity Bowling Championships while Singapore's Amanda Lee and Joy Yap finished one-two to take the gold and silver in the women's division.

Mike Chan of Hong Kong set the early pace with 255 in his openning game to lead Daegu's Ham Jeong Woo by two pins and Cheung followed in third with 248 as several other Hong Kong bowlers also registered big games.

Chueng added another superb game of 230 to take over the lead with his compatriot, Chan trailing by 19 pins. The 20-year-old Hong Kong national bowler kept a strong pace to reel in 225, 221, 224 and 246 to end with 1394 and secured the gold.

Chan, who trailed Chueng for another game, kept close but could not maintain the pace needed to win a medal and eventually finished fourth, missing the podium by nine pins. Singapore's Ahmad Safwan stormed home with 226 and 235 including a huge game of 279 in the fourth to clinch the silver medal with 1364.

A second Daegu bowler, Shin Soon Chul also ended strongly to snatch the bronze medal with 1329. Chan and a second Singaporean, Basil Ng completed the top five with 1316.

Meanwhile, Ken Sofiati won Jakarta'S first gold when she triumphed in the Senior Women's division with 1060. Nooraini Md Noor of Shah Alam prevented Jakarta a one-two finish by securing the silver medal with 1048.

Rento Pancaningsh of Jakarta took the bronze medal with 1036 while Azizah Abdul Rahman of Shah Alam missed the podium by five pins to finish fourth and a third Indonesian, Handayani Tri Susilowati completed the top five.

New Territories' Ng Kai Fun won the Senior Men's Singles gold medal with 1144, 20 pins ahead of Jakarta's Husin Makmur and Adian Negara Nasution, who tied with 1124 to win a silver medal each. Pg Haji Yasfadillah missed the medal by 11 pins to finish fourth. No bronze medal was awarded.

The players will resume with the Doubles event tomorrow with the Men and Senior Men starting at 9.30 am local time and the Women and Senior Women in the afternoon at 2.00 pm.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Jakarta.

26th October, Jakarta: The 30th Asian Intercity Bowling Championships, hosted by the city of Jakarta for the third time, was officially declared by Mr Suryo Bambang Sulisto, President of the Indonesian Bowling Federation on Wednesday.

Thirteen member cities of the Asian Intercity Bowling Council together with three guest cities will be vying for glory at the 30th edition of the immensely popluar and friendly championship at Jaya Ancol Bowling Centre from October 27 to 30.

Belait City from Brunei Darul Salam, Daegu City from Korea, Happy Valley, Hong Kong City and the New Terrirtories from Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur City and Shah Alam from Malaysia, Macau, Paranaque City and Pasay City from Philippines, Singapore and Guam are the member cities.

Bandar Seri Bagawan, the capital city of Brunei Darul Salam, Wuhan City from China and Yancheng City from China are the guest cities invited to participate making it a total of 16 cities.

The emcee kicked off the ceremony with the marchpast of the participating cities. Among the distinguished guests were, Mr Johnson Cheng, President of Asian Intercity Bowling Council,

Mr Suryo Bambang Sulisto, President of the Indonesian Bowling Federation and Mr Hendra Batubara, Organizing Chairman and Executive Committee of Jakarta Bowling Associaion. First Vice President, Mr Richard Lai, Second Vice President, Mr James Dela Cruz and members of the executive committee members of the Asian Intercity Bowling Council were amongst the distinguished guest present at the opening ceremony.

After the playing of the Indonesian national anthem, Mr Johnson Cheng extended a warm welcome to all participating teams and thanked them for their continuos support, without which the championships will not be successful.

He also extended his sincere appreciation to the city of Jakarta for playing host to this yer's championships and espcially to Ms Christina Koo, propreitor of Ancol Bowling Centre for being a staunch supporter of tenpin bowling and an outstanding organizer of events like this.

Appreciation was also extended to Mr Suryo Bambang Sulisto, President of Indonesian Bowling Federation for their efforts in promoting tenpin bowling in Indonesia, especially for hosting this championship immediately after the successfully holding the 14th Indonesia International Open.

Mr Suryo Bambang Sulisto also delivered an inspring speech and thanked the Asian Intercity Bowling Council in putting faith into Jakarta as a host and for delivering a well-run competition. He wished all those to take time off to visit Jakarta and to take home wonderful memories of their stay here.

Mr Patrick Hernandez and Ms Novie Phang took the athlete oath on behalf of the participants while Mr Thomas Tan and Ms Iyenwati took the official oath on behalf of the officials. The championship was subsequently declared open by Mr Suryo Bambang Sulisto. Distinguished guests, council members, team officials and players were invited to a welcome reception which followed after the opening ceremony ended.

The championships consist of Singles, Doubles, Team of Four and the Masters events. Four divisions - Men, Women, Senior Men and Senior Women will contest the three events over the next three days.

The top 16 players from each division based on the All Events standings (18 games from Singles, Doubles and Team events) will qualify for the elimination rounds of the Masters finals to be played over best-of-three head-to-head knockout matches.

The men's champion team, women champion team and the overall champion city based on the medal standings will be awarded the Men's Seotopo Cup, Women's Seotopo Cup and the Overall Seotopo Cup at the victory Banquet on October 30.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Jakarta.