11th July, Hong Kong: Malaysia and Korea shared honours on the final day of the 20th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championship as Adrian Ang of Malaysia and Choi Jin-A of Korea emerged the Men's and Women's Masters champions.

Second seed and challenger, Adrian Ang blitzed the lanes at Hong Kong Bowling City in the first game with 279 to beat top seed and team-mate, Zulmazran Zulkifli in the all-Malaysian title match over two games to take a commanding lead of 63 pins.

Both started off well with four strikes in a row but a bad mistake in the fifth frame put the top seed off his momentum to end with 196. Adrian struck till frame 8 and went on to take the first game comfortably.

Despite an opened frame in the fifth and a split in the last frame of second game, Adrian won the coveted Masters gold medal with a two-game total of 458 to Zulmazran's 413. Adrian outclassed third seed, Zhang Peng of China, 214-166 in the first match to earn a crack at the title.

"I've faced Zulmazran in stepladder finals many times but this time is different and challenging with the gold medal at stake," said the delighted Adrian. "I'm glad I had a head start with a high game so I took it easy in the second game. To win the gold in the Masters finals of an official championship is something I'll treasure for a long time.

"I started off well in the first four frames of the first match but I made a bad shot in the fifth frame and the gutter ball in the next frame and not being able to spare it really put me off my momentum," remarked Zulmazran.

"Adrian did so well in the first match and for being behind 63 pins, it was extremely difficult to catch up. I'm not really disappointed because we have done well overall here. We've proved that we're the best team in Asia and this will be a good start for the world championship in August.

Zulmazran ended the second block finals in the lead with 3865 followed by Adrian Ang in second and Zhang Peng third. All Events bronze medalist, Hussain Al-Suwaidi missed the cut finishing fourth.

Meanwhile, Korea again demonstrated their prowess by sweeping the three medals at stake in the women's division. Perfect gamer, Choi Jin-A, who has won the team gold and two silver medals so far, finally nailed her first individual gold defeating team-mate, Gye Min-Young, 472-445 in the women's title match.

Choi, who snatched pole position in the earlier 8-game second block finals with 3751 from Gye and first block leader, Jeon Eun-Hee, sailed through the first game 236-187 but lost the second game 236-258.

Her 48 pins margin she had built up allowed her to win the gold medal 27 pins ahead. Gye, who edged Jeon in the first match 203-190, settled for the silver medal with Jeon the bronze. Hwang Sun-Ok and Kim Yeau-Jin finished fourth and fifth in the earlier round.

Korean women won 5 gold, 5 silver and 3 bronze medals while the men won 1 gold and 1 bronze to emerge the overall champion. Malaysia emerged the men's champion and finished second overall with 3 gold and 4 silver medals.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

10th July, Hong Kong: All Events gold medalist, Jeon Eun-Hee of Korea and Team gold medalist, Adrian Ang of Malaysia carried their momentum with lead in the Women's and Men's first block of the Masters finals contested on Thursday morning.

World Ranking Masters first runnerup, Zulmazran Zulkifli of Malaysia, who won the Team gold medal yesterday, blazed the lanes at Hong Kong Bowling City with a scintillating 267 opening match to lead All Events silver medalist, Rauol Miranda of the Philippines.

But his lead was short-lived as UAE's Hussain Al-Suwaidi shot 275 in the second match and a 225 in the first to take over pole and 24 pins ahead of the Malaysian. Hussain continued his blistering pace with 259 and 226 to maintain his lead at the halfway mark while Zulmazran continue to trail the Emirates.

Two poor 180 and 171 from Hussain in the next two matches saw his lead being overtaken by China's Zhang Peng, who surged forward to take

second spot and 34 pins adrift leaving Zulmazran in third. However, two massive games of 269 and 268 propelled Adrian Ang of Malaysia into contention.

With another high game of 248 in the eighth moved the youngster into pole with a total of 1919 from 6 wins. Zhang hung on to second with 1829, 90 pins adrift as Zulmazran finished third with 1811. Pace-setter, Hussain dropped to fourth followed by the third Malaysian, Alex Liew rounding up the top 5 with 1721.

"I didn't have the best start and my games were not consistent throughout the first 5 games," said the 19-year-old who will turn 20 next week. "When the lanes got drier, I was able to have better carry," added Adrian, who will move into the second block on his stronger side on short oil.

Meanwhile, triple gold medalist and perfect gamer, Jeon Eun-Hee of Korea carried her momentum into the Masters finals after amassing a total of 1801 winning 6 out of the 8 match played in the round-robin finals.

Singapore's Jazreel Tan, who led briefly after the second game but dropped off midway, rebounded to take up second spot with 1771, just 30 pins behind the Korean. Jeon's team-mate and second perfect gamer, stormed home in the final stage to clinch third place with 1751.

The Korean women were dominating the early stages of the finals with the top four positions but are now split by Siti Safiyah Amirah of Malaysia in fifth behind Gye Min-Young in fourth.

The men and women will resume with another 8 games in the second block tomorrow morning at 9.00am. The top 3 from each division will advance to the stepladder finals for the final two gold medals of the week-long championship.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

9th July, Hong Kong: Malaysia and Korea successfully retained the Men's and Women's Team title they won at the last championship after ending the second block of the Team of 5 event at Hong Kong Bowling City on Wednesday evening.

Malaysia had led the first block of 3 games on short oil condition bowled yesterday morning ahead of today's 3 games on long oil. Apart form rookie, Muhd Nur Aiman shooting a lowly 160, the rest of his team-mates, Alex Liew, Adrian Ang, Aaron Kong and anchorman, Zulmazran Zulkifli managed to cover the youngster for a team game of 1048.

Qatar's Bandar Al-Shafi, Mansour Al-Awami, Fahad Al-Emadi, Mubarak Al-Muraikhi and Saeed Al-Hajri shot a slightly better second game of 1062 to reduce the gap to 16 pins. The leader then shot another 1048 while the Qataris downed 996 to give the Malaysians a 68 pin breather going into the final game.

Despite the mounting pressure, the team's spirit was high and inspired by

their women team-mates cheering them on, they delivered their promises to bring home the team gold medal with a final game of 1073.

The champion also completed a third record-breaking performance to erase the record of 6320 set by the Taiwanese with a 6-game total of 6596. Qatar, who finished second to the Malaysian two years ago in Jakarta, againt settled for the silver medal with 6458.

Korea snatch the bronze medal from the Philippines in their final game by 12 pins on a total of 6438. Chester King won the All Events gold medal for Philippines after topping the standings with 5534. Raoul Miranda took the silver with 5444 while UAE's Hussain Al-Suwaidi settled for the bronze with 5366.

Meanwhile, the Korea women also succesfully defended the title they won at the last meet with 6463, a massive 263 pins ahead of the Malaysian women. Esther Cheah led her team-mates, Wendy Chai, Siti Safiyah Aimirah, Zandra Aziela and SHalin Zulkifli to win the silver medal with 6200.

Singapore overhauled the Taiwanese to claim their second bronze medal with 6186. The Korean women occupied the top 5 positions of the All Events standings to sweep all the three medals.

Perfect gamer, Jeon Eun-Hee won the gold with 5502 ahead of another perfect gamer, Choi Jin-A settling for the silver with 5397 while Kim Yeau-Jin claimed the bronze medal with 5389.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

8th July, Hong Kong: Filipino trio of Chester King, Raoul Miranda and Frederick Ong upstaged first block leader, Malaysia and smashed three Asian records en-route to claiming the Men's Trios gold medal at the 20th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championship.

The Filipino trio, who had trailed overnight leader by a single pin, blizted the lanes at Hong Kong Bowling City with three massive games of 711, 780 and 706 to claim Philippines' first gold medal of the championship by a hugh margin of 276 pins.

Their fifth game of 780 smashed the 721 shot by Malaysia in 2000. They re-wrote the 3-games series record of 2009 set by the Korea with 2197 and the 6-games total record of 3932 set by Japan with 4193, both in 2002.

Undoubtedly the star of the day was Chester King, who chalked up an individual 6-game score of 1535. King had bowled 217, 256 and 215 in the first block but set the lanes ablazed with 279, 289 and 279 for a second

block score of 847. The 33-year-old had earlier posted 813 in the Team of 5 first block before this incredible run.

"I'm so greatful to God who have answered my prayers," said Miranda, who won the Singles bronze medal on opening day. "And to now win a gold medal is simply fantastic.

"Actually I'm surprise as I've never bowled this well," said Chester King during an interview for ABF On-line. "I'm so happy that everything went well.

"I've been praying to win a medal for Philippines and I'm very happy," remarked the debutant, Frederick Ong. Their coach, Nico Valderama added that the trio did well to trail the Malaysian by 1 pin on their weaker long oil condition so when it came to the short oil, his bowler were very comfortable.

Malaysia's Aaron Kong, Muhd Nur Aiman and Adrian Ang were lucky to hang on to second spot and settle for the silver medal with 3917 after a woeful final game of 591. Singapore's Eugene Low, Jason Yeong-Nathan and Shaun Ng stormed home with 703 to clinch the bronze medal with 3898.

Both Hong Kong and Japan, who had a chance to pick up a medal, fumbled in the final hurdle and were overtaken by the second trio of Malaysia and finishing fourth with 3870.

Singles bronze medalist, Miranda was also awesome shooting 1412 while debutant, Frederick Ong knocked down 1246 to give the Filipinos a well deserve victory. Chester's superb run propelled him to the top of the All Events standing on a 21-game total of 4886.

And with a margin of 127 pins and just three more games to play in the team second block, the Filipino is surely poised to bag his second gold. Miranda is second with 4759 while Doubles bronze medalist, Mubarak Al-Muraikhi is third with 4711.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

8th July, Hong Kong:Korea secured the gold and silver medals of the 20th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championship with victory in the Women's Trios event as Chinese Taipei clinch the bronze medal at the end of the second block.

First block leader, Choi Jin-A, Hwang Sun-Ok and Kim Yeau-Jin were 23 pins clear of their team-mates, Gang Hye-Eun, Jeon Eun-Hee and Gye Min-Young at the end of last night's first block of three games but were locked together after the fourth game when the more junior team shot another record-breaking 805 to tie for the lead.

The senior team then drew away from their team-mates with superb 701 in the fifth game after their junior team-mates could only managed 638. Singapore's Cherie Tan, Jasmine Yeong-Nathan and Jazreel Tan move up to third at this stage after a strong 683 game.

Trailing by 63 pins, Gang, Jeon and Gye threw at their team-mates everything they had and managed to overhaul their compatriot to take

victory with 4147. The 6-game team total bettered the 3742 set by their countrywomen in 2002.

Choi, Hwang and Kim took the silver medal with 4128 to give Korea a grand 1-2 finish while Chinese Taipei's Wang Yu-Ling, Chein Hsiu-Lan and Huang Chiung-Yao clinched the bronze medal with 3760.

Doubles gold medalist, Esther Cheah and Shalin Zulkifli, who teamed up with Zandra Aziela missed the medal by just 7 pins to settle for fourth position with 3753 followed by the strong finishing Japan and Singapore fifth and sixth.

After three events completed and team first block, the top 4 positions of the All Events standings remained the same with Choi Jin-A still leading the table with 4876. Esther CHeah is fifth with Gang Hye-Eun moving one slot to sixth.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

8th July, Hong Kong: The Malaysian men dazzled their opponents with an awesome display of raw power as they topped the Men's Team of 5 first block at the 20th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championship on Tuesday morning.

As expeted, the mighty Koreans surged into the lead with a 1129 opening game as Malaysia posted 1090 to take up fifth spot behind Philippines in second and the home team, Hong Kong in third.

Malaysia was drawn with Saudi Arabia in the second game and the two teams went on a strikefest. Singles silver medalist, Alex Liew led the team as the first bowler and the southpaw reeled off 8 consecutive strikes.

Liew's opposite player, Fahad Al-Juraifani of Saudi Arabia also chalked up 8 consecutive strikes. By sheer coincident, the second and third bowlers of Malaysia, Daniel Lim and Adrian Ang both knocked down 6 consecutive strikes so did their opposite players, Faisal Al-Juraini and Hassan Halwani.

As Liew and Fahad was going for the perfect 300, Yannis Argyros of Egypt beat them to it when the 53-year-old shot his career first and the championship's third perfect game four lanes away.

Liew ended the game with 267, Daniel Lim 268, Adrian Ang 279, Aaron Kong 247 and Zulmazran Zulkifli 190 giving the team a total of 1251. The game posted by the Malaysian fabulous five smashed the one-game record of 1197 set by Korea in 2002 which gave them the lead, 73 pins ahead of Hong Kong.

The leader held on to their lead after posting a conservative 1086 and a first block total of 3427, again smashing the 14-year-old 3-games record of 3236 set by Chinese Taipei in 1994.

"Apart from an average first game, the boys really put in an incredible performance today," said the Malaysian team manager, B.C. Cheah. "They were simply awesome and their team spirit was unbelievable. We're confident that they will carry their from into the next block and prove that they're the best team in Asia.

Qatar's Bandar Al-Shafi, Mansour Al-Awami, Fahad Al-Emadi, Mubarak Al-Muraikhi and Saeed Al-Hajri snatched second place with 3397 as the home team of Cyrus Cheung, Rickle Kam, Michael Tsang, Eric Tseng and Wu Siu Hong amassed 3337 finished third with 3337.

With six games more to play (3 in the Trios and 3 in the Team of 5), Mubarak Al-Muraikhi of Qatar topped the table with 4118. Singles bronze medalist, Raoul Miranda and Chester King is second and third.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

7th July, Hong Kong: Choi Jin-A shot the championship's second perfect game to help her team, Korea snatched the lead of the Women's Team of 5 at the 20th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championship for Korea on Monday evening.

Singapore's Amanda Ng, Bernice Lim, Cherie Tan, Jasmine Yeong-Nathan and anchored by Jazreel Tan stunned the favourites of mighty Korea and Malaysia with 1147 opening game and smashing the one-game record of 1117 set by Australia in 2000.

The Singapore team continued to sizzle with another superb game of 1099 to lead Malaysia's Esther Cheah, Wendy Chai, Siti Safiyah Amirah, Zandra Aziela and Shalin Zulkifli by 55 pins with Korea a further 18 pins adrift.

The third and final game of the first block was indeed tense as Korea and Malaysia were drawn on the same pair of lanes while Singapore were drawn with a pacer team. Mounting pressure caused the Singaporeans to struggle while supporters cheer on Korea and Malaysia side by side.

The crowd was silenced as Choi Jin-A stepped up to make her 12th and final frame after reeling 11 consecutive strikes in the third game. She made a perfect pocket ball but left a pin 7 but lady luck was with the Korean as a messenger pin came flying in to take out pin 7.

Choi's career seventh perfect game helped her team-mates, Jeon Eun-Hee, Gang Hye-Eun, Hwang Sun-Ok and Kim Yeau-Jin, to amassed a final game of 1137 to snatch the lead from Singapore with a total of 3309.

The three-game total also erased the 3100 record set by China in 2000. Malaysia also turned in 1065 in their third game to pip Singapore for second position with a total of 3256 while the pace-setter took thid spot with 3226.

Korea dominated the All Events standings after 15 games played. Jeon Eun-Hee, who shot the championship's first perfect game, lead with 3420 from Choi Jin-A, Kim Yeau-Jin and Singles gold medalist, Hwang Sun-Ok to occupy the top 4 spots.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

7th July, Hong Kong: Malaysian underdog Aaron Kong, Muhd Nur Aiman and Adrian Ang upstaged the favourites to take pole in the Men's Trios frist block of the 20th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championship on Monday afternoon.

Hong Kong's Men Doubles gold medalist, Eric Tseng and Cyrus Cheung teamed up with Wu Siu Hong to take an early lead with a superb opening game of 707 at Hong Kong Bowling City. The Malaysian trio of Aaron Kong, Muhd Nur Aiman and Adrian Ang also posted a high game of 702 to trail the leader by 5 pins.

The Malaysian team surged ahead of the field with another sizzling 680 while the Hong Kong threesome struggled on a lowly 594 and dropping to third behind Philippines' Chester King, Frederick Ong and Singles bronze medalist, Raoul Miranda in second.

With 60 pins margin and despite posting only 615 in their last game, Aaron, Muhd Nur Aiman and Adrian were able to retain the lead and

ending the block with a team total of 1997. The consistent Filipino trio almost snatched the lead from the Malaysians but fell short by one pin to claim for second with 1996.

Eric, Cyrus and Wu settled for third with a recovering 697 in the final game on a total of 1980, just 17 pins adrift the Filipinos. Egypt and Singapore rounded up the top 5 in fourth and fifth spots with 1970 and 1868 respectively.

After 15 games played in the Singles, Doubles and the first block of the Trios event, Raoul Miranda of the Philippines topped the All Events standings with 3472 followed by Qatar's Mubarak Al-Muraikhi in second with 3419.

Singles silver medalist, Alex Liew of Malaysia finished third with 3323 while Doubles gold medalist, Eric Tseng and Malaysia's Zulmazran Zulkifli completing the top 5. The top 16 after all the four events are completed will make the cut for the Masters Finals on July 10 and 11.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

7th July, Hong Kong: The mighty Koreans bounched back with a 1-2 finish in first block of the Women's Trios on Day 3 of the 20th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championship with Chinese Taipei in third.

As the 19 teams took to the lanes at Hong Kong Bowling City for their first block of the Women's Trios event on long oil condition, China sprang a mild surprise by taking the lead in the opening game.

The Chinese trio of Cheng Li Hua, Liu Nan and Zhang Yuhong shot 651 to take a 27 pins lead over Malaysia's Esther Cheah, Zandra Aziela and Shalin Zulkifli followed closely by Chinese Taipei's Wang Yu-Ling, Chein Hsiu-Lan and Huang Chiung-Yao in third a further 3 pins adrift.

Chinese Taipei then went into top gear to reel in a superb 703 to move into the lead and opened up a gap of 89 pins over Korea's Choi Jin-A, Hwang Sun-Ok and Kim Yeau-Jin, who shot 652 themselves to move up to second.

The mighty Koreans again demonstrated their prowess by chalking up a sizzling 707 to end the first block with a total of 1963 smashing the 3-game record of 1928 set by Japan in the 2002 championship.

The other trio of Gang Hye-Eun, Jeon Un-Hee and Gye Min-Young gave Korea a 1-2 finish when they stormed home with 688 in the third game to snatch second place with 1940, 23 pins away. Chinese Taipei only managed 598 dropping to third with 1925.

Early leader, China was relegated to fourth position with 1877 followed by Singapore's Cherie Tan, Jasmine-Yeong Nathan and Jazreel Tan rounding up the top 5 with 1871.

After 15 games contested in the Singles, Doubles and first block of Trios, the Koreans occupy the top 4 positions in the All Events standings. Perfect gamer, Jeon Eun-Hee topped the table with 3420 followed by Choi Jin-A, Kim Yeau-Jin and Hwang Sun-Ok from second to fourth.

Women's Doubles Gold medalists, Shalin Zulkifli and Esther Cheah trailed in fifth and sixth spots. The top 16 in the All Events table will make the cut for the Masters finals whch will be held on July 10 and 11 over two blocks of 8 games.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

6th July, Hong Kong: It was an emotional victory for Eric Tseng and Cyrus Cheng as the duo cruised home to capture the first gold for Hong Kong in the Men's Doubles event of the 20th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championship on Sunday evening.

In Squad A played earlier, UAE's Sayed Ibrahim and Hussain Al-Suwaidi had set the benchmark of 2579 for the second squad as the remaining 27 pairs took to the lanes at Hong Kong Bowling City.

Japan's Masaru Ito and Masaaki Takemoto set a blistering pace with 453, 473 and 421 in the first series to lead Hong Kong's Eric Tseng and Cyrus Cheung by 22 pins. Despite another good game of 422 followed thereafter, it was Tseng and Cheung who grab the lead at the fourth game just 4 pins ahead.

With a packed house firmly behind their local heroes, the Hong Kong pair went on a strikefest sending the supporters wild. Tseng and Cheung shot 515 to build up a comfortable lead of 91 pins over the third UAE pair of Saeed Obaid and Mahmood Al-Attar.

Needing only 283 to overhaul Squad A leader, the pair were crusing to a comfortable victory ending the 6-game with 462 and a team total of 2750. The pair also erased the 3-game record of 1412 set by Qatar in 2000 with 1425. Tseng and Cheung also broke the 16-year-old 6-game record of 2671 set by Australia with 2750.

"I'm so happy and relieved to have won a medal in my debut," said the emotional 20-year-old Tseng. "I may have bowled well but if it wasn't for Cyrus pushing me on, I wouldn't have achieve this victory.

"This is my first gold medal after so many Asian Chapionship appearances and I have to thank my coach and my congress for having faith in me," said the estatic Cheung. "We didn't start too well but once we got into our rythmn, we didn't even have time to think about our opponent.

Qatar's Bandar Al-Shafi and Mubarak Al-Muraikhi stormed home to snatch the silver medal with 2653 after a superb 1365 second series while pace-setter, Japan settled for the bronze medal with 2607.

"I have always had faith in my boys and I've seen them grow and improve over the 3 years I've been with them," said the Hong Kong chief coach, Pedro Luis Merani. "The boys totally deserve this victory after so much hard work put in before this championship.

Squad A leader, Sayed and Hussain were denied a medal despite leading the earlier squad while Saeed and Mahmood of Qatar finished fifth.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

6th July, Hong Kong: UAE's Sayed Ibrahim and Hussain Al-Suwaidi surprised the strong field to grab the lead in the Men's Doubles Squad A of the 20th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championship on Day 2.

As expected, the mighty Koreans immediately took an early lead as 18-year-old Hong Hae-Sol and 20-year-old Choi Yong-Kyu shot a superb 502 opening game followed by the Singapore duo of Lionel Lim and Basil Low in second, 26 pins adrift.

Lionel and Basil then turn on their prowess to reel in 467 to take over the top spot and despite a lowly 373 and 407 in their next two games, the Singaporeans were able to maintain their lead albeit only 5 pins ahead of the UAE pair of Sayed and Hussain hot on their heels.

The Emirates duo took advantage of a poor fifth game by Lionel and Basil to surge ahead leading by 49 pins with the final game to play followed by the other UAE team of Naif Oqab and Shaker Al-Hassan in second.

Sayed and Hussain went on to end the block as leader with a total of 2579 with Hong and Choi snatching second spot with 2548. Basil Al-Anzi and Jassim Darwish of Kuwait stormed home with a sizzling 502 in their final game to clinch third spot with 2542.

Philippines' Tyrone Ongpauco and Singles bronze medalist, Raoul Miranda shot 491 in the final game to snatch fourth spot with 2541 followed by the first UAE team in fifth. Pace-setter, Singapore fizzled off to sixth spot. Squad B will take to the lanes after lane maintenance and the combined scores of both the squads will determine the winners.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

6th July, Hong Kong: World Championship Singles champion, Esther Cheah partnered PBA rookie, Shalin Zulkifli to strike Malaysia's first gold medal in the Women's Doubles event of the 20th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championship.

The strong Malaysian women, who drew blank in yesterday's singles event, rebounded back with the victory in the doubles event to end Korea's domination so far. The Malaysian pair knocked down a team total of 2699 smashing two Asian Championship records en-route to their victory.

Esther and Shalin posted a second-half 3-games series of 1401 erasing the 1302 set by the Koreans in 1998 in Taipei. The duo also bettered the 2560 set by the Aussies in 2000 in Doha, Qatar.

The dynamic duo did not have the best of start trailing Korea's first pair of Hwang Sun-Ok and Kim Yeau-Jin in the first half but picked up their pace with 494, 478 and 429 to romp home a comfortable victory over the Koreans with 98 pins margin.

"I was struggling a bit in the first three games but fortunately Esther bowled well to cover me," said Shalin Zulkifli, who did not compete in the last championship in Jakarta. "The singles yesterday wasn't that good either and I'm actually surprised that I could do better in the long oil conditions.

"I'm glad we have won the first gold medal so early in the competition," remarked the delighted Esther. "This will make up for the disappointing first day and in the last championship where we went home empty handed.

Gye Min-Young and perfect gamer, Jeon Eun-Hee settled for the silver medal with 2601 while the surprise pair was China's Chen Dongdong and Wu Suqin who stormed home to clinch the bronze medal with 2572.

Early pace-setter and Korea's first pair of Singles gold medalist, Hwang Sun-Ok and Kim Yeau-Jin, fizzled off to end up in fourth place with 2569 ahead of their team-mates and Korea's third pair in fifth.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

5th July, Hong Kong: Korea landed their second victory as championship debutante, Choi Ki-Bong overhauled team-mate and Squad A leader, Kim Tae-Young to win the Men's Singles gold medal of the 20th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championship on Saturday evening.

Kim Tae-Young had set the benchmark with 6-game total of 1425 in the earlier Men's Squad A and little did he know that with such a high score, the 34 year-old could end up empty handed.

As Squad B took to the lanes at 6.30pm, the Malaysian duo of Alex Liew and Zulmazran Zulkifli set a blistering pace with 269 and 258 respectively for the early lead. Korea's Choi Ki-Bong chalked up 238 and then 259 to take over the lead after the second game, 17 pins ahead of Filipino Raoul Miranda and newcomer, Vijay D if India locked in second.

UAE's Naif Oqab then surged ahead with a sizzling 289 in third game and shot to the top of the field as Miranda also picked up his pace to continue to trail the leader but with less than 20 pins seprating the top 6.

Game 4 saw several massive games, first with Choi registering 279, Alex Liew 268 and Mubarak Al-Muraikhi 279. The 268 from Alex gave the Malaysian the lead but only a 1-pin slender margin.

With the final two games remaining, it was the Korean who withstood the mounting pressure and surprised the strong field to emerge victorious with a total of 1490. Choi also broke the 2004 Asian Championship record of 1343 set by Chinese Taipei's Wu Hao-Ming.

"I'm very surprise to win the gold medal in my first-ever Asian Championship outing," said the 22-year-old Korean national rookie, Choi through an interpreter. "I'm also happy for my team-mate and country especially contributing the second gold medal.

Alex settled for the silver medal, 36 pins adrift on 1454 while Miranda took home the bronze medal with 1437. Pace-setter, Naif Oqab missed the podium finishing fourth with 1424 with Mubarak taking fifth spot with 1410.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

5th July, Hong Kong: Korea again displayed their prowess as Kim Tae-Young topped the Men's Singles Squad A of the 20th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championship after Hwang Sun-Ok had captured the first gold medal in the Women's division earlier.

Newly-crowned Hong Kong Open and ABF Tour Hong Kong leg, Bandar Al-Shafi of Qatar, set the pace with a 254 opener in the Men's Singles but soon found Kim Tae-Young a handful as the Korean surged into the lead, 12 pins ahead of Hong Kong's Michael Tsang after the second game.

Kim continued to lead into the halfway mark a superb 734 series and stretching his margin to 42 pins with Chinese Taipei's Chen Chun-Chieh and UAE's Hussain Al-Suwaidi locked in second behind the leader.

A 257 from Hussain saw the Emirates taking over top spot after the fourth game followed by Bandar Al-Shafi rebounding back in contention, 11 pins adrift in second while the Korean dropped to third.

The 34-year-old Kim then recovered with two superb games of 245 and 234 to claim pole with a 6-game total of 1425 stamping Korea's prowess in this year's championship so far. Taiwanese, Chen settled for second with 1371 with the surprised Zhang Peng storming home to take up third spot with 1365.

Squad B will take to the lanes after the lane maintenance and the combined scores fro the two squads will determine the medal winners.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

5th July, Hong Kong: Korean women dominated the opening event of the 20th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championship underway at Hong Kong Bowling City by winning all the three medals and occupying the top 4 positions.

Hwang Sun-Ok snatched the victory from team-mate and pace-setter, Choi Jin-A in the final game with a 279 for a 6-game total of 1497 to win her first individual Asian Championship gold medal. Hwang also smashed the previous record of 1306 set by Ann-Maree Putney of Australia in 2004.

Choi Jin-A, who set a blistering pace with an opening game of 267 and continued to lead the field right through to the fifth game. She stretched her lead to 48 pins after a superb 279 in the fifth game but her 227 in her final game was not good enough to win the gold.

Choi settled for the silver medal with another record breaking total of 1494. Jeon Eun-Hee, who became the first bowler to shoot a perfect game, achieved the feat in her sixth and final game to clinch the bronze with 1479.

"I was just trying very hard to stay with my team-mates and leader Choi (Jin-A) but after I shot 290, I was hoping that I could win at least a medal," said the 22-year-old, who won three gold and a silver in the last championship in Jakarta. "And then to finish off with 279 and to win the gold medal is a dream come true."

Korea completed the domination with Kim Yeau-Jin finishing fourth with 1448. Malaysia's Esther Cheah, Shalin Zulkifli and Zandra Aziela took fifth to seventh positions while Kazumi Satoh of Japan and the Singapore pair of Jasmine Yeong-Nathan and Bernice Lim rounded up the top 10.

The Men's Singles event will follow after the lane maintenance which will be divided into Squad A and B. Squad A will commence at 1.30pm and Squad B at 6.00pm today.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

3rd July, Hong Kong: One hundred and seven men and sixty-one women will do battle at the 20th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championship which will kick off on Saturday, July 5th at the Hong Kong Bowling City in Kowloon Bay.

The 168 bowlers from a total of 19 countries supported by 60 officials have assembled in Hong Kong for the start of the bi-annual championship hosted by Hong Kong Tenpin Bowling Congress for the third time.

A press conference was held this afternoon at the Royal Pacific Hotel to announce the championship which was graced by Hon. Karl Kwok, Vice President of Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong and Hon. Tam Hok Lam, Vice Chairman of Hong Sports Institute.

Also at the press conference were Mr Kevin Dornberger, President of the World Tenpin Bowling Association, Ms Olivia Chan Yeuk Oi, Assistant Director of Leisure and Cultural Services Department and Mr Henry Yeung, General Manager of Hong Kong Bowling City.

Mrs Vivien Fung, Chairman of the Hong Kong Tenpin Bowling Congress and Hon. Life President of Asian Bowling Federation extended her heartfelt welcome to all officials and competitors to the 20th Asian Championship in her opening address.

"As our sport works toward the future and attaining our place of the Olympic Games, events like the Asian Championship increase in significance," said Mr Kevin Dornberger, President of WTBA in his speech.

The 6 men and 6 women will lead Hong Kong's challenge in the Asian Championship comprising of the reigning Masters champion, Wu Siu Hong and current Asian Ranked No. 1, Chan Shuk Han, winner of three international titles this year including the Asian Bowling Tour Grand finals in January.

Other team members include Vanessa Fung, Cyrus Cheung, Michael Tsang, Rickle Kam, Eric Tseng, Joshua Chow, Sylvia Kong, Katherin Lau, Sarah Cheng and Milki Ng. The team will be led by team manager, Frankie

Cheung and coaches, Pedro Luis Merani, Purvis Granger and tehcnical adviser, Authur Mckee.

The opening ceremony will be held on Friday, July 4th at Hong Kong Bowling City and will be officially declared open by His Honourable, Victor Hui, Chairman of Elite Sports Committee under the Sports Commission of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Vice President of Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong.

A Welcome Reception will follow the official opening ceremony where the teams and officials will parade in front of the guest of honour, distinguished guests and delegates to the 20th General Assembly. Official practice will be held after the welcome reception.

Meanwhile, the team managers' meeting was held later at Emax Hi-Tec Shopping Centre where the players and officials entries were finalised.

Lane draws were also conducted for the four events - Singles, Doubles, Trios (Team of 3) and Team of 5.

Competition will start with the Singles at 9.00am on Sunday, July 5th and will run through to 11th July with the Masters Stepladder Finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

3rd July, Hong Kong: Incumbent, Sheikh Talal Al-Sabah of Kuwait retained the Asian Bowling Federation president's post unchallenged at the 20th ABF General Assembly held at Royal Pacific Hotel on Wednesday morning.

In contrast to the previous assembly held in Bangkok in 2004, the 20th General Assembly went through in a breeze without hardly any controversial issues being raised. President of Kuwait Bowling Federation, Sheikh Talal Al-Sabah was unchallenged as he remained as President of ABF for another four-year term.

Mohammed A. Alkhaja of UAE, who was nominated for the Vice President by Emirates Bowling Federation was elected for the Western region. Alkhaja replaced Salman Abdullah Abdul Ghani of Qatar Bowling Federation, who has since stepped down as President of Qatar Bowling Federation and did not seek re-election.

Chi Zhi Qiang of Chinese Bowling was elected the Vice President for the Far East region replacing compatriot, Li Gao Chao for the second Vice President's post.

Dr Danny Santos, former FIQ secretary general and Hon. Auditor for ABF, was the newly elected Vice President for the South East Asia region, who replaces Sidney Tung of Malaysia. Tung did not seek re-election citing health reason.

There was no nomination received for the Vice President of Oceania region but Andrew Frawley of Australia was nominated from the floor during the assembly and was subsequently elected. Frawley replaced Alex Popov, the former President of Tenpin Bowling Australia Ltd and current Vice President of WTBA.

Three incumbent Executive Committee members, Fong Wun Man (Macau), Takaya Aizawa (Japan) and Farouk Haridi (Egypt) were re-elected for another 4-year term while Nasser Mubarak Al-Sulati of Bahrain and Suwalai Satrulee of Thailand were the new EXCO members elected.

Professor Dr Leung Mee-Lee was re-appointed secretary general while Winston Chan of Macau was appointed the new Hon. Auditor, replacing Dr Danny Santos, who was elected the new Vice President for South East Asian region.

Meanwhile, proposal for the amendments of the ABF Constitution was unanimously accepted and approved by the assembly. Apart from UAE being appointed the host for the 21st Asian Championship in 2010 and DPR Korea the host for the 16th Asian Youth Championship in 2011, there were no proposal for the 11th Asian Schools, 22nd Asian Championship and the ABF General Assembly, and the 12th Asian School.

The MYR50,000 recieved from Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress for the perfect game to Syed Ibrahim of UAE at the Malaysian International Open 2006 was handed to Emirates Bowling Federation.

The age eleigibility of the Asian Youth Championship has been reduced to 20 and under for the 16th Asian Youth Championship to be held in DPR Korea.

The assembly, which ended on swiftly and took only one hour and fifteen minutes, also received nominations of the FIQ Daimond Pin for Sheikh Talal Al-Sabah, Gold Pin for Steve Hontiveros (former FIQ President), Silver pins for Abdul Salam Abbas (former second Vice President of WTBA) and for Dr Danny Santos (former FIQ secretary general).

Photos by Terence Yaw.