18th April, Bangkok: The Men's and Ladies' Open Masters crowns went to Andrew Frawley of Australia and Tannya Roumimper of Indonesia at the conclusion of the 36th MWA Thailand International Open at S.F. Strike Bowl on Sunday.

Both the champions were stretched into the third and deciding game of the best-of-3 title matches to clinch their titles. No. 4 seed Andrew Frawley took the first game convincingly against challenger and No. 2 seed, Kritchawat Jampahkao of Thailand, 236-195.

Frawley had to take the back seat when he lost the second game, 173-199 to the Thai after two small mistakes but the Aussie bounced back brilliantly with another convincing victory over Kritchawat, 212-178 in the deciding game to win the Men's Open Masters crown.

"I'm so delighted with myself for winning this title," confessed the 46-year-old Frawley, who is the head coach of the Kuwait national team. "I'm fortunate to be given opportunities like this to compete in tournaments.

"Sometimes you have to compete in order to try out new bowling balls available. This helps me to understand how the balls react to various lane conditions and in turn helps my bowlers. I think I won the same title in 2002 and that's a long time ago," added Frawley, whose last win was the ABF Tour Tournament of Champions in Jakarta in 2009.

Frawley eliminated top seed, Tim Mack of USA 2-0 in the semi-finals while Kritchawat took out Somjed Kusonpithak 2-1 in the all-Thai semi-final. The champion won 300,000 baht (approx. US$9,800) and Kritchawat pocketed 150,000 baht. Tim Mack finished third as a result of being the No. 1 seed.

Meanwhile, newly-crownd Youth Open Masters champion, Tannya Roumimper denied Tang Joh Six of Malaysia her second consecutive Ladies' title after she defeated the defending champion and top seed, 2-1 in the finals.

The Malaysian looked set to retain the crown after winning the first game, 223-181 but opened three frames to hand the Indonesian youngster the second game, 168-179. The Indonesian clinched a deserving victory and the title, 211-188 in the decider.

"I've lost to Joh Six twice when I met her in previous stepladder finals and that was because I made many mistakes," said the 19-year-old Tannya from Bandung. "I kept saying to myself that if I don't make any mistakes, I could beat her.

"I'm gald to win here especially after finishing in the podium so many times since winning the Indonesia Open last year. Tannya was richer by 110,000 baht (approx. US$3,000) while Joh Six settled for 55,000 baht.

The champion edged No. 2 seed, Angkana Netvriseth of Thailand, 2-0 in the semi-finals to earn a shot at the title while Joh Six ended all hopes for Thailand when she beat last year's ABF Tour Thailand leg champion and No. 4 seed, Benchawan Poungthong, 2-1 in the other semi.

Ms Vivien Lau, Honorary Life President of Asian Bowling Federation and Chairman of ABF Tour was on hand to present the prizes to the Ladies' Open winners. Dr Danny Santos, Vice President of ABF gave away the Men's Open prizes.

Bowlers from 11 countries competed in the Men's Open division and bowlers from 9 countries took part in the Ladies' Open division. The top 16 Asian men and top 16 Asian women also qualified for the third leg of this year's ABF Tour Thailand which will be held tomorrow at the same venue.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

17th April, Bangkok: Globe-trotting PBA pro Storm staff and 2009 Samho Korea Cup champion, Tim Mack showed a return to form as he topped the Men's Open Masters Round 2 and quarter-finals of the 36th MWA Thailand International Open on Saturday evening.

After a frustrating end to the first Asian stop at the recent Saudi Open in Riyadh where he was ousted in the third stage, Tim Mack showed an improved and spirited performance to end the Men's Open Round 2 8-game finals with 1754 in the lead.

Despite getting off the blocks with just 188 and 191 in his first two games, the 38-year-old fired lines of 210, 224, 237, 227, 246 and 231 to finish 41 pins ahead of his nearest rival.

In the subsequent and unsual 3-game quarter-finals for the top 8 finishers of the second round, Mack rolled only 546 for a grand total of 2300 to secure pole position for tomorrow's knockout semi-finals against Andrew Frawley of Australia, who finished fourth.

"It was no easy passage though especially against some of Thailand's top bowlers like Surasak and Somjed who have been bowling good all week and my fellow American, Sean Rash. I come here to win and I hope I can go away with a victory here."

Thailand's veteran, Kritchawat Jampakhao, who also finished second in the first round where Tim Mack took fifth spot, spinned his way into second spot in the quarter-finals with 2286 and he will face fellow-countrymen, Somjed Kusonpithak in the semi-finals.

Sithiphol Kunaksorn of Thailand missed the top 4 cut in fourth by 22 pins from Frawley with 2205 while Round 1 leader and Thai youngster, Dechochai Tinjiratip ended last behind Surasak Manuwong and UAE's Hussain Al-Suwaidi in sixth and seventh positions respectively.

In the Ladies' division, Tang Joh Six of Malaysia look set to retain the title she won last year after rolling 2164 total to overtake Round 2 leader, Angkana Netvriseth of Thailand and advance into the semi-finals as top seed.

Angkana settled for second spot with 2151 and will meet newly-crowned Youth Open champion, Tannya Roumimper of Indonesia in the semi. Tannya, who tied with 2009 ABF Tour Thailand leg champion, Benchawan Poungthong after the quarter-finals, earn third seed in a one-game rolloff to break the tie.

Tang will meet Benchawan in the other semi-final match which is scheduled 2.00pm on Sunday. ABF Tour TOC winner, Sharon

Limansantoso of Indonesia, who led Round 1 earlier failed to make the cut in sixth position behind Saowapha Kunaksorn of Thailand in fifth.

The semi-finals will be played on a best-of-3 match format and the winners will meet in the finals to determine this year's champion. The Senior and men's Graded B Masters finals will be contested first in the morning.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

17th April, Bangkok: India's Harsh V. Sarda celebrated his 55th birthday with a victory in the Men's Graded A Masters finals of the 36th MWA Thailand International Open while Malaysia's Fatin Hazwani bagged her second consecutive Ladies' Graded A Masters crown on Saturday morning.

Three-time Indian national champion, Harsh V. Sarda, who was third before the last two games, finished strongest in a field of 20 finalists to capture his first title outside of India. The 55-year-old spinner rolled a 12-game total of 2478 and was the only bowler to surpass the 200 average in extremely difficult lane conditions.

Sarda, who took up the sport back in 1989 using the hook style, switched to spinning in 1998 and has not regretted since. The Indian businessman from Dehli won the Indian national title in 1999, 2004 and 2009.

"I'm so thrilled to have won my first international title," expressed Sarda, who owns an manufacturing company in Dehli. "I turned to

spinning because in India, the lane conditions vary alot so you do not get ideal conditions for the hook ball style."

"The condition today is by no means easy but I'm glad I prevailed. I remembered that I had my first ball drilled for the spinning style back in 1999 after competing in the AMF World Cup in Las Vegas by Malaysian head coach, Holloway Cheah.

Two Thais, Wiwat Yuthanakornchai and Parsit Prangthong, who were battling for the lead in the early stages, settled for second and third with 2383 and 2356, more than 95 pins off the champion.

Meanwhile, 19-year-old student from Uni Razak in Penang, Fatin Hazwani of Malaysia captured her second consecutive Ladies' Graded crown with a total of 2128, 44 pins ahead of Thailand's Neeranuch Kulpan and Patteera Ocharoen in second and third with 2084 and 2074 respectively.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

16th April, Bangkok: Two-time Asian Ranked No. 1, Hussain Al-Suwaidi of UAE stormed into second spot in the overseas qualifying pool to earn a bye into Round 2 of the Men's Open Masters finals of the 36th MWA Thailand International Open.

Hussain Al-Suwaidi, who won the ABF Tour Kuwait leg early this month, had finished fourth in the table a day earlier with 1927. He made one attempt today to notch up an improved 678 to storm into second spot.

His three best 3-game series total of 2007 crucially earned him a bye into the Round 2 finals and 8 pins off leader, Paek Seung Joon of Korea, who has 2015 for top spot. Paek's compatriot, Kim Meen Woo slipped to third with 1975.

Thai national bowler, Somjed Kusonpithak also improved from ninth in the local pool to third with 1991 to join his fellow-countrymen, Surasak Manuwong and defending champion, Yannaphon Larpapharat in first and second.

American pros, Tim Mack and debutant, Sean Rash have made in roads after having secured their place in the finals. Mack finished ninth with 1866 while Rash managed eighth in the mixed pool.

The top 3 men in the local pool and top 3 men in the overseas pool will advance directly into Round 2 finals while the rest of the qualifiers will have to battle for the top 12 spots in the 8-game Round 1 finals tomorrow.

Meanwhile, several foreign women bowlers also made improvements to their previous scores. Defending champion, Tang Joh Six of Malaysia regained the lead with 1852 from overnight leader, Jung Myo Boub of Korea on 1812.

Newly-crowned Youth Open Masters champion, Tannya Roumimper of Indonesia took third spot with 1808 to join the duo skipping Round 1 finals and relegating ABF Tour TOC winner, Sharon Limansantoso of Indonesia into fourth spot.

Saowapha Kunaksorn will lead Thailand's challenge for the women's title having taken pole position in the local pool with 1863 yesterday. World Youth gold medalist, Angkana Netvriseth finished second and will also earn the bye.

Qualifying will end late this evening and a desperado squad will be staged to allow the top 4 to join the finals in Round 1. 36 Men's Open and 16 Womens's Open will contest the Round 1 finals at 1.00pm tomorrow.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

16th April, Bangkok: Indonesian youth, Tannya Roumimper from Bandung narrowly captured the Youth Open Masters title of the 36th MWA Thailand International Open from Thailand's Poomin Klanbida and Yanee Saebae on Friday morning.

After capturing the 2009 Indonesian Open ladies' crown, Tannya Roumimper ended a frustrating year thereafrer when she finished second in the Macau Open and missed several three podiums in her subsequent tournaments.

The 19-year-old failed to make an impression at the recent ABF Tour Tournament of Champions and the Kuwait International Open in March. But Tannya bounced back with her first victory of the year by capturing the Youth Open Masters crown this morning.

Tannya got off the block moderately but two superb games shot her into the lead and by a comfortable margin of 103 pins. She was crusing in her next four games and eased off in her eighth and last game to end with 1588, just 13 pins ahead of her nearest opponent.

Thailand's Poomin Klanbida, who trailed the Indonesian all the way, settled for second with 1575 while national youth, Yanee Saebae took third spot with 1540. 2009 Singapore Sports Schools Under-18 champion, Dechochai Tinjiratip missed the podium in fourth.

In the Youth Graded division, Mohammad Afiq Waify from Penang, Malaysia came home a comfortable winner with 1523, 95 pins ahead of Thailand's Waritthorn Thanakarn in second with 1428 and Atittarat Cheng third with 1425.

The 16-year-old Mohammad Afiq, a Form 4 student of SMK Poko Sena at Kepala Batas, Penang downed lines of 214, 170, 188, 218, 181, 195, 187 and 170 for a well-deserved victory. Mohammad also won the first leg of the Piala Remaja 2010 in Penang recently.

The Youth Under-15 title went to local youth, Sitthi Chattanaphan after the 13-year-old totaled 1136 in the 6-games finals. Penang's Nur Amirah Auni Bte Azman settled for second with 1118 while Oranut Kusomrosananan of Thailand took third spot with 1055.

Sitthi, who has been bowling for four years under coach, Boonsong, is a Primary 2 student from Udamsuksa School here in Bangkok. Another Malaysian, Eugene Oh Chern Yu and another Thai, Atchariya Cheng rounded up the top 5.

The Round 1 and 2 Men's and Ladies' Open Masters finals will be held on Saturday morning and afternoon, April 17 while the Men's and Ladies' Graded Masters finals in the evening. The Men's and Ladies'

Graded Masters finals will take place on Sunday morning followed by the Stepladder finals in the afternoon for the Open division.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

15th April, Bangkok: Debutant, Paek Seung Joon of Korea regained pole position in the Men's Open Masters overseas pool of the 36th MWA Thailand International Open after an improved effort as Surasak Manuwong of Thailand shot the first 300 on Thursday.

With two more days left for qualifying and more overseas participants taking to the lanes, Paek Seung Joon took over the lead from compatriot, Kim Meen Woo to give Korea a one-two finish in the overseas pool.

Paek, who was trailing Kim in second before the 3.00pm squad, improved his third best 3-game series of 618 slightly to 632 to take over the lead with 2015. Kim settled for second with 1975 while 2008 ABF Tour TOC winner, Andrew Frawley impressed with a third place finish on 1933.

Surasak Manuwong of Thailand shot the tournament's first perfect game, his career 33rd, to stretch his lead in the local pool and the

overall standings with 2146. The Thai, who has been in the national team for four years has now quit the team due to his business committments.

He led defending champion, Yannaphon Larpapharat in second with 2029 as Storm Thailand's Annop Arromsaranon took third spot with 1958 after improving from 11th position earlier. ABF Tour Kuwait champion, Hussain Al-Suwaidi finished fourth with 1927.

American PBA pros, Tim Mack managed a 1854 to take up ninth in the overseas pool while his fellow countryman, Sean Rash, making his debut at the championship, struggled in his first three attempts managing only 6th in the reserves with 1713.

Sean Rash, who finished second in the 2009 Singapore Open is en-route to Tokyo for this year's Japan Cup after finishing in the top 16 in the PBA standings.

Meanwhile Saowapha Kunaksorn improved her third best 3-game series of 587 with another 599 for a total of 1860 to take over the lead in local and overall standings dislodging early leader, Angkana Netvriseth into second spot.

Tang Joh Six, who lost the lead in the overseas pool briefly to Korea's Jeong Myo Boub, regained it after chalking up 1846. Jeong's 1812 put her into second while 2009 Indonesia Open champion, Tannya Roumimper of Indonesia finished third with 1808.

Despite the pulling out of teams from Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore in the last minute due to the state of emergency declared by the Thai governent last week, there was still men from eight countries and women from six countries participating.

Qualifying will end Friday and the Masters finals will be staged over two days, April 17 and 18. The top 16 Asian men and top 16 Asian women will also qualify for the third leg of this year's ABF Tour on April 20.

Photos by Terence Yaw and Apichart Watanapongsakorn in Bangkok.

14th April, Bangkok: 2008 ABF Tour TOC champion, Tang Joh Six is poised to retained the Women's Open Masters title of 36th MWA Thailand International Open after topping the qualifying table at S.F. Strike Bowl on Tuesday.

With many foreign teams pulling out of the championship due to the state of emergency declared by the government of Thailand, it should be an easy taks for ex-national, Tang Joh Six to retain the women's crown she won last year.

The 29-year-old from Sabah, who now lives in Hong Kong, chalked up a 9-game aggregate total of 1769 from her three best 3-game series attempts of 602, 585 and 582 to take the lead in the overseas pool. Joh Six had a superb 2009 in which she also won the Hong Kong Open title in September.

Early leader, Sabeena Saleem settled for second with 1692 followed by compatriot, Nicole Campbell third with 1616.

World Youth Gold medalist, Angkana Netrviseth of Thailand continued to lead the local and overall standings with 1860 ahead of her team-mate, Saowapha Kunaksorn second with 1808. The top 2 from the local pool and top 3 from the overseas pool will advance automatically into Round 2 finals.

There were no changes in the men's division with Sarasak Manuwong, Yannaphon Larpapharat and Apiwich Watanaphongsakom in the top 3 local pool while Korea's Kim Meen Woo and India's Srinath Pobbathi and Dhruv Sarda took the top 3 overseas spots.

Dechochai Tinjiratip, who was third in the local pool with 1932, dropped to fourth but led the Youth Open division with 1869. The youngster also topped the youth table last year but failed to show up in the finals.

Tanaprang Sathean and Methasit Rungrotsuphon finished second and third in the youth open division with 1795 and 1785 respectively.

Qualifying continues through to April 16 and the finals will be held on April 17 and 18. The top 16 Asian men and top 16 Asian women will also qualify for the ABF Tour Thailand leg which will be held at the same centre on April 20.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

13th April, Bangkok: Yannaphon Larpaharat is aiming to retain the Men's Open Masters title of the 36th MWA Thailand International Open after securing a Round 2 finals spot with a second place finish in the qualifying table.

Yannaphon Larpapharat, who defeated two-time Asian Ranked No. 1 and newly-crowned ABF Tour Kuwait leg champion, Hussain Al-Suwaidi of UAE in the title match to clinch the Masters crown, will also be hoping to become the first Thai to successfully defend the title.

The 27-year-old national bowler rolled 690, 670 and 635 for a 9-game aggregate total of 1995 to finish a good second behind leader and compatriot, Surasak Manuwong on 2107 and earning a bye into Round 2 finals.

Youngster, Dechochai Tinjiratip did well to take up third spot with 1932 and an automatic entry into Round 2 finals. National bowler, Phoemphun Yakasem missed by 12 pins from third after finishing fourth with 1919.

Two Korean debutants, Kim Meen Woo and Paek Seung Joon dominated the overseas pool with a one-two finish with 1961 and 1886 respectively. India's Dhruv Sardia took up third spot with 1884.

World Youth Gold medalist, Angkana Netrviseth of Thailand stretched her earlier in the Ladies' Open local pool from 1833 to 1860 to remain atop the leaderboard. ABF Tour TOC finalist, Saowapha Kunaksorn took second spot with 1808.

India's Sabeena Saleem also improved her earlier 1557 scoreline to 1689 to reaffirm her top spot in the overseas pool ahead of compatriots, Nicole Campbell and Prathima Hedge in second and third with 1588 and 1554.

Despite the cancellations of their participation in the championship by some teams, bowlers from China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Kuwait and UAE will arrive this week for their qualifying rounds.

Qualifiers from 4 to 12 from local pool, 4 to 12 from overseas pool, top 13 from mixed pool, top 4 from desperado squad will join the defending champion in the Men's Round 1 8-game finals. The top 12 will join the top 3 qualifiers from local pool and top 3 qualifiers from overseas pool for Round 2 finals.

Qualifiers from 3 to 6 from local pool, 4 to 7 from overseas pool and top 7 from mixed pool will join the defending champion in the Ladies' Round 1 8-game finals. The top 7 will join the top 2 qualifiers from local pool and top 3 qualifiers from overseas pool for Round 2 finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

11th April, Bangkok: Thai national bowler, Surasak Manuwong is eying for his maiden international title leading the Men's Open Masters qualifying table of the 36th MWA Thailand International Open underway at S.F. Strike Bowl.

Without an international open title to his credit, Surasak Manuwong has always done well in his qualifying rounds but has yet to make his mark during the finals. The 32-year-old's near victory was in the 2009 Malaysian Open in which he finished second.

The Thai rolled a superb 738 in his fisr 3-game series then followed it up with 686 and 681 for a 9-game aggregate of 2107 to take the lead in the Men's Open Masters qualifying table. Defending champion, Yannaphon Larpapharat finish second with 1957.

Although as defending champion, Yannaphon is attempting to make the top 3 qualifiers in the local pool to earn bye in the first round finals and into the second round. Thai youngster, Dechochai Tinjiratip took third spot with 1930.

Debutant, Park Sang Pil topped the overseas pool with 1869 ahead of India's Srinath Pobbati, Dhruv Sarda and Dilbir Singh in second to fourth with 1862, 1844 and 1751. The top 4 from the overseas pool will advance into Round 2.

Meanwhile, World Youth Singles gold medalist, Angkana Netrviseth impressed with a total of 1833 to lead the Ladies' Open Masters table. Angkana downed series of 620, 607 and 606 to top the local pool.

Saowapha Kunaksorn and Nunmanut Chatchaisiri followed in second and third positions with 1808 and 1761 respectively. The only overseas lady was ABF Tour TOC finalist and last year's ABF Tour Thailand leg semi-finalist, Sabeena Saleem of India.

Sabeena rolled 534, 527 and 496 in her three attempts so far but will surely be able to improve on that to assure herself a spot in the finals when more overseas women commence their qualifying rounds.

The organisers of the immensely popular open championship will undoubtedly be disappointed by the cancellation of many foreign teams taking part in this year's championship. A similar incident last year also affected the response.

The state of emergency declared by the Thai government due to the demonstrations which is being centered around the parliament and quite a distance from Ngamwonggwan in Nonthaburi. But the championship will go on and hopefully, we can see more players arriving in the next few days.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.