8th November, Yancheng: Singles silver medallist and first perfect gamer, Ernest Kwok of Hong Kong 1 partnered last year's Singles and All Events gold medallist, Jimmy Cheung to lead the Men's Doubles Squad A at the 31st Asian Intercity Bowling Championships.

Chinese Taichung's Chen Chang-Yen and Chen Shin-An got off the block with a superb 491 to lead Kwok and Chueng by 45 pins with Wuhan's first pair of Xie Chengjie and Chen Jiaqing and New Territories pair following closely in third and fourth.

Wuhan 1 took over the running after a splendid 467 in their second game as Chinese Taichung slipped behind Hong Kong 1. But Wuhan's lead was quickly handed over to Hong Kong 1 when they managed to knock down only 347 in the third game.

Kwok and Chueng extended their lead from 26 pins to 114 pins after the Hong Kong duo added a stunning 481 in the fourth game. Singles gold medallist, Yang Wei and Wang Zhiyong, who had a poor start, gradually hauled themself up to second after a sizzling 512 in the third.

Wuhan 1 claimed third spot with 2379 while New Territories and Shanghai 1 completing the top five with 2359 and 2346 respectively.

In the Women's Senior division, Singles gold and bronze medallists, Li Guanghui and Jia Wenxia of Yancheng led from start to finish to win the squad with 2070. Paranaque's Angela Lao and Tess Agu took up second spot with 2052, just 18 pins away.

Suzhou first pair of Cai Aiping and Zhang Junying finished in a distant third with 1982 followed by Yangzhou 1 and Kuala Lumpur 1 in fourth and fifth positions rexpectively. The second squad will contest their Doubles later today, ending the second day of competition.

The Women division and the Men's Senior division Doubles will be staged on November 9 and the Team of 4 event will be held over two days on November 10 and 11.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Yancheng, China.