26th May, Hong Kong: Japan emerged as overall champion as Misaki Mukotani won her third individual gold and Japan's sixth in the 11th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship with victory in the Girl's Masters finals.

Gold medalist in the Singles and All Events, Misaki Mukotani hauled herself up from fourth overnight in the first block to finish second in a bid to capture her third gold medal of the championship.

And she did not disappoint her coach, Yoshiyuki Arai by winning her third gold and Japan's sixth in the championship. The 17-year-old Itsandong High School student easily defeated Australia's Rebecca Whiting 211-181 in the first stepladder match to advance into the championship round.

Misaki set a cracking pace in the first game with seven strikes in a row to take a massive lead leaving her opponent and topseed, Sim Ui Jin of Korea little chance to mount a serious challenge.

Misaki took an 18-pin lead and the match, 242-224 in the two-game total pinfalls title match to set up a grand finale. The Japanese rookie sealed the victory with another superb display of maturity 219-206 and 461-430 total.

"Competing in my first Asian Schools championship is already quite an achievement for me and to win three gold and a silver medal is simply amazing," exclaimed the delighted Misaki. "I'm also very happy that Japan emerged as champion."

Sim settled for the silver medal while another rookie, Rebecca took home the bronze medal. "The atmosphere and intensity of this championship is fantastic, nothing I've ever seen or participated," said Rebecca Whiting, who trains with Wayne Parlby back in Melbourne.

"I only spent two hours with Rebecca after the roll-off to select the team for this championship and as a debutant, she has done extremely well," said coach Chris Batson. "We didn't really have much time to prepare but I'm impressed by their performances.

Meanwhile, in the all-Korean title match, third-seed, Lim Dong Sung outclassed topseed and fellow compatriot, Park Jong Woo, 440-345 over two matches to give Korea their second gold medal.

Lim, who was second in the first block, easily took the first match, 219-169 and cruised to a 221-185 in the second match to win his first medal of the championship. Lim edged second-seed, Diasuke Yoshida, 243-235 to set up the match with Park.

Park settled for the silver medal while Yoshida took home the bronze medal after winning the Team gold yesterday and two silver medals in the Doubles and All Events.

Japan emerged as overall champion with a convincing medal haul of 6-3-2 with Korea 1-4-3. The gold medal won in the Masters did not count toward the overall tally as it came from Lim Dong Sung from Korea's B team.

Philippines finished third with 1-1-2. The final gold medal went to Australia when they clinched the Team gold yesterday againsts favourites Japan and Korea. Fifteen boys team and 10 girls team from 10 countries participated in this year's championship.

Photos bt Terence Yaw for HKTBC.

25th May, Hong Kong: Korean youths dominated the first block Masters finals of the 11th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship to take up the top two positions of the Boy's and Girl's divisions on Monday afternoon.

All Events bronze medalist, Muhd Amirrul Afif of Malaysia set a cracking pace in the opening game of the 8-game first block Boy's Masters finals with 269 beating team-mate, Bong Kihow to earn the 10 pins bonus but just 1 pin ahead of Korea's Lim Dong Sung.

An aweful second game of 166 saw the Malaysian falling down the field as Lim surged ahead into the lead with another superb 257. But his lead was short-lived as fellow-compatriot, Park Jong Woo took over the running at the halfway mark, 40 pins ahead of Aussie Sam Cooley in hot pursuit.

A sizzling 268 and 243 in the next two games gave the All Events silver medalist, Daisuke Yoshida of Japan the lead, 21 pins ahead of Park.

Lim regained the lead after shooting a strong game of 277 in the seventh game as Park maintained second spot and narrowing the margin to just 16 pins. Park ended much stronger of the duo to take top spot with 1975.

Lim gave Korea a 1-2 finish taking up second spot with 1967 just 8 pins behind while Yoshida settled for third with 1901.

"The field is very strong and there are many good bowlers here," said the 19-year-old Kyung Dock High School student from Seoul, Park Jong Woo. Park started bowling 9 years ago under coach James Kim and won the Milo Junior All Stars Boy's Graded title in 2005 when he was just 14.

Aussie Sam Cooley and Hong Kong's wonder boy, Michael Mak rounded up the top 5 just one pin separating the two on 1824 and 1823 respectively.

Meanwhile, Korea's second team member, Han Kyeo Rae snatched the lead of the Girl's Masters finals with 1846 winning five of the 8 games played. Doubles gold medalist, Sim Ui Jin of Korean team 1 gave Korea a 1-2 finish with 1820, 26 pins off her team-mate.

Team gold medalist, Rebecca Whiting of Australia, who led the field at the halfway mark, posted a poor 169 in the final game to settle for third spot with 1813, a further 7 pins away.

"This is my first Asian Schools championship and also my first international tournament and I'm so surprise to lead the first block," said the 18-year-old Kyeong Ki Girls High School student in Seoul. "I've not won anything yet after taking up the sport 3 years ago and it would be nice to take home a medal.

Two gold medalist, Misaki Mukotani of Japan, who got off the blocks poorly, recovered to finish a creditable fourth with 1807 followed by Filipina, Kimberly Lao completing the top 5 with 1766.

The finalists will bowl another 7 games plus a position round tomorrow where the top 3 will advance into the stepladder finals for the final two gold medals. Japan will most likely win the overall title with a medal haul of 5-3-1. Korea can make a bid for the title if their boys and girls can win the last two gold medals at stake.

Photos bt Terence Yaw for HKTBC.

24th May, Hong Kong: Australia denied Japan a clean sweep of the four medals at stake on Day 3 of the 11th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship by winning the Girl's Team gold while Japan won the Boy's Team and the two All Events gold medals.

Australia's Laura Karin, Tamika Mason, Jessica Seddon and Rebecca Whiting, who was fifth after the first block of three games bowled earlier today, put in a scintilating performance to overhaul leader, Japan to win their first gold medal of the competition.

The Aussie quartet shot 846 and 877 in the fourth and fifth games to move up to third and trailed new leader, Korea. First block leader, Singapore managed only 721 and 842 to drop out of contention.

The two leading teams were drawn next to each other in the crucial title-deciding game as Philippines and Australia mounted their challenge. Korea looked certain to take victory after games of 863 and 898 when Sim Ui Jin scored the fourth perfect game.

But the Koreans managed only 760 which dropped them down the top 3 positions and out of contention for a medal. Japan hung on with a respectable 834 but was overtaken by the Aussies who knocked down a superb 880 to take a well-deserved victory with 5114.

"We're completely surprised that we can beat the favourites, Japan and Korea for the gold," exclaimed the 18-year-old Australia national youth squad, Rebecca Whiting from Melbourne, Victoria.

"We started off well in this block and we were hoping to try to win a least a medal but to win the gold is simply amazing," said the 18-year-old arhitectural drafting student from Bendigo, Laura Karin.

Japan settled for the silver with 5099, just 15 pins adrift while Philippines bounced back to snatch the bronze medal with 5048. Korea ended a disappointing fourth with 5040 and missing out on a medal.

Meanwhile, first block leader Daisuke Yoshida, Takahito Fukuda, Hiroki Takada and Shusaku Asato of Japan, fired a record-breaking 1003 at the start of the second block to stretch their lead to a massive 274 pins from the Filipino quartet maintaining second.

As Philippines managed only 790 in the fifth game, Malaysia put in their late bid after registering 890 and 882 in the fourth and fifth games to take over second spot while Japan pulled away to a victory with 5529.

The battle was only for the silver medal between Philippines and Malaysia which saw the latter posting 881 to clinch the silver with 5196 as the Filipino quartet shot 852 to settle for the bronze with 5105.

Muhd Amirrul Afif, who had taken the lead in the Boy's All Events before the final game shot 193 as Shusaku Asato fired 254 to seal the gold with 4173. Daisuke Yoshida took the silver with a final game of 277 with Muhd Amirrul settling for the bronze medal.

Misaki Mukotani won her second individual gold medal after she topped the Girl's All Events with 4263 to give Japan their fifth gold medal. Sim's perfect game in the Team event moved her up to clinch the silver with 4098.

Singles silver and Doubles gold medalist, Kim Ji Yeon (B) of Korea settled for the bronze medal with 3995. Japan is in the box seat to win the overall champion crown after amassing 5 gold, 3 silver and a bronze medal.

Korea is second with 1-2-3 while Philippines is third with 1-1-2. Japan also look certain to win the Boy's and Girl's titles too. The girls have 2-1-0 while the boys have 3-2-1 medal haul.

The top 16 boys and top 16 girls in the All Events standings advance into the Round-Robin Matchplay finals over two blocks of eight games each on Monday and Tuesday. The top 3 at the end of the finals will proceed to the stepladder finals for the Masters title.

Photos bt Terence Yaw for HKTBC.

24th May, Hong Kong: Japan is poised to win their third gold medal as the boys led the first block of the Team of Four event at the 11th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship on Sunday while Singapore narrowly lead the girl's division.

Doubles gold medalists, Hiroki Takata-Shusaku Asato teamed up with bronze medalists, Daisuke Yoshida-Takahiro Fukuda of Japan and set a new one-game record with 951, erasing the 933 record set in 2004 to lead the field of 15 teams.

Philippines shot 868 to trail by 83 pins with Korea's second team in third with 865. The Japanese quartet only managed 845 in the second game and the Filipinos failed to capitalise scoring only 836 to continue to trail th leader.

Japan ended the first block of 3 games with another 938 scorcher to top the field with 2734, which also erase the 3-game record of 2609 set by their compatriots in 2004. Philippines settled for second with 2631, 103 pins adrift.

Kenneth Chua of Philippines shot the championship's third perfect game to help the team to stay with the leader while Singapore's Shawn Loh knocked down the tournament's second 300 in the same block.

However, Shawn's 300 only managed to get his team 11th in the block. Singapore's Team 1 boys faired better with a third place finish on a total of 2551.

In the girl's division, Singapore's Celine Mok, Grace Fung Yu Si, Genevieve Gan Hui Ling and Edlyn Kwok You Jing upstaged the fancied teams by taking the lead in the first block with a total of 2551, which also erase the old record of 2489 set by Australia in 2004.

The quartet also bettered the one-game record of 877 shared by Australia and Singapore with 939 in the second game. Singapore started off in eighth position with 761 and hauled themselves up to third after te second game.

Another strong 858 gave them Singapore the surprise lead as pace-setters Philippines and Japan dropped to second and third on totals of 2531 and 2522 with less than 30 separating the three teams.

Favourite Korea managed only a fourth place finish with 2519 with Australia in fifth on 2511. Both these teams are less than 20 pins away. Japan also look set to win two additional gold medals.

Gold medalists, Shusaku Asato and Misaki Mukotani topped the Boy's and Girl's All Events after 15 games with 3483 and 3571 respectively. First perfect gamer, Muhd Amirrul Afif of Malaysia moved up to second on 3453 in the boy's division while Kim Ji Yeon (B) remained second with 3377 in the girl's division.

The second block of three games will resume later in the afternoon after the Doubles medal presentation and lane maintenance. The top 16 boys and top 16 girls in the All Events standings will advance into the Masters finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw for HKTBC.

23rd May, Hong Kong: Kim Ji Yeon, who missed the Singles Gold by 2 pins yesterday, made amends when she partnered Sim Ui Jin to win Korea's first gold medal in the 11th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship with a victory in the Girl's Doubles event.

Kim Ji Yeon, who led the Girl's Singles for five games but lost to Japan's Misaki Mukotani in the final game, made sure she did not repeat the same mistake. The silver medalist, who partnered Singles bronze medalist, Sim Ui Jin were quick to take over the lead after the second game.

Filipina Kimberly Lao shot 268 and Dyan Coronacion down 267 to blitz the lanes with a 535 opening game while Kim and Sim trailed in second with 479. But the Korean pair shot a stunning 522 to take over the running and never looked back.

Kim and Sim went on to end the 6-game event with a total of 2756 with Kim scoring 1357 and Sim contributing with 1399 to win Korea's first gold medal of the championship.

"I'm very happy for myself and my team-mate for winning the gold especially after the disappointment yesterday," said the the 17-year-old Kim, who is a Itsandong High School student in Gyoung Gi Do City.

"We made sure we don't think about the scores but just bowl our game near the end," said Sim Ui Jin, who is a member of the Korean national youth squad. "We kept on encouraging and pushing each other all the way."

Kimberly and Coronacion claimed the silver medal with 2657 while the other Korean pair of Kim Yeo Jin and Kim Ji Yeon (A) clinched the bronze medal with 2582.

"The other pair of Krizziah and Rachelle was the favourite and a much stronger pair than us so we're slightly surprised to finish better and winning the silver," said 18-year-old Kimberly, who is majoring a degree in business at the University of the Philippines in Manila.

This is Kimberly's second Asian Schools appearance. She won the Masters bronze medal in the 2005 championship in Jakarta while Coronacion is making her debut here. Japan's Haruna Nojima and Singles gold medalist, Misaki Mukotani, who was second before the last game, dropped to fourth with 2557.

After two events contested, Misaki Mukotani of Japan continued to top the Girl's All-Events standings with 2844, 76 pins ahead of the

Korean pair of Kim Ji Yeon (B) and Sim Ui Jin in second and third wih 2768 and 2716 respectively.

Competition will resme with the Team of Four tomorrow over played two blocks of 3 games each. The top 16 boys and top 16 girls based on the 24-game total in the All Events, will qualify for the Round-Robin Masters finals on Monday and Tuesday.

Photos bt Terence Yaw for HKTBC.

23rd May, Hong Kong: Japan bagged their second gold in two days after Shusaku Asato and Hiroki Takada overtook their compatriots in the final game to win the 11th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship Boy's Doubles event at Hong Kong Bowling City.

Muhd Amirrul Afif and Bong Kihow set a cracking pace with Amirrul shooting the tournament's first perfect game and Bong posting 278 for a sizzling 578 opening game. But the Malaysian pair came under pressure after Japan's Daisuke Yoshida and Takahito Fukuda narrowed the margin to just 1 pin after the second game.

The Malaysian pair stretched their lead to a more comfortable margin after the duo rebounded with 488 to lead by 61 pins at the halfway mark. Despite posting 423 in their fourth game, the Japanese pair closed in on them to just 28 pins.

Disaster struck again when Amirrul and Bong managed only 352 in the fifth game which saw them tumbled down the field to sixth while

Yoshida and Fukuda took over the lead with Japan's other pair of Hiroki Takada and Shusaku Asato moving into second just 4 pins adrift.

As the Malaysian pair recovered with a strong 501 in their final game in the hope to salvage at least a medal, Takada and Asato shot 473 to end with 2761 and snatched the gold medal. Kuwait's Dhari Al-Bishi of Kuwait stormed home to clinch the silver with 2747.

Yoshida and Takahito settled for the bronze after only managing 453 in their final game while the Amirrul and Bong were again frustrated missing the podium by 6 pins in fourth on a total of 2739.

"Winning the gold medal is simply fantastic," said the 17-year-old Hiroki Takada of Fujiidera Technical High School in Osaka and the 2007 National Junior High School champion.

"We're so nervous in the last game but our coach, Yoshiyuki reminded us to keep our concentration," said the Fukuoka Daiich High School student, Shusaku Asato.

"Winning this silver medal is probably very satisfactory especially we've to fight our way up from fourth before the last game," said the 18-year-old Ali Salem, a Tamiz High School student from Kuwait City and a Team gold medalist in the 2006 Asian Youth Championship in China.

"Although I've won a Team gold medal before in the Arab Youth Championship in 2006, but I think the standard here is much higher and for sure I'm happier," said Dhari Al-Bishi who is studying Biology at the Kuwait University.

Korea's Choi Tae Seung led the Boy's All-Events after two events with 2762, 5 pins ahead of Shusaku Asato of Japan in second with 2757 and another Korean, Lim Dong Sung third with 2752. Singles gold medalist, Jomar Jumapao of the Philippines and Takahito Fukuda of Japan rounded up the top 5.

The girls will take to the lanes for their 6-games Doubles event. The Team of Four will be contested tomorrow over two blocks of 3 games each. The top 16 boys and top 16 girls based on the 24-game total will qualify for the Round-Robin Masters finals on Monday and Tuesday.

Photos bt Terence Yaw for HKTBC.

22nd May, Hong Kong: Jomar Roland Jumapao of the Philippines finally nailed his first gold medal after five previous attempts when he triumphed in the Boy's Singles event of the 11th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship on Friday evening.

Bowling in the Asian Schools championship for the final time, the 18-year-old Jomar Roland Jumpapao realised his dream by winning the gold medal with a sizzling 1466 over the six games Singles event.

Jumapao started on the right footing with 244 opening game and only found himself sharing seventh spot as Japan's Daisuke Yoshida set the pace with 258, just 1 pin ahead of Korea's Choi Tae Seung.

But the pint-size Filipino youngster kept his cool to reel in 236 and 243 in his next three games to move up to second and trailed new pace-setter and 14-year-old Tony Wong Kwan Yuen of Hong Kong by 35 pins.

Jumapao picked up his pace and set the lanes on fire as he came home with 255, 254 and 234 to seal the victory with a sizzling total of 1466. Japan's Takahito Fukuda finished second with 1409 to claim the silver medal.

"I'm so happy to have finally win a gold medal," said the physical education student at the Valez College in Cebu, Jumapao. The champion had previously won two silver medals in 2007 and a bronze in 2005.

"I knew I was in the top three and stand a good chance to win but my coach, Biboy (Rivera) told me to relax and not think about the position but just to make sure I make good shots. With this win, I hope to make the Asian Youth Championship squad."

Singapore's Paul Yap HenZhong, who led briefly after the fourth game, shot a poor game in the fifth but bounched back with a stronger final game to clinch the bronze medal with 1403. Malaysia's Bong Kihow finished fourth, 35 pins adrift.

The boys will resume competition with the Doubles in the morning squad while the girls will contest their Doubles in the afternoon. The Team of Four will be held on Sunday, 24th May over two blocks of 3 games on the same day.

Photos by Terence Yaw for HKTBC.

22nd May, Hong Kong: Debutant Misaki Mukotani of Japan, snatched the opening Girl's Singles gold medal of the 11th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship in the final game from Korea's Kim Ji Yeon at Hong Kong Bowling City.

Kim Ji Yeon set a blistering pace with 278 in her opening game to lead Misaki Mukotani of Japan, who herself posted a strong 269 to lead by 9 pins as a field of 43 girls took to the lanes to get the championship underway in the morning.

Another 220 from the youngster allowed the Korean to stretch her lead to 15 pins as Misaki managed a decent 214 after the second game. The Japanese shot a stronger 236 in the third to surge into the lead by 10 pins while Kim posted 211.

But Kim bounched back with 256 to regain the lead and built up a respectable 32 pins margin. The leader continued her hot pace with another 244 to move away from the Japanese and looked certain to win the first gold.

An opened frame in the second and failure to string together strikes allowed Misaki to fight back as she went on a strikefest ending with 256 and a 6-game total of 1413. Despite a double in the final frame, Kim only managed 207 and 1411 total to hand the gold to Misaki by 2 pins.

"I'm so happy to be able to win the first gold medal for my country," said the 17-year-old Itsandong High School student, Misaki Mukotani of Gyoung Gi Do City. The champion, who took up the sport 5 years ago, won the Trios Gold medal in this year's National Youth Championship.

17-year-old Kim, a student at the Chi-ba Meitoku High School, started bowling when she was just 5 years old and was the 2008 Japan High School Champion and a member of the Japanese National Youth Team. She settled for the silver medal.

Her teammate, Sim Ui Jin stormed home with 237 in her final game to clinch the bronze medal with 1317 while Kimberly Lao of the

Philippines, who shot 258 in the last game, missed the podium by 8 pins to finish fourth with 1305.

Host nation Hong Kong's two only female representative, Tam Shun Yee and Nicki Law Wai Ki only managed 39th and 41st positions respectively. The boys will take to the lanes in the afternoon for their opening Singles event.

Photos by Terence Yaw for HKTBC.

21st May, Hong Kong: A colourful and traditional ceremony graced by Guest of Honour, Mr Timonthy Fok, IOC Member and President of Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, marked the opening of the 11th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship on Thursday.

The eleborate opening saw ten countries parade at Hong Kong Bowling City in Kowloon Bay in front of dignitaries, distinguished guests, federation members, team officials and supporters followed by the traditional dotting of the lion's eyes and ribbon tieing.

The dotting of the lion's eyes were performed by both Mr Timothy Fok and Mr Vincent Liu Ming Kwong, Deputy Director of Leisure and Cultural Services Department while Mr Jonathan McKinley, Deputy Secretary for Home Affairs tied the ribbon for the two lions.

Ten countries comprising of Australia, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and host nation, Hong Kong have entered 15 boys team and 11 girls team for a total of 103 players and 27 officials.

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

Ms Vivien Lau added: "Hosting the championship also coincided with the hosting of this year's East Asian and Pacific Games which will be held in Hong Kong at the same venue from 5 to 13 December, 2009."

Hong Kong youths, Li Siu Tsun and Tam Shun Yee took the athlete's oath on behalf of the participants during the opening while Mr Willie Cheung, Tournament Director, took the oath on behlaf of the championship officials.

Immediately after the oath taking ceremony, Mr Timothy Fok declared the championship open before tokens of appreciation were presented by Ms Vivien Lau to the Mr Fok, Mr Vincent Liu and Mr McKinley.

All dignitaries, distinguished guests, team officials and participants adjourned back to the official hotel, Regal Oriental Hotel for a welcome reception hosted by Hong Kong Tenpin Bowling Congress.

The championship kicks off tomorrow, 22nd May with the Singles event for both the boys and girls divisions divided into two 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 26th May with the prestigious Stepladder Grand Finals after the two blocks of Masters Finals (8 games each block) are contested on 25th and 26th May.

Photos by Terence Yaw for HKTBC.

20th May, Hong Kong: A good turnout of participanting countries were confirmed during the team managers' meeting of the 11th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship held at the Regal Oriental Hotel despite the on-going threat of the swine flu.

A total of ten countries namely Australia, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and host Hong Kong. Australia and Japan, which missed the last championship in 2007 made their return.

Korea, Philippines and Singapore were the three countries which entered two full teams (8 boys and 8 girls) while Kuwait and Hong Kong entered two boys team. Thailand entered one girl as host nation, Hong Kong entered two girls.

A total of 103 bowlers and 37 officials (managers and coaches) making a grand total of 140. There are also quite a fiar bit of parents and supporters for the championship too.

The managers attended the team managers' meeting at the official hotel, Regal Oriental Hotel at Kwoloon City, near the old Hong Kong Kai Tak International airport. Mrs Vivien Lau, organizing chairman and Chairman of the Hong Kong Tenpin Bowling Congress welcomed participants during her speech.

"We are so grateful to receive your support in participating in this year's championship despite the outbreak of the swine flu," said Mrs Vivien Lau. "Our government has taken all precautionary measures to ensure your safety."

Dr Danny Santos, Vice President of ABF and the Technical Delegate for the championship and Mr Willie Cheung, Tournament Director, conducted the meeting where all the team managers confirmed their players.

Mr Kyohei Akagi, President of Japan Bowling Congress and Hon. Life President of WTBA, had the honour in assisting in the lane draw that followed. Malaysia had tentatively agreed to host next year's Asian Schools championship and will finalise and confirm the dates later.

The official practice will be held tomorrow commencing at 11.30am for the first squad and 2.30pm for the second squad. The official opening ceremony will take place at 6.00pm followed by the welcome reception back at Regal Oriental Hotel at 8.30pm.

Competition will kick off with the Singles divided into two squads on Friday, May 22. Competition will end with the Masters finals second block on Tuesday, May 26.

Photos by Terence Yaw for HKTBC.

16th May, Hong Kong: Ten countries will be converging in Hong Kong next week for the 11th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship which will kick off on May 22 at the Hong Kong Bowling City in Kowloon Bay.

The organizer, Hong Kong Tenpin Bowling Congress confirmed in a press conference that the ten countries are Australia, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and host Hong Kong.

Of the ten countries, Korea, Philippines, Singapore and Hong Kong have two teams each comprising of 4 boys and 4 girls while the rest have one team of 8 players each making a total of 124 players, 20 coaches and team officials.

Most of the teams will arrive Hong Kong on May 20 with the team managers being held at the Regal Oriental Hotel at 8.00pm. The official practice will be held on May 21 after which the official opening ceremony will follow later in the same evening.

Competition kicks off on May 22 with the Singles divided into two squads of Boys and Girls and the Doubles on May 23, again divided into two squads. The Team of Four will be played over two blocks of 3 games on May 24.

The top 16 Boys and top 16 Girls in the All Events standings (18 games) will advance into the Masters Finals over two blocks of 8 games on May 25 and 26. The top 3 from each division will proceed to the stepladder finals.

The championship will end with the victory banquet which will be held at Xi Shan Chinese Restaurant, Level 3 of the HITEC Shopping Center where Hong Kong Bowling City is located.

Photos by courtesy of HKTBC.