7th September, Kuching: Tsen Fan Yew of ABAS, Malaysia led Lee Chun-Hung of Chinese Taipei in the opening squad of the Open and Youth 25 & Under division at the Sarawak International Open Bowling Championships 2019 while Lee led Tsen in the Classified division.

Nazrin Wagiman of Malaysia got off the block with a superb 228 to lead 2014 Asian Youth Singles gold medallist, Chong Jun Foo of Sarawak by four pins as Tsen and Mohd Zuhayr Redza of Malaysia tied in third with 214.

Mohd Zuhayr added a splendid 236 in his second game to take over the running as Tsen also did well with 232 to move up into second. Chong suffered a setback after managing a lowly 157. Tsen upped his pace with another superb 224 to move into the lead after the third game.

Mohd Zuhayr slipped down to second despite posting 207. Lee, who started moderately, made up grounds into third as the early pace-setters dropped out of contention. Tsen went on to end the first block of 5 games with 203 and 202 to top the squad with 1115.

Tsen also topped the Youth 25 & Under division with 1100, 22 pins ahead of the Taiwanese with 1078. Adria Wafiq Bin Hussin of Malaysia finished third with 1054. But in the Classified division in which both Tsen and Lee were registered, Lee reversed the order thanks to a 5-pin handicap Lee is allocated.

Lee topped the Classified division with 1078, 3 pins ahead of Tsen on 1075. Adri Wafiq claimed third position with 1029.

Bowlers taking part in the third edition of the Sarawak International Open will bowl two blocks of 5 games each divided into four squads. Bowlers can also register to bowl the first two-games "Joker" Squad in which the two games can replace the two lowest games in their first block qualifying rounds.

Similarly, bowlers can also choose to register to bowl the second two-games "Joker" Squad to replace the two lowest games in their second block. The top 60 in the Open division with the highest 10-games total will qualify for the 8-game Masters finals to be held on September 10.