22nd September, Jakarta: Yeri Ramadona made history by becoming the first Indonesian to win the Men's Open Masters title at the concluding the 11th Indonesia International Open while Geraldine Ng clinched her first Women's Open Masters crown in Jakarta on Sunday.

Ramadona, who won his first international title back in 2010 when he captured the ABF Tour Hong Kong, needed only one match to beat challenger and No. 2 seed, Yaqoub Al Shatii of Kuwait, 237-201 to win the Men's Open title.

The Indonesian started off with three strikes-in-a-row as the Kuwaiti had an opened frame in the third with a split. Ramadona rolled another turkey after frame 5 and when Yaqoub encountered another split in the sixth frame, the match was sealed and done for Ramadona.

Yaqoub had earned the right to challenge Ramadona after he dispatched two Malaysians third-seed, Kang Bo Long of Malaysia and defending champion and winner of the first match, Isaac Russell, 256-201-172 in the semi.

Russell advanced after he defeated fourth-seed, Michael Tsang of Hong Kong and sixth-seed, Adhiguna Widiantoro, 234-219-186 in the Men's Open first stepladder match.

In the earlier Stage 2 finals, the champion earned top seed with a 10-game total of 2377 followed by Yaqoub in second with 2309 and Kan third with 2307. Tsang, Russell and Widiantoro made the cut in fourth to sixth positions.

Eric Tseng of Hong Kong missed the cut by 7 pins after finishing seventh with 2210 while top local qualifier and Youth U20 champion Diwan Rizaldy took eighth position with 2201. Stage 1 leader, Alex Liew of Malaysia ended in tenth position.

Meanwhile, Stage 1 leader and top seed, Geraldine Ng had to work hard for her maiden victory when she was forced into the second deciding match after losing to team-mate and No. 3 seed, Cherie Tan, 220-222 in the all Singapore Women's Open stepladder finals.

An early miss in the second frame costed Ng and despite striking out from frame 9, she narrowly lost the first match, 220-222. But Ng bounced back stronger to bring home a clean game while Tan suffered a split in the third frame and never recovered. Ng went on to win the deciding match, 206-197 for the victory.

"Finishing first yesterday gave my confidence a big boost but I had to work extremely hard today to earn the top seed," said the 27-year-old Ng, who had finished third twice, once last year and once in 2010.

Tan made it an all-Singapore finals after she defeated defending champion and second-seed, Sharon Limansantoso of Indonesia and Siti Shazwani of Malaysia, 256-215-182 in the semi-finals.

Siti sailed past No. 5 seed and compatriot, Alisha Iman and Angkana Netvriseth of Thailand, 247-188-195 in the first Women's Open stepladder match to advance into the second match.

The champion ended the Stage 2 finals in pole with 2356, a comfortable 63 pins ahead of Limansantoso in second with 2293 followed by Tan in third position with 2274. Siti, Alisha and Angkana advanced in fourth to sixth positions.

A third Malaysian, Dayang Khairuniza missed the cut in seventh position with 2095 while Puteri Astari, who was fifth before the final game, finished eighth.

Ng won 50 million rupiah (approx. US$4,400) as champion, Tan took home 25 million rupiah in second and Limansantoso 12.5 million in third. Fourth to sixth placed finisher earned 10, 8 and 6 million rupiah respectively.

Ramadona pocketed 150 million rupiah (approx. US$13,200) as champion while Yaqoub settled for 100 millin rupiah for second and Kang 60 million for third. Fourth to sixth placed finishers earned 40, 25 and 20 million rupiah respectively.

The top 16 Asian men and top 16 Asian women have qualified for the seventh stop of this year's ABF Tour Indonesia leg which will he held tomorrow at the same bowling centre. This leg is also the final leg for the women division this year.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Jakarta.

21st September, Jakarta: Three-time champion, Alex Liew of Malaysia is eyeing his fourth win after topping the Men's Open Masters Stage 1 finals fo the 11th Indonesia International Open while Singapore's Geraldine Ng snatched the Women's division pole position in the final game.

Kuwaiti Yaqoub Al Shatti set a cracking pace with a sizzling opening game of 278 to lead 2011 Indonesia Open champion, Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand by 23 pins. Two strong back-to-back games from Eric Tseng propelled the Hong Kong national bowler into the lead albeit just 1 pin ahead of Yaqoub.

Tseng kept up his good momentum to lead the field of 30 finalists for the next four games including sharing the lead at the halfway mark with Thailand's Surasak Manuwong while Yaqoub kept with the leading duo.

Malaysia's Syimir Abdul Razak shot into the lead after the seventh game with Yaqoub still in second but his lead was short-lived as Alex Liew fired 268, 259 and 289 from games 6 to overtake the front runners.

Liew ended with 226 and 254 to claim pole position with 2369 with Syimir giving Maaysia a one-two finish on 2284. Yaqoub hung on to third position with 2276 followed by Korean pro, Jeong Tae Hwa and Suarasak rounding out the top 5 with 2275 and 2256.

Asian Indoor Games two gold medalist, Michael Mak survived the cut for the next stage in 18th position with 2094, just 2 pins ahead of Malaysia's Zulmazran Zulkifli missing the cut with 2092.

The top 18 will be joined by the top 3 seeded local men and top 3 seeded overseas men qualifiers for tomorrow's Stage 2 finals over another 10 games from scratch. The top 6 will advance to the stepladder finals.

In the Women's Open division, Singapore's Geraldine Ng stormed home with a superb 246 in her final game to snatch pole position with 2282. Siti Safiyah and Siti Shazwani of Malaysia finished second and third with 2252 and 2230 respectively.

Puteri Astari was Indonesia's best performer taking fourth spot with 2220 while Ivana Hie completed the top 5 with 2219.

Youth U18 first runner-up, Alisha Nabila of Indonesia, who took over the lead from early leader, Daphne Tan of Singapore midway through the 10-games finals, stumbled to a 161 final game to slip down to sixth with 2215.

ABF Tour Macau leg champion, Angkana Netvriseth of Thailand survived the cut in 15th position with 2034 while Malaysia's Hee Kar Yen missed the cut by 9 pins to end up 16th with 2025.

The top 15 will be joined by the top 3 seeded local women and top 3 seeded overseas women qualifiers for tomorrow's Stage 2 finals over another 10 games from scratch. The top 6 will advance to the stepladder finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Jakarta.

20th September, Jakarta: The final day of qualifying of the 11th Indonesia International Open saw scores going up through the roof of Jaya Ancol Bowling Centre as they scrambled to make the cut for Stage 1 and Stage 2 finals.

Ex-national youth, Noor Afizal Azizan sat comfortably in pole position in the Men's Open overseas qualifying pool with his stunning 6-game aggregate of 1577 from two massive series of 799 and 778.

2012 ABF Tour Hong Kong leg champion, Kang Bo Long of Malaysia, who rolled the tournament's sixth perfect game, moved up into second spot with 1543. Another perfect gamer, Banjamin Hong of Singapore improved to take up third with 1532.

Three-time Indonesia Open champion, Alex Liew of Malaysia slipped out of the top 3 down to fourth on 1512. As much as ten made the cut today alone. Hong Kong's Wu Siu Hong improved to occupy 11th in the overseas pool.

2008 Indonesia Open champion, Zulmazran Zulkifli of Malaysia headed the mixed pool with 1461. ABF Tour 2013 Macau leg champion, Lee Tak Man of Macau is the cut in 11th position in the mixed pool with 1422.

Last year's cut was a mere 1322 and with the new lanes being installed after the flooding back January, scores are substantially higher.

There were no changes atop the local pool with newly-crowned Youth Boy's U20 champion, Diwan Rizaldy leading with 1478 followed by Embes in second with 1461 and fourth perfect gamer, Hardy Rachmadian third with 1459.

The top 3 local and top 3 overseas men will earn automatic entry into Stage 2 finals while the 30 qualifiers will have to battle Stage 1 finals and finish in the top 18 to advance to the next stage.

In the women's division, the lead in the overseas pool changed hands three times since the start of the day. Siti Shazwani of Malaysia took over the lead after she improved to 1409 only to watch Cherie Tan of Singapore taking over the lead with 1439.

2009 AMF World Cup champion, Jasmine Yeong-Nathan found some of her winning spark when she rolled the seventh perfect game to move up into second spot. 2012 DHC-IBA runner-up, Dayang Khairuniza of Malaysia snatched the third spot with 1425.

Siti Shazwani slipped back down to fourth ahead of World Games fifth-place finisher, Geraldine Ng of Singapore in fifth with 1398. Overnight leader and KPBA, Han Sol dropped to sixth position with 1395.

Defending champion, Sharon Limansantoso, Novie Phang and Putty Armein have earn their automatic qualification for Stage 2 finals as the top 3 local finishers with 1528, 1467 and 1363 respectively.

The current cut for the women's division is held by Women's Grade A second runner-up, Roskasmani Ramli of Malaysia on 1266. Up to two spots will be given to the highest reserves after they vacate them from the local seeded pool.

The top 24 will contest Stage 1 finals and the top 15 finishers will advance with the top 3 local women and top 3 overseas women will bowl 10 games in Stage 2 finals. The top 6 men and top 6 women will advance to the stepladder grand finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Jakarta.

20th September, Jakarta: Indonesia's Diwan Rizaldy and Billy Muhammad Islam finished one-two in the Youth U20 Masters finals of the 11th Indonesia International Open to share glory with Malaysia's Nur Amirah Auni and Qistina Zainal Fitri, who took first and second in the Girl's division.

Diwan, who won the Doubles gold medal with Billy Muhammad Islam, delivered another stunning performance to win the Youth Boy's U20 Masters title after he amassed a 10-game total of 2037.

The 19-year-old member of the Indonesia national youth squad, who also won a bronze medal in the Team and All Events last week in Hong Kong, led from start to finish to take victory 23 pins ahead of two Gold medalist, Billy, stormed home in his final game to gave Indonesia a one-two finish with 2014.

Christopher Tiong of the Malaysian national youth team, who was second before the last game, shot a poor 161 to settle for third position with 2003 while Mohd Zharif Hashim, who trailed Diwan at one stage, took fourth position with 1967.

A third Indonesian national youth, who was in the Asian Youth squad to win the bronze medal team event, finished sixth with 1914 behind Wan Nadzmi Fikri of Malaysia in fifth with 1928.

Diwan earned 8 million rupiah (approx. US$700) with Billy and Christopher taking home 6 million and 4 million rupiah respectively.

Meanwhile, Malaysia reversed the order by taking the first two positions in the Girl's division. Nur Amirah Auni of Malaysia led from game 2 onwards to take victory with 2063. The 16-year-old student of SMK Seberang Prai was 119 pins ahead of team-mate, Qistina Zainal Fitri, who took second spot with 1944.

Asian Youth Team bronze medalist, Alisha Nabila earned third spot with 1931 ahead of her team-mate, Nadia Pramanik in fourth position with 1867 while Natasha Mohd Roslan rounded out the top 5 with 1847.

Early pace-setter, Charlene Lim of Singapore fizzled off to finish sixth position with 1795. Nur AMirah won 6 million Indonesia rupiah (approx. US$530) with Qistina and Alisha taking home 4.5 million and 3 million rupiah.

Qualifying for the Men's Open, Women's Open, Men's Grade A and Youth U18 will end late tonight and the Masters finals will be staged over next two days culminating to the stepladder finals on September 22.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Jakarta.

19th September, Jakarta: Korean professionals, Han Sol and Park Jin Hee dominated the Women's Open Masters qualifying rounds of the 11th Indonesia International Open underway at Jaya Ancol Bowling Centre with a one-three finish.

Han Sol of KPBA registered 702 and 683 for a 6-game aggregate to top the overseas pool with 1385, 26 pins ahead of her fellow-compatriot, Park Jin Hee in second with 1359. But later in the day, 2012 DHC-IBC champion, CHerie Tan of Singapore split the duo to take up second with 1372.

The top 3 qualifiers in the overseas pool would earn a bye and automatically advance to Stage 2 finals. 2013 Asian Indoor Games Doubles gold medalist, Daphne Tan of Singapore finish fourth in the table with 1320 while Alisha Iman of Malaysia rounded out the top 5 with 1304.

Positions 4 to 10 qualified for Stage 1 finals together with positions 1 to 9 from the mixed pool which was headed by Syaidatul Affifah of Malaysia with 1258.

The current cut at 9th position is held by Nur Umirah Abdul Rahman of Malaysia with 1202. Indonesian national team member, Novie Phang headed the local seeded pool alongside Alisha Nabila, Cheya Chantika, Ivan Hie and Anak Agung Ayu. Phang also occupied sixth position 1467 followed by defending champion, Sharon Limansantoso in seventh with 1412.

Ivana took eighth position with 1352 and would join Phang and Limansantoso automatically into Stage 2 finals. The top 6 local seeded qualifiers plus local qualifiers positioned 9 to 10 will have to contest Stage 1 finals.

Meanwhile, Asian Youth Doubles gold and All Events bronze medalist, Diwan Rizaldy of Indonesia led Embes and team-mate, Hardy Rachmadian directly into Stage 2 finals after occupying seventh to ninth in the local pool with 1478, 1461 and 1459 respectively.

Rustam E, Yeri Ramadona, Ryan Lalisang, Embes, Oscar and Rangga D Yudhira were the first to sixth local seeded qualifiers and will be joined by qualifiers positioned 10th to 12th in this pool for Stage 1 finals.

Noor Afizal Bin Azizan of Malaysia surprised a few by topping the overseas pool with 1577 on two stunning series of 799 and 778. 2008, 2006 and 2005 Indonesia Open champion, Alex Liew finished second with 1512.

Asian Indoor Games Team gold medalist, Eric Tseng of Hong Kong, who rolled the tournament's third perfect game, leapfrog into third spot with 1499. The top 3 will earn byes into Stage 2 finals.

Tseng team-mate Michael Tsang finished fourth with 1491 ahead of Suresh Elangovan of Singapore completing the top five with 1473. Qualifiers positioned 4 to 12 will advance to Stage 1 finals.

Ahmed Muaz Mohd Ashol of Malaysia headed the mixed pool with 1438 while the cut at position 11 went to Ahmad Dzikri Bin Adam of Malaysia with 1387. Last year's cut was 1322 and the renovated lanes at Jaya Ancol has raised the bar to 1387 and yet has one day left for qualifying.

A total of 30 Men's Open and 24 Women's Open qualifiers will bowl 10 games in Stage 1 finals. The top 18 men plus the 6 seeded qualifiers will bowl 10 games in Stage 2 and the top 15 women plus the 6 seeded qualifiers will bowl 10 games in Stage 2.

The top 6 men and top 6 women will then advance to the stepladder grand finals on September 22. The top 16 Asian men and top 16 Asian women will also qualify for the seventh leg of the ABF Tour Indonesia Leg on September 23.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Jakarta.