14th June, Singapore: Two-bronze medalist and Asiad Singles champion, Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand and triple silver medalist, Jazreel Tan of Singapore emerged as Masters champion of the 28th SEA Games Bowling Championship on Sunday.

Second seed Yannaphon denied triple gold medalist and top seed, Muhad Rafiq Ismail his fourth gold medal when he defeated the Malaysian, 414-381 to win the Men's Masters gold medal.

The Thai took advantage of the tie when Muhd Rafiq found the condition difficult in the first game going down 178-197. Muhd Rafiq started the second match with a double strike but just could not repeat the feat whilst Yannaphon doubled in the second and third frame and sealed victory, 217-203 with another double strike in the eighth and ninth frames.

"I knew it would be difficult to beat Muhd Rafiq as he was bowling good the whole week," said the delighted Yannaphon, who won the 2014 Incheon Asian Games Singles gold medal and the 2005 SEA Games Masters gold medal in Malaysia.

"But when I saw him struggling in the first match, I knew I had a chance to beat him. I guessed it's down to the more experience I have. I'm sure he will win more medals in years to come as he is so young."

The champion had to work hard to earn a crack at the title after he narrowly edged third seed and a second Malaysian, Adrian Ang, 246-245 in the semi-finals.

Muhd Rafiq, who was eyeing his fourth gold medal, had earlier led from start to finish in the second block winning five matches for a 16-game total of 3763 to advance to the stepladder finals as top seed.

Yannaphon, who took over second spot from Ahmad Muaz of Malaysia after two matches, trailed the leader by 223 pins to make the stepladder finals in second with 3540. Adrian defeated compatriot, Alex Liew in the position round to qualify for the stepladder finals in third with 3488.

Singles silver medalist, Annop Arromsaranon of Thailand missed the cut in fourth with 3462, just 26 pins from Adrian while Ahmad slipped from second to seventh position.

Meanwhile, triple silver medalist and top seed, Jazreel Tan gave host nation a perfect end to the games when she finally nailed her first gold medal with a convincing victory over challenger and team-mate, Daphne Tan in the all-Singapore finals, 516-353 two-game total.

Jazreel cruised to a 258-269 victory over Daphne in the first match and an identical 258-184 victory in the second match to give Singapore her fourth gold medal in the competition.

"I had work so hard preparing for the games and I was so close to winning a gold medal in the Singles, Trios and Team events," said the beaming Jazreel.

"My persistent effort paid off and I'm so glad that I've come away with this victory. But most importantly, this victory is for all my team-mates, my coaches, my federation and my country."

Daphne, who was seeded third, trashed team-mate and second seed, Shayna Ng 223-162 in the semi-finals to face the top seed. Shayna was relegated to fourth and had to hand the bronze medal to Tannya Roumimper of Indonesia, who finished sixth behind another Singaporean, New Hui Fen.

Malaysia emerged as overall champion with a medal haul of 5-4-4. Singapore finished second with 4-5-1 but emerged as women division champion with three gold and four silver medals. Malaysia also finished as men division champion with three gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals.

A total of 41 men and 34 women from seven countries participated in this year's championship. The next edition of the South East Asian Games will be hosted by Malaysia in 2017.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Singapore.

14th June, Singapore: Singapore women totally dominated the Women's Masters second block finals of the 28th SEA Games Bowling Champion with Jazreel Tan securing top seed for the stepladder finals and four others finishing second to fifth positions.

Jazreel, who led the first block with a huge margin of 152, gradually increased her margin from 161 in the opening game of the second block to as much as 191 after the 11th game. The gap was reduced by her compatriot, Shayna Ng to 105 after the 15th game and before the position-round match.

The leader topped the block with 3497 winning four out of the eight matches bowled today to advance to the stepladder finals as top seed. Shayna finished second with 3424, also winning four matches.

Singles gold medalist, Daphne Tan clinched third and final stepladder spot with 3418 from five wins. New Hui Fen completed Singapore's domination after taking up fifth position with 3391.

Tannya Roumimper of Indonesia, who was third overnight, ended up in sixth position with 3379 but will be awarded the bronze medal due to the SEA Games rule in which all three players from one NOC can advance to the stepladder finals but only two are allowed to win medals.

Liza Del Rosario of Philippines ironically and tehnically missed out the bronze medal after she finished seventh, just one pin from the Indonesian. First block second place finisher, Krizziah Tabora dropped to eighth.

Shayna and Daphne will square off in the Women's first stepladder match over one game. The winner will advance to face top seed, Jazreel while the loser will not be entitled to a medal.

The men will take to the lanes for their second block over the long oil pattern immediately after lane dressing and again the top three will qualify for the stepladder finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Singapore.

13th June, Singapore: After winning three silver medals, Singapore national kegler, Jazreel Tan set herself on course to win her first gold medal at the 28th SEA Games Bowling Championship after comfortably topping the Women's Masters first block finals.

New Hui Fen took an early lead winning her opening match with 254 to lead compatriot, Bernice Lim in second, who also won her first match with 248. Hui Fen remained in the lead after the second despite losing with a 180 game as a third Singaporean, Cherie Tan moved up to second.

Jazreel started off poorly but recovered by winning all her remaining seven matches with lines of 235, 245, 259, 225, 258, 197 and 227 to top the first block with 1896. The four-time Collegiate Bowler of the Year finished 152 pins ahead of Filipina Krizziah Tabora, who totaled 1744 from five wins.

Indonesia's Tannya Roumimper, who was second before the final and eighth match, slipped down to third with 1740, just 4 pins adrift the Filipina after winning five out of the eight matches contested.

Early leader, Hui Fen finished a creditable fourth with 1706, only 34 pins from the Indonesian. Shayna Ng stormed home to end in the top five with 1703, also with five wins while Singles gold medalist, Daphne Tan took sixth position with 1671.

The best Malaysian was Syaidatul Afifah and second Indonesian, Alisha Nabila tied sixth position with Daphne. Natasha Roslan and Esther Cheah completed the top ten with 1654 and 1624 respectively.

The remaining Singaporeans in the finals, Bernice Lim and Cherie Tan managed 14th and 15th positions in the first block with just two wins each. The women will resume with their second block of eighth games tomorrow morning.

The top 3 women at the end of the second block will advance to the stepladder finals with the first match between second and third seeds over one match. The winner will square off with the top seed over a two-games total pinfalls for the gold.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Singapore.

13th June, Singapore: Triple gold medalist, Muhd Rafiq Ismail of Malaysia remained the firm favourite to win the Men's Masters title of the 28th SEA Games Bowling Championship after putting up a commanding display in the first block.

Malaysian games veteran, Alex Liew got off to a cracking start winning his opening match with 279 to lead compatriot, Timmy Tan, who also won his first match with 253 as Indonesia's Adhiguna Widiantoro was third.

Liew struggled in the second match which saw a second Indonesian, Billy Muhd Islam and Thailand's Yannaphon Larpapharat trading the lead for the next two matches. Liew recovered to regain the lead at the halfway mark with Muhd Rafiq closing in onto the leaders.

Muhd Rafiq won his fifth match with 225 before scorching the lanes with a stunning 279 in the sixth match to take over the running and building up a lead of 92 pins ahead of Ahmad Muaz.

The Malaysian left-hander cruised to a commanding lead of 128 pins with two more wins for a total of 1956 from six wins. Ahmad finished second with 1828 from seven wins while Yannaphon took third spot with 1791 from just five wins.

Billy slipped down to fourth with 1789 after losing both his last two matches. Host nation's hope of another medal in the men's masters were all but lost with Keith Saw and Javier Tan ending up in 14th and 16th positions.

All Events winner, Ryan Lalisang also failed to get into his usual strides ending the first block in 15th position. The men will resume with the second block in the afternoon while the women will contest their first block after lane maintenance.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Singapore.

12th June, Singapore: Malaysia repeated their feats in the 1999 and 2005 games by sweeping the Men's and Women's 5-player Team gold medals of the 28th SEA Games Bowling Championship at Orchid Bowl @ Ochird Country Club.

Muhd Rafiq Ismail, Adrian Ang, Alex Liew, Timmy Tan and Ahmad Muaz, who had a commanding lead of 207 pins after the first block bowled earlier, continued to maintain a healthy margin of 209 as they resumed their second block with 1027 in the fourth game.

Malaysia kept a good distant from their nearest rival with another superb 1032 after the fifth game and eventually cruised to a comfortable victory with 6238 to win the gold medal.

Ryan Lalisang, Diwan Rezaldy, Adhiguna Widiantoro, Billy Muhammad Islam and Hardy Rachmadian of Indonesia were unable to mount any treat to the leader and had to settle for the silver medal with 6066.

Thailand's Annop Arromsaranon, Atchariya Cheng, Phumin Klanbida, Surasak Manuwong and Yannaphon Larpapharat earned the bronze medal with 5852, 214 pins adrift Indonesia while Singapore missed the podium to finish fourth with 5713, 139 pins further away.

Lalisang topped the All Events standings with 5110 from 24 games contested over four events. Doubles gold medalist, Keith Saw of Singapore finished second with 5098 and Muhd Rafiq Ismail third with 5082.

The cut at 16th position for the Masters finals went to Alex Liew of Malaysia with 4763 while Joel Tan of Singapore missed the cut by four pins in 17th position with 4759. Five Malaysians, five Thais, four Indonesians and two Singaporeans qualified for the Masters finals.

Meanwhile, the gold medal for the Women's 5-player Team event was a much tighter affair. Singapore's Cherie Tan, Daphne Tan, Shayna Ng, New Hui Fen and Jazreel Tan, who led after the first block by seven pins, lost the lead at the start of the second block to their arch-rival, Malaysia.

Shalin Zulkifli, Natasha Roslan, Syaidatul Afifah, Esther Cheah and Sin Li Jane of Malaysia, blazed the lanes with a stunning 1110 in the fourth game to lead Singapore by 71 pins. Malaysia stretched their lead to 90 pins after the fifth game as Singapore stumbled to 908.

Singapore looked like they could overhaul the leader after ending with a strong 1018 in the sixth and final game, but Malaysia prevailed to end with 983 and sealed victory with 6067.

Singapore settled for the silver medal with 6012, 55 pins adrift. Philippines' Liza Del Rosario, Alexis Sy, Maria Arles (replacing Krizziah Tabora from the first block), Lara Posadas and Liza Clutario hung on to third with 5776 to take home the bronze medal.

Thailand mounted a late challenge in their final game but felled short by just 23 pins to miss the podium in fourth position with 5744.

Shayna Ng and Jazreel Tan finished one-two in the Women's All Events standings with 5138 and 5039 respectively. Esther Cheah of Malaysia and Daphne Tan tied third spot with 5004.

The cut at 16th position for the Masters finals went to Alexis Sy of Philippines with 4730 while Novie Phang of Indonesia missed the cut by one pin in 17th position with 4729.Six Singaporeans, five Malaysians, three Filipinas and two Indonesians qualified for the Masters.

The last time Malaysia won both the Men's and Women's Team event was in the 2005 Manila Games and the 1999 Brunei Games. The top 16 men and top 16 women will contest two blocks of 8 games Masters finals over two days.

The top 3 men and top 3 women finishers at the end of the second block will advance to the stepladder finals for the last two gold medals of the championship.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Singapore.

12th June, Singapore: The first block of the 5-player Team event at the 28th SEA Games Bowling Championship turned out to be a keen battle between arch-rivals, Malaysia and Singapore with Malaysian men and Singaporean women in the lead.

The Malaysian men team bowled consistently with 1098, 1027 and 1102 to take a commanding lead at the end of the three-games first block with 3227 leading from start to finish.

Muhd Rifiq Ismail returned the highest three-games series of 673, Adrian Ang 618, Alex Liew 665, Timmy Tan 628 and anchorman, Ahmaz Muaz 643 to give the Malaysians a hefty 207 pins cushion.

Billy Muhd Islam, Diwan Rezaldy, Adhiguna Widiantoro, Ryan Lalisang and Hardy Rachmadian of Indonesia, downed 1041, 990 and 989 to claim second spot with 3020.

But close on their heels are Thailand's Phumin Klanbida, Annop Arromsaranon, Surasak Manuwong, Atchariya Cheng and 2014 Incheon Asian Games singles gold medalist, Yannaphon Larpapharat, who knocked down 935, 1057 and 995 to take up third spot with 2987.

Philippines, who was for two games, slipped down to fourth position with 2880, 107 pins off Thailand. Host nation, Singapore struggled to make headway ending in fifth position with 2759.

Whilst Malaysian men look sure to win the gold in the Team event, the tussle for the gold in the Women's division are not quite set. Malaysia's Shalin Zulkifli, Natasha Roslan, Syaidatul Afifah, Esther Cheah and Sin Li Jane took the early lead with a superb 1039 in the opening game.

They kept a good pace with 972 and ended the first block with another splendid 1036 for a total of 3047. But host nation, Singapore had other ideas.

Cherie Tan, Daphne Tan, Jazreel Tan, New Hui Fen and Shayna Ng had an awful start with 937 to lie in fifth position. But they showed great fighting spirit to crawl their way up with 1022 in the second game.

A stunning 1095 in their third game saw Singapore leapfrog their arch-rival, Malaysia to top spot with 3054, just seven pins ahead. Malaysia settled for second while Philippines claimed third spot with 2999.

Thailand finished fourth with 2838, 161 pins off Philippines. Indonesia finished in a disappointing fifth out of five teams with 2817. The players will resume with their second block of three games over the medium oil pattern.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Singapore.

11th June, Singapore: First block leaders, Malaysia and Singapore remained unchallenged in the second block to win their third gold medals of the Men's and Women's Trios event at the 28th SEA Games Bowling Championship on Thursday.

Singles gold medalist, Muhd Rafiq led his team-mates, Ahmad Muaz and Timmy Tan to another good start with 608 in the fourth game as their compatriots and second Malaysian trio of Adrian Ang, Alex Liew and Johnathan Chan regained second spot from Indonesia.

Despite an averaged 585 in the fifth game, the leader kept their lead and extended their margin to 30 pins while Singapore's second trio of Javier Tan, Howard Saw and Keith Saw closed in onto the leader to take up second.

The Malaysian kept their composure to end the block with a splendid 613 to seal the gold medal with 3701. Singapore was unable to mount any challenge and settled for the silver medal with 3656.

Indonesia's first trio of Ryan Lalisang, Billy Muhdammad Islam and Hardy Rachmadian stormed home with a sizzling 647 to snatch the bronze medal with 3653 while the second Malaysian trio slipped down to fourth and missing the podium by 46 pins with a total of 3607.

The first Singapore trio of Muhd Jaris Goh, Justin Lim and Joel Tan completed the top five with 3602 while Thailand, who were second in the earlier stage finished sixth.

Ryan Lalisang continued to lead the Men's All Events standings with 3914 after 18 games bowled from three events. Doubles gold medalist, Keith Saw and Muhd Rafiq Ismail also remained in second and third with 3852 and 3845 respectively.

Meanwhile, there was no contest for the gold in the Women's division with first block leader of Cherie Tan, Bernice Lim and Shayna Ng cruising to a commanding victory with 3963, 256 pins ahead of their nearest rival.

The first Singapore trio registered 672, 657 and 615 in the second block for a record-breaking 1944 three-games series. Their compatriot and second trio of Daphne Tan, New Hui Fen and Jazreel Tan gave Singapore a one-two finish to take the silver medal with 3707.

Alexis Sy, Maria Arles and Lara Posadas of Philippines, who was second in the first block, hung on for the bronze medal with 3608, just 23 pins ahead of the second Malaysian trio of Natasha Roslan, Siti Safiyah Amirah and Syaidatul Afifah with 3585.

The first Philippines trio of Liza Del Rosario, Krizziah Tabora and Liza Clutario rounded out the top five with 3579 while Doubles gold medalist of Sin Li Jane, Esther Cheah and Shalin Zulkifli ended in a disappointing ninth.

Singapore women also occupied the top two spots in the All Events standings after 18 games. Shayna Ng topped the table with 3887 followed by Jazreel Tan in second with 3838. Esther Cheah slipped down to third with 3813.

Competition will shift to the 5-player Team event, again to be contested over two blocks of three games on the long and medium oil patterns.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Singapore.

10th June, Singapore: Malaysia and Singapore are eyeing their third gold after the first Malaysian Men trio and the first Singaporean Women trio topped the Trios first block of the 28th SEA Games Bowling Championship.

Singles gold medalist, Muhd Rafiq Ismail led his Malaysian team-mates, Ahmad Muaz and Timmy Tan off to a cracking start with a stunning 701 in their opening game to lead their compatriots and the second Malaysian tio of Adrian Ang, Alex Liew and Johnathan Chan in second.

The second Malaysian trio took over the running after the second game when Muhd Rafiq, Ahmad and Tan stumbled to a poor 530. Thailand's first trio of Surasak Manuwong, Annop Arromsaranon and Yannaphon Larpapharat moved up to second, seven pins adrift in second.

But Muhd Rafiq, Ahmad and Tan bounced back with 664 in their third game to top the first block with 1895. Doubles silver medalist, Ryan Lalisang, Billy Muhd Islam and Hardy Rachmadian of Indonesia snatched second spot with 1867, 28 pins behind the leader.

Doubles gold medalist of Howard Saw and Keith Saw with Singles bronze medalist, Javier Tan of Singapore stormed home to finish third with 1866, just one pin off the Indonesian trio.

The second Malaysian trio slipped down to fourth with 1863, albeit only three pins off third-placed Malaysia. The first Singapore trio of Muhd Jaris Goh, Justin Lim and Joel Tan rounded out the top five with 1817.

Meanwhile, Singapore's first trio of Cherie Tan, Bernice Lim and anchored by Shayna Ng took top spot with 2019 after leading from start to finish in the first block. Philippines' Alexis Sy, Maria Arles and Lara Posadas surprised the field after snatching second spot with 1931, but 88 pins behind the leader.

Malaysia's second trio of Natasha Roslan, Siti Safiyah Amirah and Syaidatul Afifah ended the first block strongly to take third position with 1918, just 13 pins off the Filipinas.

The second Singapore trio of Daphne Tan, New Hui Fen and Jazreel Tan finished the block in fourth position with 1873 while the second Indonesia trio of Novie Phang, Cheya Chantika and Nadia Pramanik completed the top five with 1831.

Jazreel took over the lead of the Women's All Events standings with 3239 after 15 games contested. Overnight leader, Esther Cheah of Malaysia slipped down to second with 3227 and Daphne Tan of Singapore third with 3202.

Ryan Lalisang continued to lead the Men's division with 3279 followed by Keith Saw remaining in second with 3263 and Muhd Rafiq third with 3246.

The women and men will resume with their second block of three games over the long oil pattern and the top three finishing trios will be awarded the medals with the ceremonies taking place immediately after the completion of the second block.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Singapore.

10th June, Singapore: Saw siblings, Howard and Keith of Singapore conquered the lanes at Orchid Bowl @ Orchid Country Club with the men's first gold medal in the Doubles event of the 28th SEA Games Bowling Championship on Wednesday.

Howard and Keith got off the block with a cracking 456 to lead the first Malaysian pair of Singles gold medalist, Muhd Rafiq Ismail and Ahmad Muaz by just a single pin and the third Malaysian pair of Johnathan Chan and Timmy Tan a further 20 pins away in third.

The Saw siblings quickened their pace with another stunning 504 to pull away from Chan and Tan to a 65 pins lead as the third Indonesian pair of Ryan Lalisang and Billy Muhammad Islam moving up to third.

Singapore stumbled to a lowly 382 in the third game allowing Indonesia to take over the running, albeit only three pins adrift while the third Malaysian pair slipped to third.

Howard and Keith recovered with 427 in the forth game to regain the lead and nine pins ahead of Malaysia and Indonesia dropping down to third. Indonesia bounced back in the fifth game to share the lead with Singapore while Malaysia maintaining third spot.

With the sixth and final game to decide the outcome, it was indeed a tense period. With the home crowd cheering Singapore, Howard and Keith prevailed to end with a strong 434 to seal the gold medal with 2653.

Indonesia was unable to mount any threat coming home with 405 to settle for the silver medal with 2628. Malaysia hung on to third for the bronze medal with 2574.

Thailand's Phumin Klanbida and Atchariya Cheng, who was just eight pins behind Malaysia, managed 428 to miss the podium by nine pins in fourth position.

Singapore heads the bowling medal tally with 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze followed by Malaysia with 2 gold and 3 bronze medals. Indonesia moved ahead of Thailand with 2 silver medals.

Competition will shift to the 3-players Trios event tomorrow morning with the first block of three games and the second block of three games in the afternoon.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Singapore.

10th June, Singapore: The pairing of Sin Li Jane and Esther Cheah delivered Malaysia's first gold medal at the 28th SEA Games Bowling Championship winning the Women's Doubles while Syaidatul Afifah and Shalin Zulkifli added a bronze.

The second Malaysian pair of Syaidatul and Shalin set the opening pace with 468 to lead the first pair of Li Jane and Cheah by 7 pins followed by the third Indonesian pair of Sharon Limansantoso and Tannya Roumimper in third.

A stronger second game from Li Jane and Cheah saw the first Malaysian pair taking over the lead with a 37 pins margin while their team-mates slipped behind to third with Indonesia moving up to second.

The first pair led for another game before handling the lead back to Syaidatul and Shalin as Bernice Lim and Singles silver medalist, Jazreel Tan of Singapore moved up into third spot.

But Li Jane and Cheah bounced back brilliantly to regain the lead after the fifth game and went on to cruise to a comfortable victory with 2651 and sealing the gold medal. Li Jane posted 1316 while Cheah contributed 1335.

There was a keen tussle for the silver amongst the second Malaysian pair, the Indonesia and Singapore which saw Sharon and Tannya scoring 433 in their final game to clinch the silver medal with 2545.

Syaidatul and Shalin hung on to earn the bronze medal with 2524 while Singapore missed the podium after a poor 351 in their last game to finish fourth with 2473. Indonesia's first pair of Novie Phang and Alisha Nabila rounded out the top 5 with 2438.

Singles gold medalist, Daphne Tan and New Hui Fen of Singapore only managed to take up seventh position with 2410, 110 pins off third-placed Malaysia.

The Men will take to the lanes for their Doubles event later today followed by the medal ceremonies. Competition will shift to the 3-player Trios event on Thursday.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Singapore.

9th June, Singapore: Daphne Tan, Jazreel Tan and Cherie Tan finished one-two-three in the Women's Singles event of the 28th SEA Games Bowling Championship to win the gold and silver but Cherie had to hand the bronze to fourth-placed Esther Cheah of Malaysia.

Daphne got off the block with a stunning 289 in her opening game to lead Jazreel by 30 pins with Esther Cheah in a close third. Daphne's lead was reduced to just four pins by Thailand's Natthida Sertluecha when she stumbled to a 198 in the second game.

The leader bounced back with 223 and the Thai slipped out of contention leaving Jazreel to reclaim second, 12 pins adrift and Cherie closing in onto the leading duo in third.

Jazreel moved ahead of Daphne after the fourth game with seven pins separating the duo and Cherie still maintaining third and the Malaysian in fourth.

Both Jazreel and Daphne shot identical 235 in the fifth allowing Jazreel to remain in the lead and maintaining her seven pin lead as Cheah moved ahead of Cherie by one single pin.

But Daphne ended strongest amongst the quartet with 247 to snatch the gold medal with 1368 and setting a new games record erasing the 1358 set by Cecilia Yap in 2005. Jazreel had two opened frames but struck twice to end with 185 to secure the silver medal with 1313.

Cherie finished third with 1294 but had to hand the bronze medal to Cheah, who finished fourth with 1291. According to the rules of the games, no single country can win all three medals.

Shayna Ng and New Hui Fen also ended strongly to take fifth and sixth positions with 1288 and 1278 while Bernice Lim gave a good account for herself finishing in the top 10 with 1245.

Competition will resume with the Women's Doubles in the morning followed by the Men's Doubles in the afternoon. Victory ceremonies for the Doubles will be held in the evening.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Singapore.

9th June, Singapore: Multiple Asian Youth gold medalist, Muhammad Rafiq Ismail clinched the first gold medal of the 28th SEA Games Bowling Championship with victory in the Men's Singles event at Orchid Bowl @ Orchid Country Club.

Muhd Rafiq's team-mate Adrian Ang had a sizzling start with 268 in hi sopening game to lead Singapore's challenger, Keith Saw by 20 pins as Muhd Rafiq was third a further two pins adrift.

After another good game in the second, Muhd Rafiq took over the running while Ang suffered a 180 to drop out of contention and Thailand's Annop Arromsaranon moved into second spot with 239 following his moderate 204 in his first game.

The Malaysian left-hander added two additional strong games of 235 and 225 to stretch his lead to 59 before stumbling to a 192 allowing a second Singaporean, Javier Tan to move up into second, just 20 pins apart.

Annop was third a further 19 pins from Tan and 2015 Asian Championships Masters gold medalist, Ryan Lalisang slipped down to third after taking second briefly after the fourth game.

Muhd Rafiq had look in danger of losing his lead and the gold meal when he missed two single-pin spares but fortunately, he struck twice to recover and went on to clinch the gold with 1308.

The Thai could have snatch the gold had he doubled up in his final frame but was content with the silver medal, just three pins adrift. Tan hung on for Singapore's first medal with the bronze.

Lalisang shot 214 in his last game was still fell short by 12 pins to miss the podium with 1272. Early pace-setter, Ang felled to seventh while Keith Saw managed ninth position.

Thirty-four women will take to the lanes for their Singles event later today. The medal ceremonies will take place thereafter.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Singapore.

7th June, Singapore: Seven countries from the South East Asian region are all set to do battle when the 28th SEA Games Bowling Championship gets underway on Tuesday at Orchid Bowl @ Ochid Country Club.

Team officials from Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and host nation, Singapore met at the managers' meeting held at the Orchid Country Club confirming their players for the games to run from June 9 to 14.

Six nations sent their full men team except Vietnam with only five men while five nations sent their full women team with the exception of Vietnam with only four women. A total of 41 men and 34 women players will take to the lanes later today for their first day of official practice.

The second day of practice will be held tomorrow. Dr Danny Santos, technical delegate welcomed the team officials before kicking off the meeting covering all aspects of the games.

Mr Doug Dukes from Kegel Company Inc. is the technical official responsible for lane maintenance. He also briefed the official present regarding the long and medium oil patterns which will be used for the championship.

Thereafter, Mr Kyohei Akagi, Honorary Life President of WTBA and a member of the Jury of Appeal, assisted Dr Santos in the lane draw. Ms Suwalai Satrulee, Vice President of ABF and secretary general of Thai Tenpin Bowling Association and ex-international Ms Grace Young are the other two members of the Jury of Appeal appointed.

The players will compete in the Singles, Doubles, Trios, 5-player Team and Masters finals. The nations will battle for medals in five events. No medals will be awarded for the All Events although the top 16 men and top 16 women based on their standings will advance to the Masters finals.

A country cannot win all three medals and the fourth-placed player in the Singles and fourth-place pair Doubles will inherit the bronze.

However, the top 3 men and top 3 women in the Masters finals can advance to the stepladder finals but the third-placed finisher will not be awarded the bronze. The fourth-placed finisher will earn the bronze instead. Competition will commence with the Singles on June 9 culminating with the stepladder finals of the Masters on June 14.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Singapore.