30th April, Cairo: Egypt had to wait seven years before re-capturing the Men's title of the 15th Sinai International Open Bowling Tournament after Ayman Hashem emerged as Men's champion while Korngunya Aree retained Thailand's Ladies' crown.

Top seed, Ayman Hashem denied Yousif Falah's defence of the Men's title when the Egyptian lefty needed only one match to beat the Bahraini, 258-197 in the championship match to win his first-ever international title.

Ayman started off well with a double as Yousif had a difficult start with just two spared frames. The top seed rolled another double in frames four and five before striking out for a comfortable win.

"I'm so happy and proud to win this title after my fellow-countrymen, Mahmoud Mazloum won it back in 2006," said the 26-year-old member of the Egyptian national team. "I knew it won't be an easy match against Yousif but fortunately I was able to keep my composure and concentration throughout the match.

"The home support has been great and also I had confidence with the lanes especially it favoured the left-hander."

"It would have been fantastic to be able to successfully defend the title and to win it for the third time but Ayman was so much better," said Yousif, who first won the title back in 2009 and again last year.

"I'm still happy to go away in second. I was lucky to win the first match against such good opponents to make the finals." The 2012 Asia Ranked No. 1 and fourth seed beat second seed, Sithiphol Kunaksorn of Thailand and third seed, Basel Al Anzi of Kuwait, 214-207-164 to advance.

Ayman earned US$7,500 as champion while Yousif settled for US$3,500. Sithphol took home US$2,500 and Basel picked up US$2,000 as third runner-up.

Meanwhile, Thailand swept all the top three podium positions in the Ladies division. Korngunya Aree edged top seed Natthida Serthluecha, with a strike to in a one-ball roll-off to break the tie of 178 in the deciding match.

Korngunya won the first game, 191-173 in the all-Thai championship match to force the decider. The champion also edged No. 2 seed and defending champion, Angkana Netrviseth and No. 3 seed, Aliaa Ismail of Egypt, 205-203-199 to face her team-mate in the final.

The Ladies' champion picked up US$3,000 while Natthida settled for US$1,500. Angkana and Aliaa earned US$1,200 and US$1,000 for finishing third and fourth respectively.

In the earlier Men's Stage 2 finals, Ayman Hashem topped the finals with 2395 pinfalls over 10 games. Sithiphol finished second with 2342 followed by Basel in third with 2292 and Yousif making the stepladder cut in fourth with 2271.

Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand missed the cut by 6 pins despite storming home with a final big game of 268 while pace-setter, Eslam Ead, who was fourth before the final game dropped to sixth with 2261.

Stage 1 leader, Fahad Al Rageeb of Kuwait, who rolled the tournament's fourth perfect game today ended in a disappointing 14th position.

The top 16 men finishers made the cut for the fourth leg of this year's ABF Tour Egypt leg which will be staged at the same bowling center tomorrow.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Cairo.

29th April, Cairo: Kuwaiti lefty Fahad Al Rageeb stole the limelight by topping the Men's Stage 1 finals of the 15th Sinai International Open Bowling Tournament ahead of American Tim Mack in second and Thai Yannaphon Larpapharat third.

Fahad got off the mark with a cracking 246 to lead another lefty, Ayman Hashem of Egypt in second, just 2 pins ahead. The 33-year-old Kuwaiti followed it up with a stunning 268 but only continued to lead by 6 pins as defending champion, Yousif Falah of Bahrain fired the tournament's third perfect game.

2013 Thailand Masters first runner-uo and ABF Tour TOC winner, Yannaphon Larpapharat fired 289 and 290 in his second and third games to move into the lead as Fahad slipped to second, 68 pins adrift.

The Thai kept his lead for the next four games after knocking down consistently big games but Fahad responded with big games too to reduce the gap to just 8 pins.

The duo were locked together in the eighth game tieing at 1914 as Tim Mack began to close in onto the leaders. Fahad almost rolled the third perfecto but left a solid pin 10 in his last frame to take over the lead and leading Yannaphon by 43 pins going into the tenth an final game.

The Kuwaiti eased off with 236 to end the finals in pole position with 2449. The American fired a big game of 266 to snatch second spot with 2377, 72 pins adrift the leader.

Yannaphon settled for third with 2368 while perfect gamer, Yousif took fourth spot with 2350. Another leftly, Mahmoud Mazloum rounded out the top 5 with 2243.

Farid Ghobrial, who made the finals with 279 in the desperado squad last night was the cut at 16th position with 2083. Qatar's Yousif Al Jaber missed the cut by 9 pins in 17th position with 2074.

Second perfect gamer, Mahmoud Atef and Hossam Sobhy claimed the two slots reserved for Egyptians to advance into Stage 2 finals in 19th and 22nd positions with 2056 and 2046 respectively.

The top 16 plus the two Egyptians will be joined by top qualifier, Jassem Darwish of Kuwait, second highest qualifier Khaled Al Doseri and third highest qualifier Sithiphol Kunaksorn of Thailand for Stage 2 finals over another 10 games tomorrow.

The top 4 will advance to the stepladder finals shootout together with the top 4 Ladies stepladder finalists immediately after the second stage finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Cairo.

29th April, Cairo: Debutant and top qualifier, Natthida Serthluecha of Thailand ended the Ladies' Masters finals of the 15th Sinai International Open Bowling Tournament with a comfortable margin over Angkana Netrviseth in second.

Sara Gamal took a surprise lead with an opening game of 213, 4 pins ahead of Natthida and a further 18 pins to defending champion, Angkana. Her lead was short-lived as Angkana surged into the lead after the second game.

A stunning game of 264 from Natthida took the 18-year-old into the lead and opening up a gap of 76 pins over Angkana. With another superb 219 in the fourth, the leader has extended her lead to a hugh 142 pins.

Although her pace dropped in the fifth and sixth games, Natthida still had 110 pins margin as her rival just could not keep pace. Natthida finished strongly with another sizzling 268 in the final game to claim top seed for the stepladder finals with 1670.

Angkana settled for second with 1501, 169 pins adrift while Aliaa Ismail did Egypt proud by qualifying for the stepladder finals in third spot with 1438 while the fourth and last spot went to Korngunya Aree of Thailand with 1404.

A fourth Thai, Tanaprang Sathean missed the cut in fifth position with 1308. The top 4 advanced to the stepladder finals with the first match amongst second to fourth seed. The winner will advance to face the top seed over a twice-to-beat format.

The Men's 10-games Stage 1 finals will be held later today and the top 16 plus the top 2 Egyptians will advance to the Stage 2 finals joined by the 6 seeded qualifiers for another 10 games on April 30.

The top 4 men at the end of the second stage will advance to the stepladder finals which will be staged together with the Ladies' stepladder finals at 6.00pm local time.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Cairo.

28th April, Cairo: Kuwaiti Jassem Darwish snatched top spot in the Men's overseas pool of the 15th Sinai International Open Bowling Tournament on the final day of qualifying rounds to earn one bye.

Jassem, who was lying in second in the mixed pool with 2068, improved his lowest 3-game series of 612 with a 740 series for a 9-game aggregate total of 2196 to take top spot and crucially advanced into Stage 2 finals.

Khaled Al Doseri, who was eighth in the overseas pool, also earned a bye by taking up second position after improving his total from 2085 to 2175. Leader before their improvement, Sithiphol Kunaksorn of Thailand slipped to third on 2166.

Tim Mack of USA and another Qatari, who were second and third, dropped out of the top 3 bracket into fourth and fifth with 2152 and 2128 respectively and will have to contest the Stage 1 finals.

A third Qatari and 2012 Hong Kong Open champion, Fahad Al Emadi headed the mixed pool with 2081 and the cut at 16th position went to Bahrain's Masoud Saberi on 2032 total.

Twenty-seven players bowled in the desperado squad which saw Farid Ghobrial, Rashad Wahed of Egypt and DIBC Open Youth champion, Ahmed Amin Al Awahdi of Bahrain qualifying with 279, 258 and 256 one-game roll-off.

33 finalists will contest the 10-game Stage 1 finals tomorrow afternoon after the Ladies finals in the morning. The top 16 finishers plus the top 2 Egyptians and the 6 seeded qualifiers will bowl another 10 games in Stage 2 finals on April 30.

The top 4 ladies and top 4 men will advance to the stepladder shootout finals to determine the champions.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Cairo.

28th April, Cairo: Sithiphol Kunaksorn of Thailand regained the lead of the Men's overseas standings of the 15th Sinai International Bowling Tournament on the final day of qualifying on Sunday.

Sithiphol, who left the Thai national team to work in Korea for two years, returned to the squad and has taken part in two international tournaments so far. The 27-year-old earned a bye for Stage 2 finals but ended his campaign in a disappointing 11th position.

His second assignment at this year's Sinai Open has turned out to be promising indeed having topped the qualifying pool two days ago but had down to fourth when American Tim Mack, Bahrain's Yousif Falah and Kuwait's Basel Al Anzi finished in the top 3.

The Thai bounced back by improving his lowest series of 684 with 718 to regain the lead of the standings with 2166 and looked a strong title contender.

Overnight leader, Mack and defending champion Yousif slipped down to second and third with 2152 and 2128 respectively. Basel dropped out of the top bracket into fourth with 2121.

Sithiphol's team-mates, Annop Arromsaranon and 2013 Thailand Masters first runner-up, Yannaphon Larpapharat rounded out the top 5 with 2117 and 2100.

Zakareya Al Zoqari of Qatar, who posted the highest 3-games series of 781, headed the mixed pool with 206 while the current cut in 16th position went to Amr El Gabaly of Egypt with 1978.

Egyptian southpaw, Eslam Ead remained in the lead of the local pool with 2271 followed by Mostafa Abo Elsoud in second with 2173. Egyptian youngster, Amr Nour improved to third with 2172.

Positions 4 to 10 qualifiers in the local pool, positions 4 to 10 qualifiers in the overseas pool and positions 1 to 16 qualifiers in the mixed pool together with the top 3 qualifiers from the desperado squad will bowl 10 games Stage 1 finals tomorrow.

The top 16 finishers plus the top 2 Egyptians and the 6 seeded qualifiers will bowl another 10 games in Stage 2 finals on April 30. The top 4 will advance to the stepladder shootout finals to determine the champion.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Cairo.

27th April, Cairo: Tim Mack of USA stormed into pole position in the Men's overseas qualifying pool of the 15th Sinai International Open Bowling Tournament at International Bowling Center to earn one bye into Round 2 finals.

Mack, who had finished second three times at this championship, became the second qualifier to register triple 700-series en-route to claiming pole position. The American rolled 734, 716 and 702 for a 9-game tally of 2152.

Mack last tasted victory back in 2009 by winning the Samho Cup and has had a couple of PBA titles back in the US. Since coaching the Bahraini national team, Mack has also been on the podium twice.

His protege and defending champion, Yousif Falah was equally impressive knocking down 723, 704 and 701 to finish second with 2128 while leader before the 1.00pm squad, Basel Al Anzi of Kuwait dropped to third with 2120.

Mohamed Al Ragebah slipped out of the top 3 bracket into fourth position with 2073 followed by overnight leader and debutant, Sithiphol Kunaksorn of Thailand completing the top 5 with 2070.

The first qualifier to record three 700-series and currently leading the local pool is Eslam Ead, who remained in the lead with 2235. The leader was also the first to roll a 300. Mostafa Abo Elsoud and Mahmoud Mazloum also remained second and third.

Meanwhile, 2012 Arab Games singles gold medalist, Tarek Helmy became the second bowler to roll a perfect game last night. His effort also took him up to fifth in the local pool behind Amr Nour in fourth.

The cut in 16th position is now held by Bahrain's Mahdi Assad with 1909. The cut is expected to be around the 2000 mark, or 200 over by the end of the qualifying rounds on April 28.

The Ladies' Masters finals and the Men's Stage 1 finals will be contested on April 29. The top 4 ladies will advance to the stepladder finals while the top 16 men finishers will advance to Stage 2 together with the top 2 Egyptians and the 6 local and overseas seeded qualifiers on April 29.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Cairo.

27th April, Cairo: ABF Tour Thailand second runner-up, Basel Al Anzi of Kuwait put himself in title contention after taking over the lead of the Men's overseas qualifying pool of the 15th Sinai International Open on Saturday.

Basel, who showed promise by earning a bye in last week's Thailand Open for Stage 2 finals, ended his campaign to finish 14th. But the Kuwaiti was denied a place in the finals after losing to eventual winner, Sam Cooley of Australia in the semi-final match of the ABF Tour Thailand leg despite putting in an impressive run.

Putting the disappointment behind him, Basel made only three attempts yesterday kicking off with a stunning 741 and 700 series before his third series of 679 to take over top spot in the leaderboard with 2120.

His compatriot and 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games silver medalist, Mohamed Al Ragebah also impressed with 749, 675 and 649 for a 9-game tally of 2073 for second position.

Overnight leader, Sithiphol KUnaksorn of Thailand slipped down to third with 2070. The top 3 qualifiers will earn one bye into Round 2 finals.

Yousef Al Jaber of Qatar missed the top bracket by 8 pins to take up fourth in the table with 2062 while former Sinai Open champion, Tim Mack of USA rounded out the top 5 with 2058.

Egyptian youngster, Eslam Ead and his fellow-compatriot Mostafa Abo Elsoud remained first and second in the local pool with 2235 and 2173 while Mahmoud Mazloum moved up into third spot with 2164.

Michel Shaker headed the mixed pool with 2019 while the current cut at 16th position in the mixed pool is held by Kuwait's Yaqoub Al Shatti with 1898.

2011 Ladies champion, Mennat Soltan looked set to reclaim her title after putting an impressive 670, 657 and 586 series to lead the Ladies' local pool with 1913. Neven Wassel and Sara Gamal made up the top 3 with 1798 and 1734.

Debutant, Natthida Serthluecha, defending champion Angkana Netrviseth and another debutant, Korngunya Aree occupied the top 3 spots in the overseas pool for Thailand with 1901, 1819 and 1744 respectively.

Qualifying will end on April April 28 and the Ladies Masters Finals and Men's Stage 1 finals will be contested on April 29. The Men's Stage 2 finals and the stepladder finals will be held on April 30.

The top 16 Asian men will also qualify for the fourth leg of the ABF Tour Egypt 2013 which will be held at the same center on May 1.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Cairo.

26th April, Cairo: Debutants Sithphol Kunaksorn and Natthida Sertluecha of Thailand shone in the qualifying rounds by topping the Men's and Ladies' table of the 15th Sinai International Open Bowling Tournament.

The 2005 Thailand Open champion, Sithiphol registered 718, 684 and 668 for a 9-game tally of 2070 to head the Men's overseas pool. His team-mate and first runner-up of last week's Thailand Open, Annop Arromsaranon took second spot with 2055.

Thailand Masters first runner-up and 2012 ABF Tour Tournament of Champions winner, Yannaphon Larpapharat completed a Thai 1-2-3 in third with 2046.

Overnight leader, Mohammed Al Squad of Saudi Arabia slipped out of the top 3 bracket to fourth with 1996 while Iraq'a Maher Abd Alhussien rounded out the top 5 with 1992. The top 3 in the overseas pool will earn one bye into Stage 2 finals.

But top spot and leader of the local table was Egyptian youngster, Eslam Ead who is the only qualifier with three 700-series. Eslam posted 768, 765 and 702 for a stunning 2235 total.

Mostafa Abo Elsoud finished second with 2173 and Amr Nour joined the duo for one bye in third position with 2141. Ealier in the day, Mahmoud Atef of Egypt rolled the tournament's first 300 which moved him from the mixed pool into seventh in the local pool.

Another debutant, Natthida Serthluecha of Thailand topped the Ladies overseas qualifying pool with 1901 followed by defending champion, Angkana Netrviseth in second with 1819.

A total of 36 Men plus 3 from desperado squad and a total of 16 Ladies qualify for the finals. Positions 1 to 3 in the Men's overseas pool and positions 1 to 3 in the local pool earn one bye into Stage 2 finals.

Ten games will be bowled in the Stage 1 finals and the top 16 plus two highest Egyptians together with the 6 seeded qualifiers (total 24) will bowl another 10 games in Stage 2 finals.

The top 4 at the end of the Stage 2 finals will advance to the stepladder shootout finals. The 16 Ladies finalists will bowl 8 games finals and the top 4 will advance to the stepladder finals.

Qualifying will end on April April 28 and the Ladies Masters Finals and Men's Stage 1 finals will be contested on April 29. The Men's Stage 2 finals and the stepladder finals will be held on April 30.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Cairo.