15th July, Hong Kong: Malaysia and Korea shared the glory on the final day of the 10th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship as Wan Nur Atiqqa-Zatil Iman of Malaysia and Choi Tae Seung-Shin Seung Hyeon bagged the gold and silver medals of the Girl's and Boy's Masters event.

Wan Nur Atiqqa finally had her dream come true as she defeated teammate, Zatil Iman, 459-401 over two games total to secure the Girl's Masters gold medal. Atiqqa, who only managed to win a silver and bronze medal in the same event in 2005 and 2006, had earlier finished as top-seed in the second block finals.

The champion edged Zatil 206-200 in the first stepladder match and went on to claim her first-ever individual gold medal in the Asian Schools championship with a 253-201 victory over her challenger in the second match.

Third-seed, Zatil had earlier edged second-seed, Kim Mun-Jeong of Korea, 181-170 to guarentee Malaysia the gold and silver medals. Malaysia also emerged as the girl's overall champion after winning 1 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze medal.

"I wasn't worried in the stepladder finals when faced with Zatil as I knew that whoever wins, Malaysia will win the gold and silver medals," said the delighted 17-year-old from Johor studying at Bukit Jalil Sports School in Kuala Lumpur.

"In the singles event, I didn't think that I could bowl from the outside but when I started the doubles the following day, it worked well. So throughout the rest including the masters, I knew I stand a good chance to do well.

In the boy's division, Korea also finish 1-2 as Choi Tae-Seung after he easily beat overnight first block masters leader and All Events gold medalist, Shin Seung-Hyeon, 434-384 over the two games stepladder finals.

Choi outclassed Shin, 225-174 to build up a comfortable 51 pins margin and despite loosing the second match, 209-210, the champion took the gold medal with 50 pins to spare. Shin, who had led from the 9th to the 15th, surrendered the top-seed to Choi in the final position-round match before the stepladder grand finals.

Shin assured Korea the gold and silver after he easily defeated third-seed, Loh Xian Yan of Singapore in the first match, 234-190 before going down to his teammate.

Korea emerged the boy's overall champion with 3 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals. The mighty Koreans also finished as the overall champion with 4 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze medals.

13 countries with 21 boys teams and 17 girls teams competed in the 10th edition of the Asian Schools over seven days at Mei Foo Super Fun Bowl in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The 11th Asian Schools will be held in Melbourne, Australia.

Photos bt Terence Yaw for HKTBC.

14th July, Hong Kong: Malaysian bowlers were on a roll as Wan Nur Atiqqa and Zatil Iman Abdul Ghani finished first and third in the 10th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship Girl's first block Masters finals while Singles Golds medalist, Zaid Izlan took third spot in the boy's division.

Wan Nur Atiqqa, who is competing in the Asian Schools championships for the third time, had a cracking opening game to tie with Singapore's Edlyn Kwok You Jing on 259 and earning 5 bonus points each. Although Atiqqa won her second match of the 8-game round-robin matchplay finals with only 180, the Malaysian slipped down to fourth.

The 17-year-old Bukit Jalil pupil bounced back with 210 and 250 in her next two matches to regain the lead at the halfway mark but lost her fifth game with 176 to hand the lead to Korea's Kim Mun-Jeong and trailed by 57 pins.

Kim had back-to-back 247 games in the fourth and fifth games and followed it up with another 244 in the sixth game to stretch her lead to 88 pins. But the Doubles gold medalist suffered a set back with 168 while Atiqqa posted 220 to narrow the gap to 36 pins going into the final game.

Kim could not sustain the pace and the relentless pressure from her opponents to end the block with just 188 while Atiqqa was in superb form bringing home a 245 to finish in pole position. The leader amassed a total of 1798 and winning 4 matches and tied 1.

"I don't know why I always do well in the Asian Schools championship but I'm glad I have a chance to do better this time," said Atiqqa, who has won two gold medals in her two previous meet but finished second in 2005 and third in 2006 in both the Masters finals.

The Korean totaled 1767, 31 pins adrift with Zatil Iman of Malaysia 1 in third spot with 1738. Singles gold medalist, Anne Marjorie Reyes of the Philippines stormed home to take up fourth spot with 1690 with All Events gold medalist, Shin Bo-Hyun rounding up the top 5.

In the boy's division, the Koreans again gave their opponents a clean pair of heels as All Events and Team gold medalist, Shin Seung-Hyeon and Choi Tae-Seung finished 1-2 in the first block of 8 games Masters finals.

Except for the sub-200 final game in the eighth, Shin knocked down lines of 206, 223, 232, 255, 210 and 255 in his first seven games winning 7 matches to total 1866. Choi trailed his compatriot by 43 pins after posting 1823 while Singles gold medalist, Zaid Izlan took third spot with 1761 and appeared as the only one who can mount a challenge to the mighty Koreans.

Singapore's best performer was Loh Xian Yan after taking up fourth place with 1761 followed by Qatar's Hamad Al Mosalam in fifth spot with 1704. Singles silver medalist, Muhd Nur Aiman, who led briefly after the fifth game, ended up in sixth with 1685.

The finalists will bowl another 8 games on Sunday, 15th July and the top 3 boys and girls at the end of the 16-games total will proceed to the stepladder finals for the final two gold medals of the competition.

Photos bt Terence Yaw for HKTBC.

13th July, Hong Kong: Korea made a clean sweep of the Team and All Events as the Boy's Team 1 captured gold medal and the Girl's Team 2 emerged champion on Day 4 of the 10th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship.

Doubles silver medalist, Shin Seung-Hyeon led teammates, Lee Hae-Won, Choi Tae-Seung and Kim Geo-Sung into the second block of the Team of 4 event with a 44 pins margin and immediately display their supremacy with a 864 opening game to stretch their lead to 106 pins.

The leader remained cool chalking up another high game of 845 despite a mounting challenge from Philippines, who made an effort to narrow the gap with a scintillating 927 in the fifth game. It was merely a formality as the Korean quartet cruised to a comfortable victory on a total of 5163 and 159 pins ahead of their nearest opponent.

Filipinos, Kenneth Chua, Vincent Mar Reyes, Collins Jose and achored by the pint-sized, Jomar Roland Jumapao was contented with the silver medal with a total of 5004. Malaysia's 2 team clinched the bronze medal with 4795, just 18 pins ahead of Korea Team 2.

Debutants, Syimir Abdul Razak, Muhammad Ozir B Zuri, Jonathan Chan and Mohammed Aziem B Azemi did well to finish third after dropping to fourth before the final game. Malaysia's stronger team only managed a fifth place finish with 4649.

Shin Seung-Hyeon also secured the Boy's All Events gold medal with a superb 1374 in the team event giving him an 18-game total of 3881, 45 pins ahead of Jomar Roland Jumapao. The Filipino amassed 3836 to pip Choi Tae-Seung of Korea 1 for the silver by 4 pins.

Choi, who won the singles bronze and the team gold, added a second bronze medal with 3832 for his debut at the Asian Schools championship. Doubles gold medalist, Chang Wei-Fen missed out in fourth with 3798 followed by singles silver medalist, Muhd Nur Aiman of Malaysia in fifth.

Meanwhile, Korea bagged two addition gold medals after the girls completed their second block earlier in the morning. First block leader and Korea Team 2, Shin Bo-Hyun, Kang Se-Young, Kim Sol-Ji and Lee Na-Hyun secured the Team gold medal with 4876, 80 pins ahead of Korea Team 1.

Kim Mun-Jeong, Kim Ju-Yeon, Kim Su-Ryang settled for the silver medal after trailing their compatriots, with 4796. Malaysia's Team 1 settled for the bronze medal with 4686. Zatil Iman, Wan Nur Atiqqa, Sin Li Jane and Noorhanizah Abu Bakar finished 101 pins adrift Korea Team 1.

Singapore's Team 1 of Bernice Lim Hui Ying, Tay Hui Erh, Fok Ka Wai and Clara Lau Ji Min only managed a fourth place finish on a total of 4523.

Two bronze medalist, Shin Bo-Hyun finally won her first gold medal after she totaled 3684 in the All Events, just 15 pins ahead of Bernice Lim. Lim won Singapore's first medal in the competition after sharing the silver medal with Lee Na-Hyun of Korea Team 2 on 3669.

Korea, competing in the championship for the first time, leads the overall medal tally with 3 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals. Korea had an additional gold and 2 bronze medals but does not contribute to the overall tally as stated in the rules of the competition.

Malaysia is second with 1 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze medal while Philippines is third with 1 gold and 2 silver medals. The top 16 boys and top 16 girls in the All Events table qualified for the Masters finals which will be contested over two days in 8-game blocks on 14th and 15th July.

Photos bt Terence Yaw for HKTBC.

12th July, Hong Kong: Korean girls again displayed their dominance when both the teams finished 1-2 in the 10th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship Team of 4 first block at the end of Day 3 at Mei Foo Super Fun Bowl.

Korea's team 1 led by Kim Mun-Jeong, Kim Ju-Yeon, Mik Su-Ryang and Lee Mi-Ryeong took a slender lead of 5 pins in the open game of the 3-game first block. Team 2 of Shin Bo-Hyun, Kang Se-Young, Kim Sol-Ji and Lee Na-Hyun overtook their teammates after the second game by 24 pins.

But Team 2 could not sustain the pace to hand back the lead to Team 1 after posting 768 to their teammates' 847. The first Korean quartet amassed a total of 2431 to lead Team 2 by 55 pins with the second team in second on a total of 2376.

Malaysia's team 1 and 2 ended the block strongly in third and fourth ahead of Singapore's team 1. Zatil Iman led teammates, Wan Nur Atiqqa, Singles silver medalist, Sin Li Jane and Noor Hannizah to knock down 2344 just 30 pins ahead of Ili Syazana, Syaidatul Afifah, Tengku Emania Laily and Jacqueline Sijore.

Meanwhile, Doubles silver medalist, Wang Ting-Wen of Chinese Taipei knocked down 651 in the team first block to take over the lead in the Girl's All Events standings. The Taiwanese finished with 3153, 61 pins ahead of Malaysia's Zatil Iman in second on 3092.

Overnight leader, Shin Bo-Hyun of Korea dropped to third on 3090 after a poor 582 in her team event but just 2 pins from Zatil. Bernice Lim Hui Ying and Korea's Lee Mi-Ryeong rounded up the top 5.

The Team of 4 second block of 3 games will continue tomorrow with boys starting in the morning and the girls in the afternoon.

Photos by Terence Yaw for HKTBC.

12th July, Hong Kong: Powerhouse Korea put up a fauthless display to lead the Boy's Team of 4 first block of 3 games on Day 3 of the 10th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship at Mei Foo Super Fun Bowl on Thursday morning.

Doubles silver medalist, Shin Seung-Hyeon and Choi Tae-Seung led teammates Lee Hae-Won and Kim Geo-Sung to knock down 899 in the opening game to take a lead on 85 pins from Philippines' first team of Kenneth Chua Vincent Mar Reyes, Collins Jose and Jomar Roland Jumapao.

The Filipino posted 814 ahead of Korea Team 2 of Byeon Chang-Ho, You Jin-Hwan, Lee Hoo-Min and Jo Seok-Hyeon in third. The first Korean quartet continued to prove their prowess by romping home with 841 and 850 to end the first block of 3 games in pole position.

The leader amassed a total of 2590, 44 pins ahead of the Filipino team, who downed 2456. Malaysia's Team 2 stormed home with 912 in the third game to take up third spot on 2344 team total. The other Korean foursome dropped to fourth with 2344.

With three more games left to play in the second block, Shin Seung-Hyeon surged to the top of the All Events leaderboard with 3206 followed by fellow-compatriot and doubles partner, Choi Tae-Seung in second with 3199.

Overnight leader and Doubles bronze medalist, Marco Putra of Indonesia dropped to fourth behind Doubles Gold medalist, Chang Wei-Fen in third on 3184. The top 16 in the table would make the cut for the Masters finals with Aspiwich W. of Thailand in 16th on an average of 197.47. The girls will take to the lanes for their first block later today.

The Team of 4 second block of 3 games will continue tomorrow with boys starting in the morning and the girls in the afternoon.

Photos by Terence Yaw for HKTBC.

11th July, Hong Kong: Chinese Taipei's Chang Hao-Hsuan and Chang Wei-Fen denied Korea a grand double by snatching the Boy's Doubles gold medal in the 10th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship by 4 pins while Kim Mun-Jeong and Lee Mi-Ryeong triumphed in the Girl's Doubles.

Before the final Squad C of the doubles event commenced, Korea looked set for a grand double when they led the girl's and boy's doubles after two squads were played. The pairs of Kim Mun Jeong-Lee Mi Ryeong and Kang Se Young-Lee Na Hyun finished 1-2 in Squad A and Shin Bo Hyun-Kim Sol-Ji led Squad B in the girl's division.

Shin Seung-Hyeon and Choi Tae-Seung powered their way to the front of the boy's division from Indonesia's pair of David Candra and Marco Putra putting the Koreans firmly in the box seat to bag both the gold medals.

The Chang brothers set the lanes ablazed reeling off 470, 434, 408, 422, 397 and 428 to pip Korea by 4 pins to clinch the gold medal with 2559, pushing Shin and Choi into second on 2555. The Indonesian pair took the bronze medal with 2534.

Filipino pair of Collins Jose and Jomar Roland Jumapao finished strongly but miss the medal in fourth with 2454 followed by Squad A leader, Lee Hae-Won and Kim Geo-Sung into fifth spot on 2410. Marco Putra's 1309 in the doubles event pushed him into the lead of the All Event standing on 2594.

Choi Tae-Seung finished second with 2585 ahead of Jumapao third with 2540. Singles gold medalist, Zaid Izlan of Malaysia dropped to fourth with Chang Wei-Fen making up the top 5.

However, Korea won their first gold medal when the score of 2571 by Kim Mun-Jeong and Lee Mi-Ryeong remained the highest at the end of the three squads completed. Chinese Taipei celebrate a fruitful day after Wang Ting-Wen and Chen Kuan-Ting finished second to win the silver medal with 2397.

Kang Se-Young and Lee Na-Hyun was denied a 1-2 finish to end up in third with 2392 settling for the bronze medal, just 5 pins adrift the Taiwanese pair. Squad B leader, Shin Bo-Hyun and Kim Sol-Ji missed the medal in fourth with 2382.

Shin Bo-Hyun topped the All Events table with 2508 followed by Wang Ting-Wen in second with 2502 and Singles gold medalist, Anne Majorie Reyes third on 2463. Malaysia topped the medal tally with 1 gold and 2 silver followed by Korea in second with 1 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals.

The team of 5 will be contested in the next two days over two blocks of 3 games each. The top 16 finishers in the All Events after 3 events (total 18 games) from both the divisions, will make the cut for the Masters Finals to be played on 14th and 15th July.

Photos bt Terence Yaw for HKTBC.

11th July, Hong Kong: Korea looked set to capture two gold medals on Day 2 of the 10th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship when Singles bronze medalist, Choi Tae-Seung partnered Shin Seung-Hyeon to take over the lead in the Boy's Doubles after Squad B.

Despite a poor start in their opening game on 370, Choi Tae-Seung and Shin Seung-Hyeon bounced back in the second and third games with 424 and 453 to take over the lead from early leaders and Malaysia's Mohammad Aziem B Azemi and Syimir Abdul Razak.

The Korean pair suffered a temporary setback in the fourth game to hand the lead back to the Malaysian pair but only 6 pisn adrift. The duo then turned on the heat to fire 465 to regain the lead by 17 pins and set their sights on overtaking Squad A leader and teammates, Lee Hae-Won and Kim Geo-Sung.

Needing only 357 to have at least a shot at the gold medal, Choi and Shin posted the highest doubles game of the championship so far with a scintillating 502 giving the pair a 6-game total of 2555. Indonesia's David

Candra and Marco Putra stormed in their final two games of 465 and 498 to snatch second in the squad as well as second overall with 2534.

Squad A leader of Lee and Kim settled for third with their score of 2410. Apiwich Watanaphongsakorn and Phanuphong Phokchainan of Thailand, who finished second to Lee and Kim, dropped out of the medal contention into fourth.

The Koreans also led the Girl's Doubles Squad B when Singles bronze medalist, Shin Bo-Hyun and Kim Sol-Ji knocked down 2382 ahead of pace-setter, Zatil Iman and Singles silver medalist, Sin Li Jane of Malaysia in second with 2311.

But Shin and Kim ended up third overall when both squad's scores were combined. Squad A leader, Kim Mun-Jeong and Lee Mi-Ryeong remain in front with 2571 followed by fellow-compatriots, Kang Se-Young and Lee Na-Hyun in second with 2392.

Meanwhile Indonesia's Marco Putra shot to the top of the All Events leaderboard after a superb 1309 in the doubles event to give him a 2594 total after two events and 12 games. Singles Gold medalist, Zaid Izlan dropped to third with 2519 behind Choi Tae-Seung in second on 2585.

The lead also changed hands as Shin Bo-Hyun surged ahead of Singles gold and silver medalists, Anne Marjorie Reyes and Sin Li Jane. Shin amassed 2508 to Reyes' 2463 and Li Jane's 2449.

Photos bt Terence Yaw for HKTBC.

11th July, Hong Kong: Korea dominated Squad A of Doubles event of the 10th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship as two pairs finished 1-2 in the girl's division and the boys finishing in pole position.

The pair of Kim Mun-Jeong and Lee Mi-Ryeong set a blistering pace with 452 in the opening game to lead by 53 pins from the second pair of Kang Se-Young and Lee Na-Hyun in second. The Korean pair stretched their lead to 94 pins after the second game.

Although the second pair narrowed the gap to 24 at the halfway mark, Kim and Lee were able to kicked away with 459 and 411 in the last two games to end the 6-game event with 179 pins margin. The duo amassed a total of 2571 with Kim knocking down 1264 and Lee posting the highest series of 1307.

Korea's second pair settled for second with 2392 but ahead of Singapore's pair of Bernice Lim Hui Ying and Tay Hui Erh in third with 2364. Malaysia's pair of Wan Nur Ariqqa and Noorhanizah Abu Bakar took fourth spot in this squad with 2294.

In the Boy's division, Lee Hae-Won and Kim Geo-Sung gave the Koreans a good start in today's doubles snatching the lead in the final game. The Korean pair, who was trailing leader for the first 5 games, had only 6 pins separating them and Chinese Taipei before the final game.

Lu Chien-Yueh and Chen Yuan-Hsin opened account with a superb 453 and at one stage had their lead stretched to as much as 40 pins. But the Taiwanese pair could not sustain their pace and ran out of steam towards the end. The duo settled for third behind the fast finishing Thais.

Apiwich Watanaphongsakorn and Phanuphong Phokchainan of Thailand pipped the Taiwanese for second with 2388 with Lu and Chen totaling 2355 for third position. Favourite and Singles gold and silver medalists, Zaid Izlan and Muhd Nur Aiman disappointed with a fourth place finish on 2331 total.

Squad B will take to the lanes at Mei Foo Super Fun Bowl in the afternoon with the final Squad C later this evening.

Photos bt Terence Yaw for HKTBC.

10th July, Hong Kong: Malaysian youths stole the limelight at the end of Day 1 of the 10th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship as Squad A leader, Zaid Izlan B Ibrahim Hakimi and Muhd Nur Aiman finished 1-2 to capture the Boy's Gold and Silver medal.

With Zaid Izlan setting the benchmark of 1337 topping Squad A of the Boy's Singles, Korea's Choi Tae-Seung could not match the hot pace to finish second overall with 1296 after topping Squad B. WHen the third and finals Squad C took to the lanes, it was again Malaysia's Jonathan Chan Tiang Sheng moving into the lead after the opening game.

Jonathan Chan quicky established a 13 pin lead after the second game and stretched it further to 26 pins at the halfway mark followed by Hong Kong's Derek Lee Tak Man and teammater, Muhd Nur Aiman hot on his heels in second and third.

Muhd Nur Aiman grabbed the lead after a scintillating 276 in the fourth game and building up a 51 pin margin over teammate, Jonathan while Derek Lee maintain third spot. Aiman brought home 209 and 208 to end the squad in the lead with 1297 and snatch the silver by 1 pin.

Zaid Izlan's 1337 was more than enough to seal the gold medal ahead of Muhd Nur Aiman for the silver, who finish 1-2 for Malaysia while Choi Tae-Sueng settled for the bronze medal with 1296. Despite finishing second in squad C, Jonathan Chan ended up in 10th.

In the girl's division, Squad A leader, Anne Marjorie of the Philippines won the gold medal with 1291 total. Malaysia's Sin Li Jane, who led from start to finish in Squad C on 1277, settled for her first individual winning the Silver after competing in three Asian Schools championship. The Malaysian had won the Team gold in Jakarta in 2005.

Korea's Shin Bo-Hyun, who finished second to Reyes in Squad A, dropped to third to take home the bronze medal with 1265 while Squad B leader, Bernice Lim Hui Ying of Singapore was unlucky finishing fourth on 1252.

Zatil Iman of Malaysia, who finished second to teammate Sin Li Jane in the final squad, missed out on the medal in fourth with 1205. Wang Ting-Wen of Chinese Taipei and New Hui Fen rounded up the top six.

Photos by Terence Yaw for HKTBC.

10th July, Hong Kong: Bernice Lim Hui Ying and New Hui Fen of Singapore, topped the Girl's Singles Squad B of the 10th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship but could only finish third behind Squad A leaders, Anne Marjorie Reyes of Philippines and Shin Bo-Hyun of Korea.

As Squad B took to the lanes at Mei Foo Super Fun Bowl in the afternoon, Korea's Kim Mun-Jeong open account with 233 to lead Singapore's New Hui Fen by 7 pins. Hui Fen posted 225 in the second game to take over the lead and a margin of 34 pins with the Korean dropping to second after a poor 184.

With another superb 210 in the third game, Hui Fen continue to lead but saw her margin reduced to 22 pins while Kim recovered and bounched back with 222. Meanwhile, Singapore's Bernice Lim was quietly keeping in touch with the leaders on 192, 203 and 216 from her three games.

When Hui Fen and Kim suffered low games of 157 and 183 respectively, Bernice took advantage and knocked down 254 to surge to the front of the pack after the fourth game. But the leader only managed 199 in her fifth

which made her needing 227 or more in order to overtake Squad A leader, Anne Marjorie Reyes.

With slight pressure on the Singaporean, Bernice only manage 188 in her final game and her teammate, Hui Fen 201 and eventually fell short 26 pins. Bernice amassed 1252 and Hui Fen 1175 to take first and second in Squad B. After the two squads combined, Filipina Anne Marjorie Reyes remained top of the leaderboard on 1291 and Korea's Shin Bo-Hyun second on 1265 and Bernice third on 1252.

In the Boy's division, Korea's Choi Tae-Sung topped the Squad B with 1296 but failed to surpass the 1337 mark set by Malaysia's Zaid Izlan in Squad A. John Jayson Tubid of the Philippines, opened account with 231 to set the pace but only 1 pin ahead of Indonesia's David Candra.

With another high game of 224 from Tubid, the Filipino was able to stretch his lead to 31 pins after the second. A disasterous 158 in his third game saw his lead reduced to just 8 pins from another Indonesian, Marco Putra closing on him.

With 245 in the fourth game, Marco took over the lead with 12 pins margin from early leader, Choi hot on his heels. Choi fired 235 to Marco's 213 leaving both bowlers locked into a fierce battle but would require 278 and 288 respectively to surpass the 1337 posted by Zaid Izlan.

Choi finished with 237 in the final game pipping Marco to top the squad and second overall on a total of 1296 while Marco settled for second to Choi and third overall on 1285. Jomar Roland Jumapao of the Philippines dropped to fourth on 1284.

The final squad of the Singles will be palyed after another lane maintenance and the top 3 finishers of the combined scores of the three squads will determine the winners.

Photos by Terence Yaw for HKTBC.

10th July, Hong Kong: Malaysia had a brilliant start in the 10th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship underway at Mei Foo Super Fun Bowl as Zaid Izlan B Ibrahim Hakimi set a cracking pace to lead the Boy's Singles Squad A on Tuesday morning.

Zaid Izlan, who won the Doubles Gold medal at the same bowling centre in the 2004 Asian Schools, trailed early pace-setter, Shin Seung-Hyeon of Korea by 33 pins after posting 225. The 17-year-old Bukit Jalil Sports School pupil took over the lead after another fine game of 234.

A 268 from Filipino, Jomar Roland Jumapao rocketted him into top spot and taking over from the Malaysian with a 22 pins margin as Zaid suffered a 180 in his third game. Jumapao kept his lead after a 212 game in the fourth but found his lead narrowed down to just 11 pins after Zaid recovered with a 266.

A scintillating 242 in the fifth game by Zaid saw the Malaysian youngster regain his lead while it was Jumapao, who suffered a low game of 178 to trail by 53 pins. A 190 by both the bowlers did not change their positions with Zaid ending the 6-game singles with 1337.

Jumapao settled for second with 1284 with Apiwich Watanaphongsakorn of Thailand storming home to take up third spot with 1244. Pace-setter, Shin Seung-Hyeon of Korea dropped to fourth to tie with Jose Cillins of Philippines on 1241 to round up the top 5.

Meanwhile, Filipina Anne Marjorie Reyes led the Girl's SIngles Squad A with a total of 1291. The 16-year-old High School student, who has been bowling for 4 years, trailed leader Shin Bo-Hyun of Korea by 12 pins at the start despite posting 246.

Reyes set the lanes on fire as she posted 258 to take over the lead from Shin by 52 pins after the second game. Another superb 234 in her third game gave the leader a comfortable 52 pins margin at the halfway mark while Shin could only kncok down 203.

Although Shin fought back galantly to narrow down the gap to 9 pins after the fifth game, a 200 from Reyes was enough to claim the lead with 1291. Shin settled for second with 1265 while last year's Asian Schools Masters gold medalist, Wang Ting-Wen finished a distant third with 1190.

Squad B will take to the lanes after the lane maintenance at 2.00pm followed by the final Squad C. The combined scores of the three squads will determine the champion.

Photos by Terence Yaw for HKTBC.

9th July, Hong Kong: A colourful ceremony graced by Guest of Honour, Mr Vincent Liu Ming Kwong, Deputy Director of Leisure and Cultural Services Department, marked the opening the the 10th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championshp on Monday afternoon at Mei Foo Super Fun Bowl.

The elaborate opening saw a record total number of countries participating at this year's championship. The teams paraded at Mei Foo Super Fun Bowl in front of distinquished guests, team officials and supporters followed by the traditional dotting of the lion's eyes to mark the championship open.

The dotting of one lion's eyes was performed by Mr Vincent Liu King Kwong, Deputy Director of Leisure and Cultural Services Department while Dr Danny Santos, Secretary General of FIQ, dotted the other lion which was followed by a spectacular lion dance performance.

A total of 13 countries comprising of Chinese Taipei, Guam, Indonesia, Korea, Kuwait, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and host nation, Hong Kong have entered 21 boys team and 17 girls team for a total of 38 teams for the 10th edition of the championship.

"We're glad to have the support of the Department of Leisure and Cultural Services of the Hong Kong government without which we would not be able to successfully host this championship," said Mrs Vivien Fung, Hon. Life President of Asian Bowling Federation and Chairman of the Hong Kong Tenpin Bowling Congress in her opening address.

Mrs Fung added: "Hosting the championship also conincided with the 10th anniversary of the handling over the island back to China ten years ago which augers well for the country.

Hong Kong players, Ken Lin and Ms Katherine Lau took the athlete's oath on behalf of the participants during the opening while Mr Willie Cheung, Tournament Director, took the oficials oath together with his team of officials.

After the oath taking ceremony, Guest of Honour, Mr Vincent Liu declared the championship open which subsequently concluded the opening ceremony. All the guests, team officials and players adjourned to Garden City Hotel for the welcoming reception hosted by Hong Kong Tenpin Bowling Congress.

The championship kicks off tomorrow (10th July) with the Singles event for both the boys and girls divisions divided into three squads (groups of players). The championship consists of Singles (individual), Doubles (team of 2) and the Team of 5 events. A total of 5 gold medals for each division will be contested.

The championship will end on the 15th July with the prestigious Stepladder Grand Finals after the two blocks of Masters Finals (8 games each block) played on 14th and 15th July.

Photos by Terence Yaw for HKTBC.

8th July, Hong Kong: A record number of teams will be participating in the 10th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship which starts on Monday, 9th July as the team officials attended a managers' meeting Sunday evening at Garden City Hotel.

A total of 13 countries comprising of Chinese Taipei, Guam, Indonesia, Korea, Kuwait, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and host nation, Hong Kong have entered 21 boys team and 17 girls team for a total of 38 teams.

Five countries namely Korea, who is competing for the first time, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and host, Hong Kong have entered 2 boys team and 2 girls team while Thailand put in 2 boys team and 2 girls team but one of the girls team with only 2 girls.

Chinese Taipei has only 1 boys team and 1 girls team while Guam and Kuwait entered just 1 boys team each. Indonesia has 2 boys team, one of which comprise of only 3 boys and 1 girls team. Macau has 1 boys team and 1 girls team of only 2 member. Vietnam, who was originally the host, entered 1 boys team of 3 youths and 1 girls team of 1 youth.

The team managers meeting conducted by Technical Delegate, Dr Danny Santos and Tournament Director, Mr Wille Cheung, confirmed all the participants. The lane draws were also done for all the events comprising of Singles, Doubles and Team of 4 events.

"We didn't expect this much entry when we finalised the venue for the championship hence we have now stretched both the Singles and Doubles into 3 squads," said Mrs Vivien Fung, Hon. Life President of ABF and Chairman of the Hong Kong Tenpin Bowling Congress before the start of the meeting.

Official practice will be held tomorrow with the Opening Ceremony scheduled at 6.00pm followed by the Welcome Reception at 8.00pm. The

competition will kick off with the Singles event on Tuesday, 10th July. The championship will end on 15th July with the Masters stepladder finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw for HKTBC.