22nd August, Beijing: Wu Suqin ended the 14th Asian Youth Tenpin Bowling Championship with victory in the Girl's Masters to win China's first gold medal while Singles gold medalist, Hung Kun Yi bagged his second in the boy's division.

Wu, who won two silver medals, had her dream come true as she defeated challenger, Zatil Iman of Malaysia 438-412 to end the 8-day championship with an individual gold medal and her country's first and only one.

The top-seed took the first match, 223-199 for a 24 pins cushion going into the second over the two-game total pinfall battle. Wu just had to make sure that she did not give away the advantage she had built up in the first match and went on to edge the Malaysian southpaw, 215-213 for a well deserved victory.

Zatil Iman, who lost to teammate, Wan Nur Atiqqa in the Asian Schools stepladder Masters finals in July, again had to settle for the silver medal despite edging out strong oppenent, Yun Hee Yeo of Korea, 193-192 in the first match.

Wu Suqin had earlier topped the second block round-robin masters finals with 1656 to amassed a grand total of 3445 over the two blocks finals and winning 10 out of the 16-games. Zatil finished second with 3429 while Yun Hee Yeo took third spot with 3379.

2006 Asian Championship Masters gold medalist, Hwang Sun Ok of Korea missed the stepladder finals by 35 pins after finishing fourth with 3295.

Spinners again showed their mettle when Singles gold medalist, Hung Kun Yi bagged his second gold medal after the Taiwanese defeated Korea's Choi Bok Eum, 449-382 in the boy's stepladder finals. Hung won the first match, 227-212 and 222-170 in the second.

The champion was seeded third and had earned the title match by defeating second-seed, Adrian Ang of Malaysia, 199-190 in the first match. Ang won his third bronze medal while Choi settled for the silver medal.

Choi had topped the second block masters finals with 1812 to accumulate a grand total of 3505 over the two blocks winning 11 matches. The Malaysian finished second with 3496 ahead of the champion and overnight leader, Hung in third with 3452.

Chinese Taipei emerged as overall champion with 3 gold and 1 bronze medal with Australia in second with 2 gold medals. China's victory in the masters moved them up to third with 1 gold, 3 silver and 3 brzone medals.

China snatched the girl's title from Korea after the final day gold while Chinese Taipei remained unchallenged and extended their top position with another gold medal from Hung Kun Yi. Singapore's Sabrina Lim was the only player who broke the 1996 3-game record of 716 in the Team event with 736.

A record total of 118 bowlers from 19 countries took part in this year's championship hosted by the Chinese Bowling Association at the Holiday Inn Lido Bowling Center.

Photos courtesy of Chinese Bowling Association.

21st August, Beijing: Spinners returned from the where they left off by dominating the opening day of the 14th Asian Youth Tenpin Bowling Championship when Singles gold medalist, Hung Kun Yi of Chinese Taipei and All Events silver medalist, Wu Suqin of China topped the first block Masters finals.

Hung, champion of the 2005 Milo International Junior All Stars, blazed the lanes at Holiday Inn LIdo Bowling Center with a 268 opener from 2004 Asian Championship gold medalist, Choi Bok Eum of Korea by 23 pins.

The Taiwanese kept a constant gap between himself and the Korean until the seventh game when he opened up a comfortable 104 margin. Hung led from start to finish ending the matchplay finals with 1838. The leader won 7 out of the 8 matches for a 145 gap.

Choi settled for second with 1693 with Filipino, Jose O Collins third with 1675. A further 11 pins came Team bronze medalist, Adrian Ang of Malaysia in fourth spot with 1664 while Doubles gold medalist, Benjamin Coupland of Australia, rounded up the top 5 with 1608.

All Events gold medalist, Bader Al Shaikh of Saudi Arabia, only managed an eight-place finish with 1588 behind Japan's Tomoyuki and Qatar's Fahid Al Emadi in sixth and seventh positions respectively.

It was a closer contest in the girl's division as China's final hope of winning a gold medal on home soil became more of a reality with All Events silver medalist, Qu Suqin fending off challenges from Korea, Malaysia, Japan and even her teammate.

Despite leading from start to finish, Wu almost lost the lead at the halfway mark when Japan's Maya Takemata trailed by just 1 pin in the fifth match, but the Chinese step her pace with 205 and 264 to stretch her lead to as much as 82 pins before the final game.

With the exception of Wu leading by 79 pins, only 40 pins separated second to fifth and competition is wide open for the girls with the second block to play tomorrow. The top 3 from both divisions will make the cut for the stepladder finals for the final gold medal.

A 204 in her final match was sufficient for Wu to clinch the lead with 1789 and 79 pins cushion. The leader won 6 out of the 8 matches played in the first block. Finishing strongly was Yun Hee Yeo of Korea, who took second spot with 1710.

Malaysia's Zatil Iman, who at one stage was second, dropped to third with 1680 followed by China's Zhang Qian and Korea's Hwang Sun Ok in fourth and fifth spots on 1677 and 1658 respectively.

Photos courtesy of Chinese Bowling Association and Mr Sidney Tung, MTBC.

20th August, Beijing: Korea finally struck their first gold medal after four days of competiton when Yun Hee Yeo, Kim Yang Hee, Hwang Sun Ok and Yoo Sung Hee ended the Girl's Team second block of the 14th Asian Youth Tenpin Bowling Championship Monday evening.

Singapore's Daphne Tan, Sabrina Lim, Amanda Ng and Cherie Tan set a cracking pace in the opening game of the first block played this morning with 852 to grab the lead. The girls followed it up with another superb game of 848 with Korea closing in with 879.

With just 10 pins seperating the two teams, the Korean quartet ended the first block in the lead with 2525, just 9 pins ahead of Singapore. Sabrina's 736 broke an 8-year 3-game record of 719 set by Shalin Zulkifli in 1999.

The Koreans continued their fine run reeling off 844, 719 and 752 to end the second block with 4840 and took their first gold medal. Singapore's quartet gave a good account of themselves with 779, 732 and 760 to win the silver medal with 4787.

Host nation, China did well to finish third and win the bronze medal with 4646 while Malaysia, who was sixth, crawled themselves up to take fourth spot with 4565. Sabrina's 1311 just missed a medal finishing fourth, 7 pins from bronze medalist, Chen Dongdong of China.

Malaysia struck their first gold medal when Siti Safiyah amassed 3683 to top the All Events table. China took the silver and bronze medal when Wu Suqin and Chen Dongdong finished second and third with 3658 and 3653 respectively.

Korea topped the Girl's medal tally with 1 gold and 1 silver. Kuwait's team victory and silver in the all events moved them to the top in the boy's medal tally. Chinese Taipei continue to lead the overall table with 2 gold and 1 bronze medal.

Photos courtesy of Mr Sidney Tung, MTBC.

20th August, Beijing: Kuwait won their first gold medal of the 14th Asian Youth Tenpin Bowling Championship as Khaled Al-Dubyyan, Ali Khalid, Jassem Darwish and anchored by Singles bronze medalist, Mohammad Al-Zaidam topped the team event at Holiday Inn Lido Bowling Center.

The Kuwaitis, who led in the first block with just 26 pins, had their lead threatened when the Malaysian quartet posted a high game of 851 to trail by just 16 pins with the final game to play. While the Malaysian quartet was hot on their heels, Saudi Arabia and Korea began to mount their challenges as well.

At the halfway mark of the final game, Malaysia suffered a set back with a few splits while the Kuwaitis drew clear and went on to clinch the gold medal with 4946 largely due to a high game of 246 from Mohammad Al-Zaidam.

Saudi Arabia's Faisal Al Juraifani, Hassan Al Shaikh, Bader Al Shaikh and Yousef Akbar overhauled the Malaysians to snatch the silver medal with 4913 while Adrian Ang, Mohd Noer Said, Syafiq Ridhwan and Aaron Kong hung on for the bronze medal with 4897.

The mighty Korea of Choi Bok Eum, Suh Jung Hoon, Min Kyung Tae and Choun Jae Woo missed out by 7 pins to finish fourth with 4890.

Bader Al Shaikh's highest 6-game series in the team event has earned the Saudi the All Events gold medal with an 18-game total of 3904. Kuwait's Khaled Al-Dubyyan took the silver medal with 3790 while Singles gold medalist, Hung Kun Yi winning the bronze with 3773.

Kuwait has taken over the lead in the Boy's Medal standings with 1 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze medal with Saudi Arabia and Chinese Taipei in second and third. Chinese Taipei regain the lead in the overall medal tally with 2 gold and 1 bronze medal.

Meanwhile, Korea's hope lies with the girls after Yun Hee Yeo, Kim Yang Hee, Hwang Sun Ok and Yoo Sung Hee topped the first block of 3 games this morning. The second block will commence shortly.

Photos courtesy of Mr Sidney Tung, MTBC.

18th August, Beijing: Cassie Staudinger and Bianca Flanagan stole the limelight on Day 3 of the 14th Asian Youth Tenpin Bowling Championship as the duo emerged victorious in the Girl's Doubles event to give Australia their second gold medal.

China's Zhang Qian and Yan Yinyin had set the benchmark of 2428 in Squad 1 of the Girl's Doubles played in the morning to take pole position, narrowly edging the stron Korean pair of Yun Hee Yeo and Kim Yang Hee by just 9 pins.

Cassie Staudinger and Bianca Flanagan set a blistering pace when the girls took to the lanes in Squad 2 reeling off a superb 1303 3-game series to take a commanding lead ahead of second Korean pair of Hwang Sun Ok and Yoo Sung Hee of 83 pins.

Despite a slight set back in the fourth game of 323 by the Aussie, the duo fought back with 458 in the fifth game to set course to overtake Squad 1 leader and the gold medal. Needing only 344, Staudinger and Flanagan kept their cool to post 393 to clinch the victory by 34 pins on a total of 2477.

Korea's Hwang and Yoo had to share the silver medal although they finished second to the Aussies as China's second pair of Chen Dongdong and Wu Suqin stromed home to edge their teammates and Squad 1 leader to tie the score at 2443.

Zhang Qian and Yan Yinyin had to grow through the pain of witnessing their scores beaten in Squad 2 to end up fourth and missing the podium. Korea's Yun and Kim dropped to fifth with their 2419 scored in Squad 1.

Wu Suqin's 1267 in the doubles pushed the Chinese into the lead of the Girl's All Events standings with 2579 after 12 games played in two events. Singles gold medalist, Chen Kuan Ting finished second with 2500 with Australia's Kerry Ann Klop third with 2483.

Australia and Chinese Taipei are locked in the overall champion title race with 2 gold medal each. The two also tie in the girls and boys medal standings with one gold each. China is a creditable third with 1 silver and 2 bronze medals.

Photos courtesy of Chinese Bowling Association.

18th August, Beijing: Benjamin Coupland and Stephen Cowland brought Australia's first medal of the 14th Asian Youth Tenpin Bowling Championship as the pair edged Squad 1 leader, Kuwait by 27 pins to clinch the Boy's Doubles gold medal.

Needing only 426 in the final game of the 6-game doubles event to overtake Squad 1 leader, Mohammad Al-Zaidam and 2005 World Ranking Masters champion, Khaled Al-Dubyyan of Kuwait, Coupland posted 225 and Cowland 228 to give the Aussie pair a 453 score to secure the victory with a team total of 2526.

At the last Asian Youth championship in Perth, Australia, the host nation drew blank failing to win a single medal which more than made up for that year's disappointment. At the 2004 12th edition of the championship in Hong Kong, Australia went home with 4 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze medals.

The Kuwaiti pair settled for the silver medal with 2499 ahead of Malaysia's Adrian Ang and Doha Asian Games gold medalist, Aaron Kong in third with 2464. Coupland's 1338 in the doubles event was the highest 6-game series with Adrian Ang posting the second highest on 1299.

Hong Kong's Rickle Kam Siu Lun and Eric Tseng Tak Hin missed the podium finishing fourth with 2454, just 9 pins adrift. Malaysia's other pair of Mohd Noer Said and Syafiq Ridhwan, who was third in Squad 1 dropped to fifth with 2445.

The victory and 1338 from Benjamin Coupland propelled him into pole position in the All Events after 12 games played totaling 2524. Singles bronze medalist, Mohammad Al-Zaidam is second with 2512 with Singles gold medalist, Hung Kun Yi dropping to third with 2513.

The girls will contest their doubles event divided into two squads tomorrow morning and afternoon after which the medal presentations will be held thereafter.

Photos courtesy of Chinese Bowling Association.

17th August, Beijing: Chinese Taipei dominated the opening day of the 14th Asian Youth Tenpin Bowling Championship underway at Holiday Inn Lido Bowling Center as Chen Kuan Ting and Hung Kung Yi captured the Girl's and Boy's Singles gold medals.

Chen Kuan Ting, who won the Doubles gold medal at the 10th Asian Schools in Hong Kong just last month, stepped up on her form to win the Girl's Singles gold with 1337. The 18-year-old set a blistering pace with a 248 opening game then brought two massive games in the fifth and sixth game with 268 and 245.

Host nation, China raised a few eyebrows as Wu Suqin and Zhang Qian finished second and third with 1312 and 1288 to take the silver and bronze medals. Last championship team gold medalist, Siti Safiyah Amirah just miss the podium finishing fourth with 1254.

China's Chen Dongdong did well to share fifth spot with Malaysia's Zatil Iman on 1220. Strong contenders from Korea and Australia only managed a seventh and eighth positions finish from Hwang Sun Ok and Kerry Ann Klop.

Hung Kun Yi gave Chinese Taipei a double celebration when he reeled off 1283 to bag the gold medal, just 19 pins ahead of Japan's Shota Kawazoe, who settled for the silver medal. Mohammad Al-Zaidam was pipped by 1 pin for the silver when he finished third to take the bronze medal with 1263.

Min Kyung Tae was Korea's best performer but missing the medal with a fourth place finish on a total of 1261 while Japan's Tomoyuki Sasaki tie for fifth spot with Thailand's Badin Lerpiriyaskulkit with 1257. 2006 World Ranking Masters champion, Khaled Al-Dubyyan of Kuwait finished seventh with 1232.

The girls will contest the doubles event on Saturday, August 18 divided into 2 squads in the morning while the boys will take to the lanes in the afternoon in 2 squads as well.

Photos courtesy of Chinese Bowling Association.

16th August, Beijing: The 14th Asian Youth Tenpin Bowling Championships kicked off here on Thursday, attracting a record 118 bowlers from 19 countries in the Asian regions which officially open with a colorful ceremony at the Bowling Centre in Holiday Inn Lido Beijing.

"It is by far the largest Asian youth championships with so many young bowlers participating," said Wang Baoliang, President of Chinese Bowling Association.

Vivien Fung, Honorary Life President of the Asian Bowling Federation, said in Thursday's press conference: "There should have been more teams attending this championships. We've received the applications from over 20 teams, but the bowling alleys here are limited."

The 19 teams include Australia, China, Chinese Taipei, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Egypt, Guam, Hong Kong of China, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Macao of China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.

China is fielding four men's and four women's players with a hope the youngsters aged between 18 and 22 will gain experience ahead of the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou.

"It is a good chance for China to develop the grassroots of the sport," Vice-President of China Bowling Association Cui Zhiqiang said.

"Our players have improved a lot after a period of assembled trainings and I hope they will gain more by competition with Asia's best young players."

The eight-day event will commence with the Singles on August 17 and conclude on August 22 with the Masters stepladder grand finals.

Photos courtesy of Chinese Bowling Association.