11th July, Bangkok: Kuwait and Korea shared the glory at the concluding 13th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship after Abdulla Ahmed and Song Yeon-Soo claimed victory in the Boy's and Girl's Masters finals.

Abdulla Ahmed of Kuwait A, who had ended the second block Masters finals in third, advanced into the stepladder finals to meet No. 2 seed, Muhammad Aizudeen Mustaqim of Malaysia A in the first match.

There was nothing separating the duo after four frames until Abdulla rolled three strikes in-a-row from frame three and a double strike from frame seven while his opponent had two open frames in the seven and nine.

The Kuwaiti took the match, 224-174 to challenge top seed, Shaun Lau Jia Rong of Singapore A in the two-game total final match. Abdulla edged the Singapore youth, 202-192 to go into the second match with a 10 pin margin.

Abdulla struck a double in frames five and six while the Singaporean had four strikes in-a-row from frame eight and a 7 pin to end the second match with 225 forcing Abdulla having to roll a turkey in order to win.

The Kuwaiti youngster kept his cool delivering the goods needed to finish the game with 219. His two game total of 421 was enoguh to clinch victory for the gold medal over Shaun's 417 by 4 pins. The champion had won two bronze medals in the Singles and Doubles with Mohammed Salem.

In the girl's division, top seed Song Yeon-Soo defeated team-mate and Singles gold medalist, Kim Jin-Sun, 421-383 in an all-Korea finals to win her first medal of the championship.

Song had won all the 16 matches contested over two blocks of eight games to advance into the stepladder finals as top seed. Kim had earlier eliminated third seed and Singles gold medalist, Marie Alexis Sy of Philippines A, 205-171 in the first match.

Winning the gold and silver in the Masters gave Korea A the overall champion title with 2 gold and 1 silver medal. Although Singapore A had also won 2 gold and 1 silver medal, they had to settle for second as they did not field a complete team of a minimum of 4 boys and 4 girls.

Singapore A did emerge as overall boys champion after they won gold in the Singles and Doubles and a silver in the Masters. Korea A also emerged as overall girls champion with gold in the Singles and Masters and a silver in Masters as well.

93 boys and 64 girls from and total of 16 countries took part in this edition of the Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship at the Blu-O Esplanade Bowling Center.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

11th July, Bangkok: Song Yeon-Soo and Kim Jin-Sun of Korea A advanced into the stepladder finals after ending the Girl's Masters second block finals of the 13th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship in first and second while Marie Alexis Sy of Philippines A squeezed in as third seed.

Overnight first block leader Song Yeon-Soo of Korea A, who won all her eight round-robin matches in the first block, was unstoppable as she again easily won all the eight matches in the second block.

The 18-year-old Il San Dong High Scool student must have set an all-time record for winning all the 16 matches en-route to advancing into the stepladder finals with 3521 by posting 1641 to add to her 1720 shot yesterday.

Singles Gold medalist, Kim Jin-Sun gave the Korean Team A another one-two finish as she claimed second seed with 3318 winning four matches today.

But the final stepladder spot was a much more tighter battle as Ji Eun-Sol of Korea B, Marie Alexis and Dyan Coronacion of Philippines A, placed third to fifth, had 30 pins amongst them going into the position round match.

Marie Alexis Sy eventually clinched the third spot with a victory over Eun-Sol, 221-181 and despite Dyan Coronacion beat sixth-placed Gil Eun-Jin, 221-204, Coronacion finished fifth behind Eun-Jin.

Thailand's hope for a spot in the stepladder finals was dashed when two gold medalist and reigning Masters champion, Yanee Saebe ended up ninth and Natthida Serthuecha finished 11th position.

Alexis will face Kim Jin-Sun in the girl's first stepladder match and the winner will meet the top seed, Song over a two-match total pinfall to determine the champion. The boys will contest their second block later today.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

10th July, Bangkok: Korea Team A of Song Yeon-Soo and Kim Jin-Sun dominated the Girl's first block Masters finals of the 13th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship with a one-two finish ahead of Dyan Arcel Coronacion of Philippines A in third.

Two gold medalist and reigning Masters champion, Yanee Saebe gave the home supporters plenty to cheer when she took an early lead by beating team-mate, Natthida Serthuecha 221-197 in the opening match to earn the 10 pin bonus.

But the 17-year-old stumbled to a 183 defeat in the second as Australia's sole finalist Chelsea Oliver took over the running after she won her second match with 245 as Song Yeon-Soo of Korea A trailed in second.

Chelsea kept the lead despite winning her third match with 180 while Song, who also won her third match, narrowed the gap from 39 pins to 26 pins as Yanee recovered with a win in her third match with 201.

A fourth match victory for Song with a big game of 247 shot her into the lead at the halfway mark while the Thai closed the gap after another win in her fourth match with 218 as Chelsea slipped away with an lowly 152.

The Korean picked up her pace to reel in four straight wins with 236, 202, 225 and 215 to end the block with 1800 and a maximum of eight wins.

Two bronze medalist, Dyan Coronacion of Philippines A traded second spot with Singles gold medalist, Kim Jin-Sun of Korea A but eventually settled for third with 1661 from five wins and a draw. Kim Jin-Sun gave Korea A a one-two finish to clinch second spot with 1687.

Both the Korean leading duo comes from Il San-Dong High School in Kyung-Ki City in the Goyang District and were selected to represent Korea in a roll off.

Singles gold medalist, Marie Alexis Sy kept close with the top 3 leaders by taking up fourth position with 1649 while Ji Eun-Sol of Korea B rounded up the top 5 with 1626 and Thailand's Yanee Saebe finished sixth with 1612.

The girls will complete their second block of seven matches and the position round match on Monday morning to determine the top 3 advancing into the stepladder finals. The boys will bowl their second block in the afternoon.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

10th July, Bangkok: Doubles gold medalist, Shaun Lau of Singapore A made a promising start to lead the Boy's first block Masters finals of the 13th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship ahead Muhammad Aizudeen of Malaysia A second and Adhiguna Widiantoro of Indonesia A third.

After a disappointing run in the Team of 4 event yesterday in which Shaun Lau and his team-mates finished eighth position, Shaun Lau started off well to beat team-mate Howard Saw, 253-213 in the matchplay round-robin to earn 10 extra bonus pins.

But the 16-year-old Maris Stella High School student had to settle for second when his doubles partner, Jevarn Li shot an even higher game beating a fourth Singapore finalist, Muhammad Jaris Goh, 257-223 for the lead.

Jevarn led for another game but soon found himself trailing by 31 pins to Atittarat Cheng when the lanky Thai youth shot 268 to take over the running after three matches. Atittarat won his next two matches with 214 and 211 to open up a gap of 99 pins.

Hong Kong's Leo Tse made his bid to move up into second spot 268 in the fifth while Jevarn slipped down to third with a poor 162.

Team gold medalist, Muhammad Aizudeen took a brief lead when he shot 266 in the sixth match while Shaun Lau recovered with 246 to stay cloer to the front runners.

Shaun took advantage over his rivals when they all struggled in their last two games as he won his seventh match with 198 to move into the lead. Despite not winning the final match, the Singapore youth hung on to end the block with 1723 winning only three matches.

Muhammad Aizudeen claimed second spot with 1702 on five wins while Adhiguna Widiantoro finished third with 1698 with three wins.

The boys will resume with their second block tomorrow in the afternoon after the girls end their second block in the morning. The top 3 boys and top 3 girls will advance to the steplader shootout finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

9th July, Bangkok: Malaysia A Team sprang a big surprise to clinch the Boy's Team Gold medal of the 13th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship in the final game of the second block while Squad A leader, Japan took the Girl's Team gold.

Philippines Team A had topped the earlier squad Boy's Team of 4 second block with 4937 after they overtook first block leader, Korea. Malaysia Team A, who was third in Squad B posted a near record-breaking 2506 series in the second block to emerge as champion.

Mohd Amirul Che Mat, Mohad Hazwan Harman Shah, Mohamad Farhan and Muhammad Aizudeen Mustaqim fired an superb 819 to kick start their second block campaign in an effort to haul themselves into medal contention.

The Malaysian quartet followed it up with another good effort of 803 in the fifth game but was still trailing the two front runners, Singapore Team B and Indonesia Team A.

With the benchmark of 4937 set by the Filipinos, Singapore's Gan Ju-Yen, Darren Ong, Javier Tan and Tay Hui Cheng was in a better position, needing 759 or more while Indonesia and Malaysia needed 821 and 849 or more to stand any chance of winning the gold.

Mohd Amirul managed only 168 but was fortunate to have Mohd Hazwan and Mohamad Farhan firing 223 and 214. Undoubtedly, the show belonged to anchorman, Mohammad Aizudeen when he struck out from frame three to end the game with a sizzling 279.

Their final game total of 884 was enough to beat the Filipinos by 35 pins and crucially clinched the gold medal with 4972. >Singapore squandered their chance to take the silver when they managed only 745 for 4926, short by 15 pins to settle for the bronze medal while Indonesia ended with 763 to miss out on the podium with 4899.

Meanwhile, Squad A leader of Kana Shimoide, Mitsuki Okamoto, Shinobu Saito and Yuka Ohshima of Japan won the Girl's Team gold with 4767. Korea Team B of Choi Na-Ra, Kim Au-Reum, Gil Eun-Jin and Ji Eun-Sol, who topped the second squad, settled for the silver medal with 4727.

Marie Alexis Sy, Dyan Arcel Coroncacion, Janine Kuwahara and Madeline Mae Llamas of Philippines A, who was second to the Japanese, took the bronze medal with 4632. Malaysia Team B, who finished second to the Koreans, missed out on the podium and finish fourth position with 4587.

Another upset came from China's Wan Kang Qi, who posted the highest 6-game series of the championship with 1418 to win the Boy's All Events with 3883.

Macau's Zoe Dias Ma shot 1329 in the team event to clinch the silver medal with 3872. Singles silver medalist, Michael Mak of Hong Kong took the bronze medal with 3862 edging Sinlges gold medalist, Howard Saw Hui-Zhe of Singapore A by 15 pins thus giving China a clean sweep.

Doubles gold medalist and reigning Masters champion, Yanee Saebe added another gold medal for host, Thailand after she emerged as the Girl's All Events champion with an 18-game total of 3756.

Korea Team B of Ji Eun-Sol settled for the silver medal with 3733 and Singles bronze medalist, Dyan Arcel Coronacion of Philippines A won her second bronze with 3713.

After four events, Singapore and Thailand shared the lead in the Medal Tally with 2 gold medals each. Philippines is second with 1 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze medals.

The top 16 boys and top 16 girls in the All Events standings qualified for the Masters finals which will be played over two blocks of 8-games round-robin matchplay on Sunday and Monday. The top 3 boys and top 3 girls will advance to the stepladder finals shootout.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

9th July, Bangkok: First block leader, Japan set a hard-to-beat benchmark of 4767 to top Squad A of the Girl's Team of 4 second block at the 13th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship on Saturday.

Having led the first block alst night with 2434 and a 51 pin cushion over their nearest rival, Philippines Team A, the Japanese quartet of Kana Shimoide, Mitsuki Okamoto, Shinobu Saito and Yuka Ohshima shot 782 in their fourth game to open up a larger gap of 123.

Another superb 790 from Japan allowed them to increase their lead to 167 after the forusome shot another good 790 in the fifth game as the Filipinas struggled to repeat their overnight form.

Japan eventually cruise to a comfortable lead of 136 pins with a total of 4767 while Philippines ended the block with 4632 to finish second. Australia A bowled a better second block to ftake up third with 4485.

The benchmark set by the Japanese meant that the leader in the other squad, Korea B who shot 2295 in their first block, would need 2472 (824 each game) to topple Japan for the gold.

Malaysia Team A, who finished second to the Koreans, would need a higher 2480 or more to snatch the gold from the Japanese.

Meanwhile, Philippines A team of Enrico Hernandez, Christian Custodio, Jayson Tubid and Jose Collins ended the second block in the lead with 4937 after shooting 2455 in this block.

Overnight leader, Korea slipped down to second behind the Filipinos with 4804 on a lower 2254 second block from the 2550 shot yesterday. Hong Kong improved to take up third position with 4599.

The Philippines' 4937 may not be enough to earn them a gold medal especially when the overnight leader, Singapore now need 2386 or more (795 per game) to assure their country a third gold medal.

Indonesia also has a good chance of snatching the gold if they can roll 2398 or better (799 per game) in the second block to deny both Philippines and Singapore.

Team of 4 Squad B will end the three events contested thus far this evening which will determine the winners. The top 16 boys and top 16 girls in the All Events standings will advance to the Masters finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

9th July, Bangkok: Singapore Team B topped the second squad of the Boy's Team of 4 first block to edge first squad leader, Korea by a single pin and set course for their third gold of the 13th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship.

Indonesia's Billy Muhd Islam, Diwan Rezaldy, Fachri Askar and Adhiguna Widantoro got off to a superb start with 930 in their opening game to lead Gan Ju-Yen, Darren Ong, Javier Tan and Tay Hui Chiang of Singapore Team B by 9 pins.

Singapore reversed the order after the quartet rolled a superb 847 to go ahead of the Indonesians by 19 pins with Malaysia Team A in a distant third.

The leader needed 782 or more to stand a chance to overhaul overnight and first squad leader Korea, who totaled 2550 in their first block while Indonesia have to shoot 801 or more.

Gan and Darren posted 212 and 200 while Javier and Tay ended the block with 177 and 194 for a game of 783 to edge the Koreans by a single pin. Singapore topped the squad as well as the two squads combined.

Indonesia managed 790 to retain second spot in this squad and third overall with 2539, 12 pins behind Korea in second. Malaysia Team A finished third in the squad with 2466 but ended up fifth behind Philippines, who totaled 2482 in yesterday's squad.

Meanwhile in the girl's division, Korea Team B of Choi Na-Ra, Kim Ah-Reum, Gil Eun-Jin and Ji Eun-Sol led Squad B with 2295 but failed to overhaul Squad A leader, Kana Shimode, Mitsuki Okamoto, Shinobu Saito and Yuka Ohshima of Japan, who totaled 2434 to remain in the lead.

Malaysia Team A and Team B finished second and third behind the Koreans with 2287 and 2246 respectively but ended up fourth and sixth positions in the overall team standings.

Philippines Team A of Marie Lexis Sy, Dyan Coronacion, Janine Kuwahara and Madleline Mae Ilamas also remained in second overall with 2383 while Korea Team B settled for third.

Dyan Coronacion of the Philippines, topped the Girl's All Events standings after 15 games contested in the Singles, Doubles and Team of 4 (first block) with 3198 to lead Singles gold medalist, Yanee Saebe of Thailand in second with 3109.

Macau's Zoe Dia Ma shot into the lead of the Boy's All Events with 3240, 45 pins ahead of Sngles gold medalist, Howard Saw of Singapore A on 3195. China's Wang Kang Qi is third with 3190.

Squad A will resume with their second block after lane maintenance and Squad B will retun to complete their second block later this evening.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

8th July, Bangkok: Korean boys finally showed up after drawing blanks in the two previous events of the 13th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship by leading Squad A of the Team of 4 first block while Japan topped the girl's team.

Lee Ji-Hoon, Park Ki-Yoon, Choi Hyun-Wook and anchorwoman, Hwang Jun-Hyuck got off to a great start in their opening game with 889 to take a 52 pin lead over Philippines Team A of Enrico Hernandez, Christian K. Custodio, Jayson Tubid and Jose Collins.

The Koreans fired another superb game of 846 in the second to stretch their lead over the Filipinos to 107 after the second game followed by the second Philippines team in a distant third.

Despite ending the first block with a lower 815, the leader still managed to finish 68 pins ahead of Philippines Team A. The Korean quartet totaled 2559 with Park scoring the highest 3-game series of 668.

Philippines amassed a team total of 2482 with Jayson Tubid posting the highest 3-game series in his team with 667. Japan's Katsuhito Nakano, Koki Oyamada, Yuhi Shinbata and Satoshi Hamanaka stormed home with a superb 834 to snatch third spot with 2266.

Meanwhile, Doubles bronze medalist Mitsuki Okamoto and Yuka Ohshima teamed up with the remaining two Japanese girls of Kana Shimode and Shinobu Saito to lead the Girl's Team of 4 with a total of 2434.

Philippines Team A of Marie Alexis Sy, Dyan Arcel Coronacion, Janine Kuwahara and Madeline Mae Llamas, who was leading after game two, slipped back to second with 2383, 51 pins adrift.

Third spot went to Indonesia Team A of Shinta Ceysaria Yunita, Cheya Chantika, Alisha Nabila Larasati and Nadia P. Nuramalina with a total of 2168 while Chinese Taipei and Australia Team B rounded up the top five.

The second squad of both the girls and boys team will bowl their first block of three games in the morning and will complete their second block after Squad A returned for their second block in the afternoon.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

8th July, Bangkok: Shaun Lau and Jevarn Li snatched the gold medal for a second time for Singapore by overhauling leader, Thailand in the third squad to win the Boy's Doubles of the 13th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship on Friday.

Thailand Team B's Krittin Kunumphon and Atittarat Cheng had set the 6-game Doubles benchmark of 2564 in the first squad last night. Muhammad Jaris Goh and Singles gold medalist, Howard Saw had failed to topple the Thais despite topping Squad B with 2482.

Singapore A team's second pair of Shaun Lau Jia Rong and Jevarn Li Jun was quick to settle into a good pace by rolling 460 in their opening game to lead Malaysia B pair of Ahmad Adil and Muhamad Afnan by 37 pins.

Another sizzling 470 allowed the Singapore pair to pull away to a strong margin of 88 pins over Kuwait A pair of Moahammad Salem and Singles bronze medalist, Abdulla Ahmed taking over second spot.

But the Kuwaitis were hot on their heels and was able to arrow the gap to 36 pins after shooting 462 as the leader downed 410. Mohammad Salem and Abdulla Ahmed surged into the front with another superb 431 as the Singaporeans fumbled to a 372 in the fourth game.

Shaun and Jevarn then reversed the position to regain the lead with and identical 431 as the Kuwait pair managed only 376. The good game in the fifth put the Singapore pair needing 421 or more to overhaul Thailand for the gold.

Kuwait required 453 or more to stand any chance of toppling the Thais and if they can also overcome a 32-pin deficit to the Singapore pair, they would be in contention as well. The final game was a thrilling affair, similar to the doubles event seen in the girl's division last night.

Mohammad had an opened frame in the third but recovered with three strikes in a row while Abdulla had six strikes from frame two which in turn forced Shaun to drop his ball after a turkey.

But Javarn Li came to the rescue reeling in a five bagger. Shaun did end strong with 191 and Javarn shot a stunning 242 for a 433 final game to beat the Thais by 12 pins to win a second gold medal for Singapore.

Mohammad ended with 172 after two more open frames and despite Abdulla posting a sizzling 258, their final game total was not enough to overtake Singapore as well as Thailand and had to settle for the bronze with 2541.

"When I was told that we were leading after the fifth game, I suddenly was very tense," said the 16-year-old championship debutant of Maris Stella High School, Shaun Lau. "But uncle John (Liaw) tpld us to forget about the scores and focus on our game."

"The advice paid off and we remain calm throughout the final game and taking each shot at a time," added the 15-year-old ACS(I) student Jevarn Li, who contributed 1302 while Shaun scored 1274. "I had a great first four games but we lost a bit of focus in the fifth game.

"We're glad to contribute another gold for Singapore and we have to thank our team-mates and parents who are here to lend their support."

Second squad leader, Muhammad Jaris Goh and Howard Saw were knocked off the podium into fourth spot by their team-mates and Kuwait. Japan slipped down to fifth and Hong Kong rounded up the top 6.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

8th July, Bangkok: Singles Gold medalist, Howard Saw Hui-Zhe partnered Muhammad Jaris Goh to give Singapore A the lead in the second Boy's Doubles squad of the 13th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship but finished 76 pins behind Squad A leader, Thailand B.

Twenty pairs contested their Doubles event in the second squad this morning and Japan's Satoshi Hamanaka and Yuhi Shinbata settled down very quickly into a fast pace of 470 to take the lead, 28 pins over China B pair of Zhou Jiayang and Yang Hainan.

The Japanese pair shot another superb game of 422 to widen their gap over their nearest rival, China who shared second spot with Kuwait A pair of Muhanad Ebrahim and Abdulrahman Suwaid, both 104 pins adrift.

With the leader rolling 396 and 389 in their next two games, Singapore A pair of Muhammad Jaris Goh and Singles gold medalist, Howard Saw stepped up their pace with 405 and 479 to shoot up to second and trailed Japan by 31 pins.

Another superb 445 from Singapore saw them taking over the lead as Japan managed 381 in the fifth game. With the benchmark of 2564 set by overnight Squad A leader, Krittin Kunumphon and Atittarat Cheng of Thailand B, Singapore would need 473 in their final game to snatch the lead.

Japan had a tougher task and would require 503 to beat the Thais and score 33 pins more than the Singaporeans to regain the lead in this squad.

Singapore managed only 397 in their final game to end the squad in the lead but fell short by 76 pins to finish second overall with 2488, Japan bounched back with 424 to finish second to Singapore with a 6 pin difference.

The final squad of another 20 pairs will bowl their Doubles event at 1.30pm with the becnchmark still set at 2564. The combined scores wil determine the winners. The Team of 4 first block for Squad A will kick off after the end of the Doubles.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

7th July, Bangkok: Natthida Serthuecha and reigning Masters champion, Yanee Saebe gave host Thailand its first gold medal of the 13th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship by winning the Girl's Doubles event late Thursday evening.

Yuka Ohshima and Misuki Okamoto of Japan had earlier in the afternoon, topped the opening squad of the Girl's Doubles event with 2382 edging Kim Hee-Eum and Ryu Hee-Min of Korea Team A by just a single pin.

When the remaining 12 pairs took to the lanes at Blu-O Esplanade Bowling Centre, it saw Australia's Sarah Terry and Stephanie Surawski taking an early lead with a superb 432. But Natthida Serthuecha and Yanee Saebe of Thailand shot an even higher game of 443 in the second to move into the lead.

The Thai pair followed it up with the highest single game of 470 to stretch their lead over Australia from 19 to 80 pins at the halfway mark with Korea B pair of Ji Eun-Sol and Choi Na-Ra trailing in second.

Natthida and Yanee was in total control when they continued to set a blistering pace of 433 in their fourth game increasing their lead over their nearest rival to 97 pins. At this stage, the pair only needed 660 or more to overtake Squad A leader, Japan for the gold.

But the Thai pair threw away a comfortable margin when they struggled big time in the fifth game shooting a disasterous 291 as the Koreans knocked down 433 to take over the lead and reversed a 45 pin advantage.

Eun-Sol and Na-Ra needed 324 pins or more to beat the Japanese pair while the Thais needed a higher 369 or more to win the gold.

The final game was a tense moment for the Thai supporters and the coaches when both the contenders were locked together in the first five frames. When Korea began to open two frames, Natthida made sure she did not have any open frames while Yanee went on a strike fest striking home from frame five to end with 259.

Natthida posted 176 to give themselves a 435 final game while the Koreans only managed 364 giving Thailand the victory with 2449. Korea settled for the silver with 2423, 25 pins adrift.

"As soon as we knew we were in the lead after four games, we began to feel some pressure which was why we bowl so bad," said the 15-year-old Natthida, who participated in last year's championship in Malaysia but came home empty handed.

"After that, our coach came to us to calm us down and told us to focus on our game and not to let the pressure get to us," added the 17-year-old Yanee of Assumption Thonburi School, who scored the highest 6-game series of 1229.

Japan slipped down to third to clinch the bronze medal with 2383 forcing the two Korean Team A pairs into fourth and fifth positions.

Meanwhile eight pairs competed in the Boy's Doubles Squad A together with the girls. Thailand's B team pair of Atittarat Cheng and Krittin Kunumphon snatched the lead from pace-setter, Malaysia in the final game on a total of 2564.

Atittarat shot the highest 6-game series of 1380 to add to Krittin's 1184 while Mohamad Farhan and Muhammad Aizudeen totaled 2463 to settle for second. Mohamad Farhan downed 1116 with Muhammad Aizudeen shooting the second highest 6-game series of 1347.

Peerawich Rungcharoen and Phumin Klandiba of Thailand Team A finished third with 2415, 149 pins adrift their team-mates. First game leader, Benjamin Donnelly and Braedyn Gavin of Australia fell to fourth.

Two squads of 20 pairs each will contest their Doubles tomorrow morning and afternoon which will determine the champion when their scores are conbined.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

7th July, Bangkok: Japan's Misuki Okamoto and Yuka Ohishima took a single pin lead of Girl's Doubles opening squad over the strong Korean Team A second pair of Kim Hee-Eum and Ryu Hee-Min on Day 2 of the 13th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship.

Singles gold medalist, Kim Jin-Sun and bronze medalist, Song Yeon-Soo of Korea Team A immediately settled down into the lead after a superb opening game of 415 to lead their compatriots and Team A second pair of Kim Hee-Eum and Ry Hee-Min in second.

The two pairs appeared to be in total control as they remained in that order for the next three games until Japan's Mitsuki Okamoto and Yuka Oshihima began to put in their challenge to take over the lead after the fourth game by 10 pins.

But Hee-Eum and Hee-Min reversed the order by a similar margin of 10 pins after the fifth game when they knovked down a superb 429.

Hee-Eum ended the 6-game event with 211 for a score of 1182 while her partner came home with 181 for a score of 1200 giving the pair a team total of 2382.

But the Japanese pair stole the limelight by edging the Koreans by a single pin after Oshihima shot a sizzling 235 to end with the highest 6-game series of 1215 and Okamoto managed 1168 to give themselves a total of 2383.

The early leader and first Korean Team A pair of Jin-Sun and Yeon-Soo settled for third spot with 2345. Jin-Sun downed 1141 while Yeon-Soo shot 1204.

Yeon-Soo shot into the lead of the All Events standings with 2441 after two events ahead of team-mate, Jin-Sun in second with 2425. Australia's 15-year-old Chelsea Oliver finished third with 2367.

The second Girl's Doubles squad and the first Boy's Doubles squad will take to the lanes later while the remaining Boy's Doubles two squads will be contested tomorrow.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

6th July, Bangkok: Howard Saw Hui-Zhe of Singapore Team A snatched the Boy's Singles gold medal of the 13th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship in the final squad by edging overnight leader, Michael Mak of Hong Kong by 22 pins.

Michael Mak of Hong Kong had set a benchmark of 1345 by topping the two combined Squad A and B bowled yesterday before the third and final squad competitors took to the lanes at Blu-O Esplanade Bowling Center this morning.

Kuwait's Muhanad Ebrahim started a cracking pace with 249 in his opening game to lead Australia's Joshua Morel by 8 pins. Howard Saw of Singapore Team A had a moderate start with 209 but shot the highest game of the squad with 268 in the second game to take over the running.

The Singapore national youth continued a relentless pace to roll 225 and 258 in his next two games to accumulate 960 by the fourth game and set himself on course for a medal. Yet Howard would need 386 in his final two games to overhaul overnight leader, Michael Mak.

A splendid 219 in the fifth game gave the squad leader some breathing space as he would only need 166 or more to clinch the gold medal. Howard started off with three strikes-in-a-row but then had a back-to-back open frames in the sixth and seventh.

But Howard kept his composure to end the final game with 188 to snatch the gold medal with 1367 and 22 pins to spare. Michael settled for the silver while Abdulla Ahmed of Kuwait, who was second overnight, took the bronze medal with 1333.

"I started OK in the first game but I wasn't really making good shots," said the 17-year-old Anglo-Chinese Junior College 'A' level student, Howard Saw, who won four out of five gold medals at this year's Inter-School Championship.

"My coach, John calmed me down a bit and asked me to concentrate on making better shots and after that when the big games came, I was much more relaxed.

"I knew I was in a medal contention and wasn't really sure that I was actually fighting for a gold medal. I was tensed toward the end but I'm glad I pulled through to win the first gold for myself and my country."

Thailand's Vorachet Arayavisedvong, who stormed home to finish second to Howard in this squad, ended up in fifth with 1287 behind a second Hong Kong youth, Leo Tse in fourth with 1288.

The Girl's Doubles Squad A will be contested this afternoon followed by the second squad together with the Boy's Doubles Squad A in the evening to end the second day of competition.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

6th July, Bangkok: Newly-crowned ABF Tour Macau leg champion, Michael Mak of Hong Kong set a higher six-games Singles benchmark at the 13th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship after topping Squad B to become the overall leader.

Japan's newcomer, Yuhi Shinbata opened accounts with a blistering pace of 259 in his first game to lead newly-crowned ABF Tour Macau leg champion, Michael Mak of Hong Kong by 17 pins with Simon Pearce of Australia in third.

Yuhi continued his quick pace to remain in the lead at the halfway point of the six-games Singles event, now ahead of another Hong Kong national youth member, Leo Tse. But Singapore's Shaun Lau stole the limelight with a stunning 259 in the forth game to take over the running.

The Singaporean's lead only lasted one game after Kuwait's Abdulla Ahmed followed a fourth game of 255 with another superb 258 to move into the lead, just 2 pins ahead of Jevarn Li Jun of Singapore.

Despite rolling another big game of 249, the Kuwaiti youngster settled for second spot with 1333 as Michael Mak stormed home with a sizzling 268 to clinch the lead and setting a new benchmark of 1345.

"After a good start in my first game, I struggled a bit but my coach scrubbed one of my bowling balls and suddenly I was able bowl in a wider area and got better carry which helped me to end strongly," said the 17-year-old Hong Kong national team member, Michael.

"There are still many strong bowlers in the last squad and hopefully my score can stand up to at least win a medal." Mak's team-mate, Leo Tse also ended well to finish third behind Abdulla with 1288.

Squad A leader, Zoe Dias Ma of Macau was knocked out of a possible podium finish to fourth on 1283 while this squad's pace-setter, Yuhi Shinbata completed the top 5 with 1274.

The final 40 youths will contest their Singles in the final Squad C on July 7. The combined scores of all the three squads will determine the winners.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

6th July, Bangkok: Marie Alexis Sy of the Philippines A had to strikeout in her last frame of the final game of Squad B to tie for the Girl's Singles gold medal with Squad A leader, Kim Jin-Sun of Korea A at the 13th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship.

Dyan Arcel Coronacion of Philippines A got off to a cracking start after she rolled 232 in her opening game to lead Malaysia B's Faten Afiqah Abd Halim by 9 pins. Another decent game of 198 by Coronacion allowed her to keep the lead albeit only 6 pins from Korea B's Cha Na-Ra in second.

The Korean picked up her pace to fire 235 in her third game to grab the lead at the halfway mark with last year's Masters gold medalist, Yanee Saebe of Thailand hot on her heels.

A big game from Yanee allowed the Thai to surge into the lead and build up a massive gap of 80 pins as Cha and the recovering Coronacion shared second spot. Yanee hled the lead even though she managed only 170 as Coronacion shot 222 to cut the gap to 28 pins.

While the duo were having a ding-dong battle for the lead, another Filipina Marie Alexis Sy put herself in contention with a superb 253 in her fifth game to trail Cha by eighth pins in fourth.

All the front runners had a chance to overhaul the earlier squad leader, Kim Jin-Sun in their final game to snatch the gold. Yanee could not make any headway as the two Filipinas went on a strike fest.

Coronacion had the best chance of snatching the gold had she struck out in her final frame but had to settle for a strike and a spare ending with 225. Marie Alexis had to strike out to tie with the Korean for the gold.

To the delight of her supporters and team-mates, she duly complied and finished the game with 246 to end the squad in the lead and shared the gold on 1284. Coronacion finished two pins behind her team-mate and had to settle for the bronze medal with 1282.

"I knew I had a chance to win a medal but to share the gold is a great acheivement," said the 17-year-old member of the Philippines national team, Marie Alexis Sy. "Or course there was tremendous pressure but I kept my composure and took it one shot at a time.

"Dyan had a better chance than me but it was unfortunate for her. But I'm still extremely happy to win the gold for my country and Dyan picking up the bronze as well."

Yanee ended with only 192 and missed the podium with 1277 while another Korean, Cha Na-Ra completed the top 5 with 1251. Song Yeon-Soo, who was second in Squad A dropped to sixth position.

Meanwhile, 16 boys bowled their Singles in Squad A at the same time with the girls. Macau's Zoe Dias Ma topped the squad with 1283, 12 pins ahead of Singapore B's Gan Ju-Yen in second with 1271.

Pace-setter, Benjamin Donnelly of Australia B fizzled out to finish fifth behind twp Chinese boys, Wan Kang Qi and Chen Xu taking up third and fourth positions with 1238 and 1206 respectively.

The next 40 boys will contest their Singles in Squad B later at 6.00 while the remaining 40 boys will complete their Singles at tomorrow's Squad C. The combined scores of all the three squads will determine the winners.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

6th July, Bangkok: Korea's Team A girls of Kim Jin-Sun and Song Yeon-Soo got off to a splendid start of the 13th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship to finish one-two in the opening Singles Squad A on Wednesday.

Thai youth, Natthida Serthuecha got the local crowd cheering very early in the morning when she took the lead after her sizzling 224 opening game of the Girl's Singles squad albeit just 1 pin ahead of China's Rui Ping and Australia's Nicole Williams sharing second spot.

Rui Ping went ahead of Williams after knocking down 188 to the Aussie's 184 to take a slender lead of 4 pins as Korea A Team's Kim Jin-Soo followed closely in third position.

A big game of 268 saw the 17-year-old Kim not only taking over the lead but has opened up a decent gap of 54 pins over another Australian, Chelsea Oliver moving up into second position.

Despite a lowly 168 in the fourth from the leader, Kim rounded up her last two games with 247 and 202 to end the squad as leader with 1284. Her team-mate, Song Yeon-Soo put in the highest 3-game series of 654 to snatch second position with 1237 and a one-two finish for Korea.

Both the girls hailed from Il San Dong High School in Kyung Ki City in the Goyang District and have been bowling for over six years. Both have represented their school in numerous championships and have won many medals before their debut here.

Malaysia's second team of Nur Amirah Auni also finished strongly to claim third spot with 1219. Based on previous year's championships, anything less than 1260 will most probably not win a medal by the time Squad B finishes their Singles.

Chelsea Oliver settled for fourth in the squad with 1218 while early leader, Natthida Serthuecha completed the top 5.

Twenty-four remaining girls will complete their Singles event in Squad B which can determine the winners once the scores were combined. The Boy's Singles Squad A will also be bowling their Singles Squad A with the girls.

The Boy's Singles results, however can only be known until Squad B is completed this evening and Squad C on Thursday, July 7.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

4th July, Bangkok: A captivating opening ceremony put on by host, Thai Tenpin Bowling Association for the 13th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship thrilled the packed house of distinguished guests, officials and players at Blue-O Esplande Bowling Center on Tuesday evening.

The opening ceremony was kicked off by emcees, Ms Chavalak Direkuathankul and ex-national, Pasut Pusanthaveekul, who introduced the guest of honour, Mr Somyot Phumpunmuang, President of the Thai Tenpin Bowling Association and some of the distinguished guest present.

The Thai national youths paid their respect to a portrait of His Royal Highness, the King of Thailand joined by the guest of honour.

The first of many performances was the Flag Parade Dance, performed by the Rajchawarid Banghaew High School students followed by students of the High School of Badindechasin Sinhaseni, Northaburi bearing the flags of the 16 countries taking part in this year's championship.

After the first performance, teams from 16 countries - Australia, China, Egypt, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kuwait, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Chinese Taipei and host Thailand marched past in front of the crowd.

The guest of honour, Mr Somyot Phumpunmuang, President of the Thai Tenpin Bowling Association, welcome all teams officials and players to Thailand during his opening speech and thanked all for their support in making this championship a success.

This was follwed by the Arts of Drum Dance of Nothern Thailand performed by the Klong Yao Sununlah. But undoubtedly the best show of the ceremony was the Modern Muay Thai Show which comprised of student from Badindechasin Sinhaseni, Bangkapi demonstrating the Thai art of defence.

Immediately after their mesmerizing display, the guests, officials and bowlers gave a tunderous applause to their performances.

World Youth gold mesdalists, Yannaphon Larpapharat, Angkana Netvriseth and last year's Asian Schools Masters gold medalist, Yanee Saebe marched out in front of more Thai national youths bearing the Asian Bowling Federation flag as host.

The atheletes oath was read by Yanee Saebe and Tanaprang Sathean while the official oath was read by technical delegate and ABF Vice President, Dr Danny Santos.

The opening ceremony ended around 9.30pm and the emcee, on behalf of the host, invited all present to a welcome reception at the Blue-O Esplande Bowling Center.

Earlier in the day, the teams went through their official practice divided into four squads of one and a half hour each squad. Competition will commence tomorrow with the Girl's Singles Squad A at 9.00am.

The Girl's Squad B and the Boy's Squad A will bowl together at 1.30pm and the Boy's Squad B will end the first day of the championship. The Boy's Squad C will be held the followng day on Thursday.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

4th July, Bangkok: A record number of 16 countries will be participating in the 13th Asian School Tenpin Bowling Championship at the Blue-O Bowling Center in Esplande Shopping Mall from July 6 - 11, as confirmed at the team managers' meeting on Monday.

Ninety-three boys and sixty-four girls totaling 157 youths under the age of 18 will be vying for medals in the Singles, Doubles, Team, All-Events and Masters finals commencing with the opening Singles event on Wednesday morning.

Australia, Malaysia, Philippines and host Thailand will field two full teams comprising of 4 boys and 4 girls in each team. China and Indonesia had two and a half teams each (6 boys and 6 girls).

Japan, Macau and Chinese Taipei has one boys and one girls team each while Korea has one boys team and 2 girls team. Kuwait, Singapore and Qatar has two boys team only and Egypt one boys tem. One boy has been entered from Kazakhstan.

Several countries namely, China, Egypt, Kazakhstan and Macau are competing in the championship for the first time.

The team managers attended the meeting held at official Chaophya Park Hotel chaired by Dr. Danny Santos, Vice President (South-East Asian region) of Asian Bowling Federation and local tournament coordinator, Ms Sawalai Satrulee, secretary general of the Thai Tenpin Bowling Association.

After the teams confirmed their final line up of their bowlers, Ms Suwalai assisted Dr Santos in the lane draw that was conducted at the end of the meeting.

Official practice will take place tomorrow morning over three squads and the official opening ceremony will be held in the evening followed by a welcome reception.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.