7th June, Hong Kong: Topseeds, Bandar Al-Shafi of Qatar and Chien Hsiu-Len of Chinese Taipei cruised to a comfortable victory over their opponents to claim the Men's and Women's Open Masters titles of the 34th Hong Kong International Open at HK Bowling City.

In the title match between topseed, Bandar Al-Shafi and challenger, Chen Chun-Chieh of Chinese Taipei, it turned out to be a one-sided encounter as Bandar never gave his opponent the slightest of chance.

The Qatari opened accounts with a strikefest reeling in nine consecutives strikes and building as the Taiwanese could only come up with a total of three strikes in the entire game. Bandar defeated Chen, 279-194 to win his second title of the year.

Bandar, who won this year's H.H. Emir Cup in February, ended the second block Masters finals earlier today with a 16-game total of 3626. The topseed also led in the first block but was trailing another Taiwanese, Wang Tien-Fun before shooting a massive game of 278 in the final game to take pole.

Chen, who was seeded fourth, won the first match defeating UAE's Shaker Al-Hassan and three-time champion, Wu Siu Hong, 267-154-222 to advance to the nest match. Chen was equally impressive by ousting team-mate, Wang Tien-Fu and Korea's Lee Young Jun, 195-191-136 to earn a crack at the title.

But the champion was simply to good and had to settle for second. Wang dropped to third whilst Lee missed the podium to end in fourth. Bandar won the top prize of HKG35,000 (approx. US$4,500) with the first and second runnerup taking home HKG$15,000 and HKG$10,000 respectively.

Meanwhile, topseed, Chien Hsiu-Len of Chinese Taipei ended the superb run of current Asian Ranked No. 1, Chan Shuk Han of Hong Kong in the title match when she convincingly defeated Chan, 246-200 to win the Women's Open Masters crown.

The Taiwanese started off with a double strike and then brought home five strikes-in-a-row from frame 5 onwards to seal the victory over Chan as the latter just could not make any connecting strikes to mount her challenge.

Chien, who topped the first and second block finals with 3403, ended almost a year-long druaght after winning last year's Thailand Open title. Chien also took home HKG$18,000 for her effort.

Chan, who finished as fourth-seed, knocked out two Taiwanese, Liang Ya-Ping and Wang Yu-Ling, 237-164-184 in the women's first match. The Hong Kong national bowler also defeated second-seed, Zhang Yuhong of China and Malaysia's Tang Joh Six, 225-202-202 before going down to the champion.

Chan took home HKG$8,000 for finishing second while Zhang Yuhong, who ended up in third won HKG$5,000. The top 16 Asian men and top 16 Asian women qualified for the ABF Tour Hong Kong leg which will be held at the same centre commencing at 11.30am on Sunday.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

6th June, Hong Kong: Three-time winner, Wu Siu Hong of Hong Kong is poised to win the Men's Open Masters title for the fourth time as he finished second behind first block leader Bandar Al-Shafi of Qatar.

As the 36 Men's Open Masters finalists took to the lanes at HK Bowling City at Emax Hi-Tec Shopping Centre in Kowloon Bay, Qatar's Bandar Al-Shafi opened accounts with a superb 248 in the 8-game first block. But he soon lost the lead when Hong Kong's Joshua Chow surged to the front with 233 and 254 in his first two games.

The Qatari regained the lead with a sizzling 279 for a 716 series with Chinese Taipei's Chen Chun-Chien hot on his heels, just 4 pins adrift. An average of 205 in Bandar's fourth game saw the Taiwanese taking over the lead at the halfway mark when he shot 253.

Chen held the lead for the next two games with Bandar following closely. Hong Kong's Wu Siu Hong reeled 225, 247 and 232 in the next 3 games to draw close to Bandar, just 11 pins adrfit.

But a poor 191 from Wu and a stronger 226 in Bandar's final game saw the Qatari clinching the lead with a total of 1819. Wu settled for secons with 1773 while another Chinese Taipei's Wang Tien-Fu overcame his team-mate, Chen Chun-Chien for third spot with 1757.

Pace-setter, Chen Chun-Chien settled for fifth spot with 1750 with another Qatari, Saeed Al-Hajri rounding up the top 5 with 1704.

Meanwhile, the spinners totally dominated the Women's Open first block when they occupied the top seven positions. Last year's Thailand Open champion, Chein Hsiu-Len topped the pack with a superb 1762 after taking over the lead from game 4 onwards.

Current Asian Ranked No. 1, Chan Shuk Han did well to finish second with 1690. China's Zhang Yuhong took third spot with 1687 with Malaysia's ex-national, Tang Joh Six in fourth spot with 1653.

Singapore Open second runnerup, Wang Yu-Ling finished just 2 pins further away in fifth position on an 8-game total of 1651 followed by fellow compatriot, Liang Ya-Ping sixth with 1650 and Huang Chiung-Yao seventh with 1633.

The best non-spinner was Hong Kong's Cookie Lee knocking down 1616 for eighth position. Early leader, Pan Yu-Fen of Chinese Taipei and China's Liu Nian tied in tenth with 1615.

The Men's and Women's Open will resume with another 8 games in the second block which starts on Saturday, June 7. The top 6 men and women will advance to the stepladder finals to decide this year's champion.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

6th June, Hong Kong:Bowling for more than 20 years and only having minor successes in the lower grade, Tony Ngan Wai Hung finally nailed his first victory in the Men's Graded A Masters of the 34th Hong Kong International Open on Friday moring.

Tony Ngan, who is a Hong Kong police inspector, chalked up a grueling 14-game total of 2815 to win his first-ever international title. Ngan defeated China's Liu Yun Wei and Singapore's Jeremy Fng for a well deserved victory.

Liu posted 2775, 40 pins adrift the champion while Jeremy Fang, who set the early pace, fizzled off to claim third spot with a total of 2761. Fang's fellow compatriot and last year's chmpion, Andrew Lee settled for fourth position with 2748.

Simon Tao Man Hong, Ben Tam and Wu Kin Man finished fifth to seventh positions ahead of Sunny Man of Singapore in eighth while Chan Hei Wan and Samuel Lee rounded up the top 10.

Meanwhile, Shirley Chan Shui Lin of Hong Kong, also claimed her first-ever title since bowling competitively six years ago. Chan, who started bowling in 2002, posted a 12-game total of 2222 to claim the Women's Graded A crown.

Ruby Lai Sau Ching of Hong Kong took second spot with a total of 2186, just 36 pins off the champion with Ice Lee finishing a distant third with 2079. Christy Chan and Fong Oi Yee rounded up the top 5 with 2056 and 2079.

The Men's and Women's Open finalists will contest the first block of 8 games finals on Friday, June 6 afternoon and another 8 games on Saturday morning. The top 6 men and women finishers will advance to the steplader finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

5th June, Hong Kong: Double champion, Shaker Al-Hassan stormed into pole position of the Men's Open Masters leaderboard on final day of qualifying of the 34th Hong Kong International Open at HK Bowling City.

Shaker Al-Hassan, who is the current Asian Ranked No. 1 and double winner of this year's Saudi Open and ABF Tour Saudi leg chalked up an astonishing 1023 to top the Men's Open Masters qualifying table.

Shaker dislodged overnight leader and this year's H.H. Emir Cup champion, Bandar Al-Shafi of Qatar into second spot who posted 1008 two days ago. Fellow compatriot, Mubarak Al-Muraikhi dropped one rung to third with 1002.

Korea's Oh Young Ki of Ulsan, shot 988 and improved into fourth spot while this year's Thailand Open champion, Cheng Hsing-Chao completed the top 5 in fifth position with 979. Wu Siu Hong led four Hong Kong national seeded into the finals.

In the local front, newcomer Allen Lee shot 926 to surge pass compatriot, Leung Yuet Ming for the lead with 926 as Leung got pushed down to second on 923. Joshua Chow finished third with 902.

Last year's Chien Hsiu-Lan of Chinese Taipei, also took over the lead in the Women's Open Masters table with a sizzling 976, 69 pins ahead of overnight leader, Wu Suqin of China. Wu tied for second spot with team-mate, Zhang Dongdong on 907.

Ex-national Melody Yeung contined to top the local table with 894 followed by Miki Ng and Carmen Tang in second and third spots with 816 and 814 respectively. Thailand Open champion and current Asian Ranked No. 1, Chan Shuk Han led three other Hong Kong national seeded women into the finals.

Meanwhile, ex-national Chaing Kwok Fai won the Senior Masters title with an 8-game total of 1677. Edward Cheng finished second with 1668, just 9 pins adrift whilst Danny Fung settled for third spot with 1653.

The Men's and Women's Open finalists will contest the first block of 8 games finals on Friday, June 6 afternoon and another 8 games on Saturday morning. The top 6 men and women finishers will advance to the steplader finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

4th June, Hong Kong: Hong Kong bowlers are poised for the challenge in the Men's and Women's Open Masters finals of the 34th Hong Kong International Open as qualifying moves to its second last day at HK Bowling City.

Chan Shuk Han and Vanessa Fung will undoubtedly be the strongest Hong Kong contenders for the Women's crown. Winning the ABF Tour grand finals and the Thailand Open in April was by no means easy for Chan as she hopes to do well on home ground.

Sylvia Kong and Katherine Lau are the other two seeded Hong Kong national bowlers adding their challenge for the coveted title. Ex-national, Melody Yeung, Rebecca Chau and Frankchesca Li are the top 3 local women in the finals.

With the defending champion, Shalin Zulkifli not in Hong Kong to defend the title as she has turned professional to compete in the PWBA Tour, other overseas women contenders will sure give the local women strong competition.

China's Wu Suqin continued to head the overseas table with 907 ahead of Malaysia's ex-national, Tang Joh Six in second with 890. Singapore Open second runnerup, Wang Yu-Ling led Chinese Taipei charge with 881.

Meanwhile, leading the men's local pool is last year's perfect gamer, Leung Yuet Ming, who became the only Hong Kong bowler to hit pass the 900-mark with a superb 923. Ex-national, Eric Lau miss the mark by just 1 pin to record 899 and taking up second spot.

Wu Siu Hong will be hoping to successfully defend the men's title he won for the third time last year. Four Hong Kong seeded national bowlers, Cyrus Cheung, Rickle Kam, Eric Tseng and Michael Tsang will also be in the fray to give the overseas keglers a tough fight.

Qatar occupied the top 2 positions of the overseas pool with Bandar Al-Shafi and Mubarak Al-Muraikhi in first and second with 1008 and 1002 respectively. Qatar also has two other strong contenders, Mansour Al-Awami and Abdulla Al-Qattan in third and tenth positions.

Newly-crowned Singapore Open champion, Hussain Al-Suwaidi of UAE has yet to make his mark only occupying third in the mixed pool. The current cut-off is is 872 shared by Chinese Taipei's Teng Jui-Pu and Hong Kong's Chung Kwong Chuen.

The top 35 men plus defending champion and the top 28 women will contest the 8-games first block Masters finals on Friday, June 6 and will resume on Saturday, June 7 for the second block of 8 games. The top 6 from each division will advance to the stepladder finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

3rd June, Hong Kong: Qatar's Bandar Al-Shafi swapped lead with fellow compatriot, Mubarak Al-Muraikhi as he took pole in the Men's Open Masters qualifying table fo the 34th Hong Kong International Open on Tuesday.

he H.H. Emir Cup 2008 champion, Bandar Al-Shafi pipped overnight leader, Mubarak Al-Muraikhi by 6 pins with a sizzling 1008 to stake his claim for the men's title. Bandar, who made the stepladder finals of last week's Singapore Open, will be stepping up on his form for a good showing in the finals on Friday.

Mubarak settled for second with 1002 posted two days ago while China Wang Zhiyong finished a strong third with 976. Other Qatar bowlers also made good headway as Sinai Open first runnerup, Mansour Al-Awami and Abdulla Al-Qattan qualified in fourth and ninth in the overseas pool.

Defending champion, Wu Siu Hong will be looking to bag the Hong Kong Open title for the fourth time. He leads Hong Kong's charge with four

seeded Hong Kong national bowlers, Cyrus Cheung, Rickle Kam, Eric Tseng and Micahel Tsang.

China's Wu Suqin remained in pole position in the Women's Open Masters overseas pool with 907 ahead of ex-international, Tang Joh Six of Malaysia in second and Singapore Open second runnerup, Wang Yu-Ling of Chinese Taipei third with 890 and 881 respectively.

Current Asian Ranked No. 1, Chan Shuk Han will lead Vanessa Fung, Sylvia Kong and Katherine Lau, who are the four seeded Hong Kong national bowlers for the Masters finals.

Ex-national, Melody Yeung topped the local pool with 894 followed by Rebecca Chau in second on 804 and Frankchesca Li third with 800. Qualifying continues through to June 5 and the finals will be held on June 6 and 7.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

2nd June, Hong Kong: Qatar's Mubarak Al-Muraikhi shot into the lead of the Men's Open Masters qualifying table of the 34th Hong Kong International Open underway at the HK Bowling City at Kowloon Bay.

2007 H.H. Emir Cup and Bahrain Open champion surpassed the 1,000-mark with a scintilatin 1002 to move to the front of both the overseas pool and overall standings. Mubarak, who reached the quarter-finals of this year's World Ranking Masters in Jakarta but failed to make the semi, will be hoping to win his first 2008 title.

Following the Qatari in second was China's Wang Zhiyong, who shot 976 while Singapore Open perfect gamer, Mansour Al-Awami finished third with 931. Sithipol Kunaksorn of Thailand was the only other men to have shot past the 900-mark with 917 to take up fourth spot.

Defending champion, Wu Siu Hong will be looking to bag the Hong Kong Open title for the fourth time. He leads Hong Kong's charge with four

seeded Hong Kong national bowlers, Cyrus Cheung, Rickle Kam, Eric Tseng and Micahel Tsang.

Ex-national, Eric Lau topped the local pool with 899 followed by Lam Sun Tang and Ken Lin Ka Yat with just 1 pin separating the duo with 896 and 895. Eddie Lui and Rocky Hui rounded up the top 5 with 891 and 888.

Meanwhile, China's Wu Suqin was the only women to surpass the 900-mark after the Chinese spinner shot 907 to lead the Women's Open Masters overseas pool. Malaysia's ex-national, Tang Joh Six tied with another Chinese, Cheng Lihua in second with 868.

ABF Tour Grand Slam champion and Thailand Open champion, Chan Shuk Han seeded top of the Hong Kong national bowlers, will lead the local charge for glory in the Masters finals. Vanessa Fung, Sylvia Kong and Katherine Lau joined Chan as the four seeded women.

Ex-national, Melody Yeung topped the local pool with 894 ahead of Frankchesi Li in second with 794. Sarah Cheng, Rebecca Chau and Carmen Tang all tied in third with 792.

Women's defending champion, Shalin Zulkifli will not be defending her title as she has turned professional and is now competing in the PWBA Tour in the United States. Qualifying continues through to June 5 and the finals will be held on June 6 and 7.

The top 16 Asian men and top 16 Asian women finishers in the two-day finals will also make the cut for the ABF Tour Hong Kong leg staged at the same venue on June 8.

Photos courtesy of HK Tenpin Bowling Congress.

28th May, Hong Kong: A fund raising campaign will be held during the opening ceremony of the 34th Hong Kong International Open at HK Bowling City for the Sichuan earthquake victims.

This year's 34th running of the immensely popular Hong Kong International Open which will kick off at the new HK Bowling City at Kowloon Bay from May 29 to June 7 with the opening ceremony to be held on Friday May 30.

Dr Tong Yun Kai, Vice President of Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong will officiate the opening ceremony. And to show sympathy, concern and support to the Sichuan earthquake victims, the Organizing Committee will hold the fund raising exercise during the Challenge Cup Invitational Championship.

Each participant will contribute a minimum of HK$150 as donation towards the good cause. A Charity Trophy will be awarded to the team

with the highest total. All donations collected will be handed over to the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong - Sichuan Earthquake Relief Fund.

The 34th Hong Kong International Open is one of this year's ABF Tour stop in which the top 16 Asian men and top 16 Asian women from the Open Masters event will qualify for the Hong Kong leg. The tour will be held on June 8 at the same venue, HK Bowling City. The semi-finals and finals and will delayed broadcast by Now-TV-Now Sports Station.

Hong Kong's top male bowler, Wu Siu Hong is the Men's defending champion and will be the top title contender this year. Challenges will come from double Saudi Open and ABF Tour Saudi leg champion, Shaker Al-Hassan of UAE.

H.H. Emir Cup champion, Bandar Al-Shafi and Doha Asian Games Doubles silver medalists, Saeed Al-Hajri and Abdulla Al-Qattan will also be vying for glory in Hong Kong. Last year's Saudi leg champion, Hussain Al-Suwaidi is the other UAE competitor who will feature well too.

ABF Tour Grand Slam champion and this year's Thailand Open champion, Chan Shuk-Han will lead Hong Kong's charge for the women's crown. Challengers will also be coming from the strong contigent of Chinese Taipei women.

Participants together with the Hong Kong national team will take the opportunity to get acquainted with the lanes at HK Bowling City where this year's 20th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championship will be held from July 2 to 12.

Photos courtesy of HK Tenpin Bowling Congress.