31st July, Hong Kong: Top seed, Kuek Qi En of Singapore A and Kim Dong Yo of Korea A won the prestigious Boy's and Girl's Masters gold medals of the NTGCC 16th Asian School Tenpin Bowling Championships which concluded on Friday.

First block leader and top seed, Kuek got off to a flying start in the first of the two-games total pinfalls championship match with eight strikes-in-a-row leaving challenger, Ivan Malig of Philippines A stunned.

An early split in the Filipino's first frame and another in the fourth frame, left Malig trailing his opponent by 83 pins as the Singapore took the first game, 268-185. It became a formality in the second game and Kuek cruised to a comfortable 203-183 to win the only gold medal for Singapore, 471-368.

Malig, who settled for the silver medal, had earlier defeated second seed, Jassem Al Murakhi of Qatar A, 216-183 in the semi-final match to advance to the title match.

The champion topped the second block round-robin Masters finals winning five matches which including the position-round match for a 16-match total of 3801 to advance as top seed.

Jassem, who was fourth before the position-round match, defeated team-mate, Bader Al Deyab 234-205 to make the stepladder finals in second position with 3645. Malig, who was sixth, made the stepladder finals in third with 3643 after he beat his opponent 238-213.

Lim Seong Yul of Korea B, who was second, lost in the position-round to Kuek, 197-247 to miss the cut by two pins and ended in fourth position with 3641. Bader slipped to fifth with 3636. Overnight second-placed, Alex Yu of Hong Kong A, finished seventh with 3586.

Meanwhile in the Girl's division, it was heartbreak again for top seed, Nora Lyana Natasia of Malaysia when she lost the two-game title match to third seed, Kim Dong Yo of Korea A, 386-411. The Malaysian had settled for the Team and All Events silver medals but looked a top contender for the gold after topping the second block finals with 3666.

Undoubtedly, the star of the championships was the Korean champion, who had picked up the first gold in the Singles and helped Korea clinched the Team gold medal. She also earned a bronze in the All Events.

Kim, who was second before the position-round match, lost to Nora Lyana, 186-222 and nearly missed the cut for the stepladder finals.

Shion Izumune of Japan helped the Korean by beating Wakana Mizutani, 224-174 in the position-round match to advance in second with 3505 while Kim held on to third with 3467. Doubles and All Events gold medalist, Kim Jun Ji of Korea B lost the position-round match to sixth-placed, Faten Najihah of Malaysia and failed to advance.

Kim sailed past Izumune, 243-193 in the semi-final match to meet the top seed. She took the first game, 215-190 and despite tieing the second game with 196, the 25 pins cushion she had from the first game, sealed the victory and her third gold medal.

Korea A Team took the Girl's overall title with three gold and 1 bronze medal while Japan took the Boy's overall title with two gold and two silver medals. Although Korea A also had two gold medals, it was the two silver that made the difference.

Korea A Team emerged as the Overall Champion with five gold and two bronze medals. Japan came in second with a medal haul of 2-2-2 and Singapore finished third with one gold and one bronze medal.

Players and officials adjourned to the Victory Banquet held at Rotunda Ballroom at the Kowloon Bay International Trade and Exhibition Centre which was graced by guests of honor, Ms Michelle Li, JP, Director of Leisure & Cultural Services of Leisure & Cultural Services Department and Mr Gabriel Au, Vice Chairman of NTGCC.

Ms Vivien Lau, BBS, JP. Chairman of Hong Kong Tenpin Bowling Congress, Honorary Life President of Asian Bowling Federation and Secretary General of World Bowling delivered her farewell speech. Ms Michelle Li presented the trophies to the girls, boys and overall champions.

76 boys and 58 girls comprising of 34 teams from 13 countries took part in the week-long NTGCC 16th Asian School Tenpin Bowling Championships, hosted for the fourth time by Hong Kong.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

30th July, Hong Kong: Kuek Qi En of Singapore A and 2015 Asian Youth champion, Nor Lyana Natasia of Malaysia topped the Boy's and Girl's Block 1 Masters finals of the NTGCC 16th Asian School Tenpin Bowling Championships on Thursday.

The 18-year-old Quek had a slow start managing only 197 as Team bronze medalist, Lim Seong Yul of Korea B Team took the early lead winning his opening match with a stunning 269. The Korean followed it up with another win in the second match with 267 to widen his gap to 62 pins ahead of Hong Kong A Team's Alex Yu.

Lim continued to lead the field despite not winning his third match but came back with a strong game to win his fourth match with 258 and stretching his lead to 92 pins as Aidah Poh of Singapore B moved up into second.

Two back-to-back 250-games from Quek Qi En saw the Singaporean moving up to take over second position and reducing the gap to 48 pins while Lim lost his fifth match. Quek then surged into the lead by winning his sixth match with sizzling 279.

Lim dropped to second position after losing yet another match. Alex Yu stayed with the leading duo to take up third spot winning his sixth match with 261. The leader went on to end the block with two more wins for a total of 1900.

Yu snatched second position by one pin with 1874 from seven wins while pace-setter Lim settled for third position with 1873 on only four wins. The third Singaporean finalist, Jarred Lim managed only three wins for 15th position.

Meanwhile, Asian Youth Singles gold medalist and two silver medalists of this championship, Nora Lyana Natasia of Malaysia, topped the Girl's Masters first block with 1850 from seven wins out of the eight matches contested.

The 17-year-old Malaysian, who had a slow start, picked up her pace with six straight wins to finish well ahead of her nearest opponent. Wakana Mizutani of Japan finished second with 1785, also from seven wins.

Two gold medalists, Kim Dong Yo of Korea A kept pace with the leaders throughout the block to win five matches for a total of 1778 for third position, seven pins from the Japanese.

Doubles and Team silver medalist, Faten Najihah of Malaysia took fourth position with 1757 while triple gold medalist, Kim Jin Ju of Korea B rounded out the top five with 1712 winning just five matches.

The finalists will resume with their second block of seven matches on July 31 followed by the position round match to determine the top three advancing to the stepladder finals.

Positioned second and third will meet in the first match over one game and the winner will face the top seed over two-games total pinfalls to decide the Masters champion.

Regardless of the outcome of the Girl's Masters result, the Korean girls have sealed the overall champion title. Japan and Korea A has two gold medals each and the Boy's overall champion can still be decided from the Masters finals.

But with five gold and 2 bronze medals, Korea has firmed up the Overall Champion crown well before the final results of the Masters.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

29th July, Hong Kong: Japan broke Korea's domination after winning the Boy's Team of Four gold medal at the NTGCC 16th Asian School Tenpin Bowling Championships while Korea B Team took their fifth gold in the Girl's division.

Sayato Takahira, Shinpei Sakahara, Ren Sameshima and Riku Masui, who topped the first block of three games earlier in the day, continued to lead the field with 847 at the start of the second block.

But their lead was reduced from 191 to 139 pins after Singapore A Team's Marcus Kiew, Ahmad Safwan, Kuek Qi En and Norman Cai moved up to take second spot with Korea B Team slipping to third.

Japan added a sizzling 907 in the fifth to resume a comfortable margin of 190 as Philippines A Team of GY Buyco, Louis Cantorna, Ivan Malig and Merwin Tan shot the highest game of 952 in this block to put themselves in a medal contention position.

Singapore was also in a shot for a medal when they trailed Philippines by just four pins with Korea B Team dropping down to fourth, 23 pins further away.

Philippines began their charge in an attempt to overhaul the leader ending with a superb 868 but the Japanese quartet kept their cool to finish with 790, enough to secure the gold with 5174 and 112 pins cushion.

Philippines picked up their first medal of the championship with 5062 while Korea B Team of Lim Seong Yul, Jeong Ho Hyeon, Lee Jun Won and Oh Hun recovered to earn the bronze medal with 5035.

Singapore missed the podium by 56 pins after managing 4979 while host nation, Hong Kong A Team rounded out the top five with 4897.

Singles silver medalist, Ren Sameshima topped the Boy's All Events with 3966 to bag his second gold medal.

Bader Al Deyab of Qatar B Team snatched the silver medal with 3961 from Singles gold medalist, Kim Jung Tae of Korea A by 2 pins. Singles silver medalist, Ren Sameshima topped the Boy's All Events with 3966 to bag his second gold medal. Bader Al Deyab of Qatar B Team snatched the silver medal with 3961 from Singles gold medalist, Kim Jung Tae of Korea A by 2 pins.

Meanwhile in the Girl's division, first block leader of Faten Najihah, Nur Syazwani Sahar, Nur Amirah Auni and Singles bronze medalist, Nora Lyana Natasia of Malaysia threw away a golden chance of winning their first gold.

The Malaysian quartet, who had extended their lead from 66 pins to 104 pins before their final game, managed only 733 to allow Korea A Team to rob them of the gold medal with 852 in the last game.

Kang Chae Rim, Kim Jin Yeong, Jeong Won and Singles gold medalist, Kim Dong Yo totaled 4793, just 13 pins ahead of Malaysia, who had to settle for the silver medal with 4781.

Wakana Mizutani, Rena Ohbayashi, Shion Izumune and Seika Fujiwara of Japan picked up the bronze medal with 4668. Australia A Team missed the podium by just nine pins to finish fourth with 4659.

Kim Jin Ju won her second gold medal after the Korean topped the Girl's All Events with 3954. Nor Lyana Natasia picked up her second silver medal with 3864 while Singles and Team gold medalist, Kim Dong Yo earned the bronze with 3835.

The top 16 boys in the All Events standings, made up of four Koreans, four Qataris, three Singaporeans, two Japanese and one each from Hong Kong, Philippines and Kuwait, qualified for the Masters finals.

The top 16 girls in the All Events standings, made up of four Koreans, three Japanese, three Malaysians, three Singaporeans, two Australians and one Filipina qualified for the Masters finals.

After three events, Korea A Team is leading the Overall medal tally with five gold and two silver medals. Japan is second with two gold, two silvers and a bronze medal. Malaysia is third with three silver and 1 bronze medal.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

28th July, Hong Kong: Singles silver medalist, Kim Jin Ju and Kim Hyo Min won Korea's fourth gold medal at the NTGCC 16th Asian School Tenpin Bowling Championships in the final game of the Girl's Doubles event.

The Korea B's first pair set the pace with 452 in their opening game to lead Australia B Team of Emma Williamson and Genaline Ott by 16 pins with Korea A first pair of Kim Jin Yeong and Singles gold medalist, Kim Dong Yo in third.

The leader duo added another superb game of 459 in the second to extend their lead slightly to 25 pins as Malaysia's second pair of Faten Najihah and Nur Amirah Auni Azman moved into second spot.

Jin Ju and Hyo Min kept their lead after the third game and widened their margin to 61 pins as Malaysia managed only 390. Singapore A Team's Charmaine Chang and Amanda Lee moved up to third, 42 pins adrift.

The Malaysian pair bounced back with 445 in the fourth game to take over the running after the Koreans stumbled to a lowly 371 while Australia moved 22 pins ahead of the Singapore pair.

Malaysia looked set to break Korea's dominance when they stretched their lead to 64 pins after the fifth game but the leader chocked under pressure in the final game with 365 to hand the gold medal to Korea.

Jin Ju and Hyo Min fought back with 436 to snatch the gold medal with 2557, just seven pins ahead of Malaysia on 2550. Singapore stormed home with 465 to clinch the bronze medal with 2460.

Australia missed the podium by 19 pins after finishing fourth with 2441 while the first pair of Malaysia completed the top five with 2412.

Kim Jin Ju topped the Girl's All Events standings after 12 games with 2717. Singles bronze medalist, Nora Lyana Natasia of Malaysia took second spot with 2617 while Shion Izumune of Japan is third with 2566.

Competition will now shift to the Team of Four for the girls and boys with three games in the morning and three games in the afternoon. The top 16 girls and top 16 boys based on their 18 games total in the All Events standings will qualify for the Masters Finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

28th July, Hong Kong: Korea A put in another dominant display after cruising to a comfortable victory in the Boy's Doubles event of the NTGCC 16th Asian School Tenpin Bowling Championships to win their third gold medal.

The Korea A Team's second pair got off the block with a sizzling 502 in their opening game to lead Malaysia's first pair of Amirul Firdaus and Muhd Al Qayyum by 12 pins and Singapore A first pair of Marcus Kiew and Kuek Qi En in third.

The Korean pair pulled away to a 63 pins lead after another scintillating 535 in their second game as Brunei's first pair of Abu Khaledi Yussri and Md Faiz Dzuhairy moved into second position with the high game of 546.

By the halfway mark, Seo and Kill had built up a hefty lead of 138 from Brunei remaining in second while Japan's first pair of Shinpei Sakahara and Riku Masui moved into third and Malaysia slipped away.

The leader completed their second three-game series with 396, 437 and 430 taking a comfortable victory to give Korea A team their third gold medal with 2770. Seo posted 1349 and Kill anchored with 1421.

Although Japan closed the gap to 60 pins after the fifth game, they ended with 390 for a total of 2670 to settle for their second silver medal, 100 pins adrift.

Singles bronze medalist, Jassem Al Muraikhi and Hazeem Al Muraikhi stormed home with 541 in their final game to snatch a second bronze medal for Qatar A with 2625. Brunei missed the podium after being beaten by the Qataris by 53 pins to take fourth position with 2572.

Hong Kong A Team's first pair of Ivan Tse and Alex Yu did well to round out the top five with 2571, just one pin off Brunei. The girls will contest their Doubles after the medal ceremony of the Singles event.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

27th July, Hong Kong: Korea A Team captured their second gold medal on the first day of the NTGCC 16th Asian School Tenpin Bowling Championships after Kim Jung Tae cruised to a comfortable win in the Boy's Singles event.

Singapore had a great start when Marcus Kiew stunned the field of 76 players with an opening game of 278 to lead his team-mate, Nu'Man Syahmi by just two pins. This year's Asian Youth Doubles bronze medalist, Ivan Malig of Philippines A was third 19 pins further away.

Qatar Team A member, Jassem Al Muraikhi also had a good start with 258, two pins ahead of his compatriot, Bader Al Deyab of Team B as several players also registered good games. Kiew's moderate second game of 214 allowed him to stay ahead of Malig by 14 pins and Jassem a further six pins away.

The Singaporean continued to lead at the halfway mark despite another average 203 in the third game but was quickly closed in by Kim Jung Tae and cutting the lead to just two pins after the Korean rolled a sizzling 278.

Jassem then took over the running after a superb fourth game of 248 to move ahead of the Korean by four pins with Bader in third, Malig in fourth and Kiew and Japan's Ren Sameshima sharing fifth spot.

But Kim's superb 257 in the fifth game allowed him to take over the lead, moving six pins ahead of Jassem despite the latter shooting another strong game of 247. The cool 18-year-old, Yang Ju Bak Suk High School student returned a final game of 228 to seal victory with 1421.

Sameshima ended with 231 to clinch the silver medal with 1359 while Jassem was lucky to earn the bronze medal after a dismal 160 in his last game. Bader missed the podium by 12 pins to take fourth position with 1335.

Malaysia's Muhammad Al Qayyum stormed home to complete the top five with 1326. Early medal contender, Malig finished sixth with 1315 while early pace-setter, Kiew managed only eighth position with 1295.

The boys will resume with the Doubles event in the morning followed by the girls in the afternoon. The medal ceremony for the Singles will be held at 12.30pm after the Boy's Doubles.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

27th July, Hong Kong: Kim Dong Yo and Kim Jin Ju gave Korea a superb start at the NTGCC 16th Asian School Tenpin Bowling Championship by winning the Girl's Singles gold and silver medals on Monday.

Rena Ohbayashi of Japan got off the block with a spendid 247 in her opening game to lead Malaysia's Nur Amirah Auni Azman by 9 pins as Charlene Lim of Singapore and Kim Jin Ju of Korea B kept pace with 233 and 227.

Nur Amirah added another strong game of 231 in the second to take over the running while Jun Ji rolled an identical 227 to trail the Malaysian by 15 pins. Ohbayashi stumbled to a 168 to slip down the field.

A second Korean, Kim Dong Yo of A team surged into the lead after she shot 236 in the third game following the 224 and 215 in the first two games. A second Japanese and last year's Team bronze medalist, Shion Izumune moved into second, 27 pins adrift.

Bea Hernandez of Philippines A team rolled the first 300 in the fourth game to haul herself up from a lowly 18th position to fifth while the two Koreans remained in the top five.

The Filipina added a superb 256 in the fifth game to take over the lead, just 4 pins ahead of Jin Ju, who also shot 256 to move back up into second spot. Singapore's Jermaine Cheah took third spot and this year's Asian Youth two gold medalist, Nora Lyana Natasia of Malaysia fourth.

Pressure must have gotten to Hernandez as she stumbled to a 192 in her final game to drop down to fifth with 1291. 18-year-old Gohueng High School student, Kim Dong Yo ended with a stunning 263 to snatch the gold medal with 1322.

Kim Jun Ji prevailed with 218 to take the silver medal with 1313 giving Korea a one-two finish. Nor Lyana Natasia earned the bronze medal with 1305 after a strong final game of 237. Izumune rolled 228 but missed the podium by 10 pins to finish fourth with 1295.

Early leader, Nur Amirah ended with two back-to-back poor games to finish in a disappointing 13th position while Jermaine Seah, who was third before her final game, managed 192 to take up seventh position.

The boys will take to the lanes for their Singles event later today. The girls will resume with their Doubles event in the afternoon after the boys contest their Doubles in the morning.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

26th July, Hong Kong: A colourful and traditional ceremony graced by Mr Timothy Fok, GBC, JP, IOC Member and President of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee marked the opening of the NTGCC 16th Asian School Tenpin Bowling Championships at SCAA Bowling Centre on Sunday.

The ceremony was also attended by Ms Florence Hui, SBS, JP, Under Secretary for the Home Affairs of Home Affairs Bureau, President of title sponsor New Territories General Chamber of Commerce, Dr Haywood Cheung, Mr Victor Hui, Chairman of South China Athletic Association and many distinguished guests, team officials and players.

Mr Eric Lee, emcee for the ceremony, welcomed all present and kicked off proceedings by first introducing the guests of honours before announcing the march past of the thirteen participating countries from Asia.

Speeches started off with the Organizing Chairman, Ms Vivien Lau, BBS, JP, Chairman of Hong Kong Tenpin Bowling Congress, Honorary Life President of Asian Bowling Federation and Secretary General of World Bowling thanking the guests of honours, generous sponsors and contributors for their support in this championships.

She also expressed gratitude to the support and confidence given to HKTBC by Asian Bowling Federation for hosting the championships for the fourth time. Ms Lau also thanked the participating countries for their support in sending their teams.

Ms Florence Hui, delivered her speech by wishing all the players the best of luck in this championships before the guest of honour, Mr Timothy Fok took the rostrum for his speech. Mr Fok extended his congratulations to all relevant parties involved for having tenpin bowling shortlisted for inclusion in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as a medal sport.

Hong Kong team member, Nicolas Breant took the oath on behalf of all players while Leung Yuet Ming took the oath on behalf of tournament officials.

The guest of honour, Mr Timothy Fok together with Ms Florence Hui, Mr Victor Hui, Dr Haywood Cheung, and several distinguished guests were all invited to perform the traditional dotting of the lion's eyes and the tieing the "Good Luck" ribbons to mark the official opening.

Mr Fok then declared the championships officially opened as the drums rolled to start the lion dance. At the end of the dance, the lions displayed several best wishes banners to wish all participants the best of luck in their quest to win honours for their countries.

All present were subsequently invited to a welcome reception, hosted by HKTBC at the Ballroom of Regal Hotel Hong Kong.

A total of 13 countries and territories comprising of 34 teams made up of 76 boys and 58 girls bowlers from Asia will be vying for honours for their nation in Singles, Doubles, Team of Four, All Events and the prestigious Masters event.

Competition will kick off with the Singles on Monday, July 27 for the girls and boys followed by the Doubles on Tuesday, July 28. The Team of Four over two blocks of three games each will be staged on Wednesday, July 29.

The top 16 boys and top 16 girls based on the All Events standings (18 games total) will qualify for the Round-Robin Matchplay Masters finals to be contested over two blocks on July 30 and 31.

The top 3 boys and top 3 girls will proceed to the Stepladder Grand Finals. The championships will close with the Victory Banquet at KowloonBay International Trade & Exhibition Centre in the evening.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.