18th September, Hong Kong: Malaysian women turned in another dominating performance to finish 1-2-3 as fourth-seed, Shalin Zulkifli captured her fourth Hong Kong Open Women's title and Hussain Al-Suwaidi of UAE denied Malaysia a double with victory in the Men's division.

Seeded fourth after the Stage 2 finals earlier, Shalin Zulkifli edged fifth-seed and team-mate, Sharon Koh and sixth-seed, Tsai Hsin Yi of Chinese Taipei, 227-224-222 in a thirlling women's first stepladder finals.

Shalin went on to knockout another team-mate and second-seed, Sin Li Jane and third-seed, New Hiu Fen of Singapore, 256-220-150 to face top seed, Zandra Aziela in an all-Malaysia final.

Shalin took the first match, 233-221 to force a sudden-death decider in which she romped home a comfortable victory over Zandra, 265-221 to win her fourth Hong Kong Open crown. The champion was successful in 2003, 2006 and 2007.

"I've been working on some changes to my game and it work well," said the newly-crowned champion, Shalin. "The line suited me very well and I made sure not to let this opportunity slip away from me."

"This victory is extremely important as it sets me up just nicely for the Asian Games this November. I still need to work more on my game and to make it perfect for Guangzhou."

Shalin pocketed the top prize of HK$28,000 (US$3,600) for her effort while Zandra settled HK$12,000. Li Jane collected HK$7,000 while Hui Fen, Sharon Koh and Tsai Hsin Yi took home HK$3,500, HK$1,800 and HK$1,000 respectively.

Meanwhile, Asia Ranked No. 1, Hussain Al-Suwaidi of UAE denied Malaysia a double after he needed only one game to defeat challenger and third-seed, Zulmazran Zulkifli, 221-182 to win his first title this year.

Hussain had topped the Stage 2 finals with 2303, 77 pins ahead of China's Mi Zhang Li in second to advance into the stepladder finals as top seed. Zulmazran, who tied with Hong Kong's Cyrus Cheung in third, defeated the latter to confirm his third place in a one-game roll-off.

The Malaysian edged No. 2 seed, Zhang Li and winner of the first match, Du Jian Chao of China, 238-234-207 to advance into the finals. Jian Chao ousted fourth-seed, Cyrus Cheung of Hong Kong and fifth-seed, Jeri Ramadona of Indonesia, 212-203-199 in the first match.

The Emirati won HK$55,000 (US$7,000) as the men's champion while Zulmazran settled for HK$12,000. The two Chinese, Mi Zhang Li and Du Jian Chao took home HK$14,000 and HK$7,000 respectively.

The top 16 Asian men and top 16 Asian women made the cut for the final leg of this year's ABF Tour - Hong Kong which will be held at Hong Kong Bowling City on September 19.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

17th September, Hong Kong: Malaysian women put in a strong performance in the Stage 1 Open Masters finals of the 36th Hong Kong International Open with Shalin Zulkifli and Sin Li Jane finishing one-two.

Chinese Taipei's Tsai Hsin-Yi and Wang Yu-Ling got off the mark taking up first and second in their opening game as Singapore's Geraldine Ng and three-time Hong Kong Open champion, Shalin Zulkifli kept close company.

Ng kept on a hot pace to fire consistent lines to take the lead up to the halfway mark after Shalin posted higher scores than the Singaporean and building up a gap of 23 pins. Singapore Open champion, Sin Li Jane shot the highest game of the stage with 276 to take up second after the seventh game.

Two more strong games of 229 and 237 gave the 18-year-old Li Jane the lead after the ninth game with Shalin trailing in second, 19 pins adrift as Ng slipped down to third.

But a poor 143 in final game saw Li Jane handing the lead back to team-mate, Shalin ending the stage with 2180. Li Jane settled for second 12 pins away with 2168 while Ng held on to third with 2156.

CHerie Tan of Singapore stormed home to snatch fourth spot with 2097 followed by China's Yang Suling and 2008 AMF World Cup champion, Jasmine Yeong-Nathan of Singapore rounding up the top 6. Frankchesca Li of Hong Kong took the final cut in 15th position averaging 192.8 behind Wang Yu-Ling in 14th position.

Meanwhile World Championship Trios bronze medalist, Cheng Hsing-Chao easily topped the men's division with 2234 after leading the first game and the final three games of the 10-game Stage 1 finals.

China's Pan Yu Hong clinched second position with 2121, just 1 pin ahead of the surprised Jeri Ramadona of Indonesia in third with 2121. World Championship Doubles silver medalist, Muhd Nur Aiman finished fourth with 2098.

Another Malaysian, Chong Jun Foo did well to take up fifth spot with 2094 followed by two Chinese, Zhang Peng fifth and Mi Zhang Li sixth with 2093 and 2088. Malaysia's Syafiq Ridhwan sqeezed into the next stage in 18th position with an average of 201.30.

Hong Kong's Cyrus Cheung and Eric Tseng stormed home to advance in 16th and 17th positions as defending champion, John Nolen failed to make the cut managing only 20th position. UAE's Shaker Al-Hassan missed the cut in 19th position by 14 pins.

The top 18 men together with the 6 seeded qualifiers (3 local and 3 overseas) and the top 15 women together with the 6 seeded qualifiers will contest the 10-game Stage 2 finals from scratch.

The top 6 men and top 6 women at the end of the second stage will advance into the stepladder finals on Saturday, September 18. The top 16 Asian men and top 16 Asian women will also qualify for the final leg of the ABF Tour on Septmeber 19.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

17th September, Hong Kong: Chinese Taipei's Cheng Hsing Yueh claimed his second consecutive Masters title after the 15-year-old triumphed in the Youth Open Masters finals of the 36th Hong Kong International Open.

Apart from a poor start in his opening game, newly-crowned Youth Under-18 Masters champion, Cheng Hsing Yueh recovered with 249 and 245 to take over the lead. From then on, there was simply no stopping the Taiwanese as he posted 194, 210, 244, 234, 191, 247 and 211 to romp home a comfortable victory with 2192.

Cheng finished 99 pins ahead of Thailand's Phumin Klanbida, who settled for second spot with 2093 while a two high games of 289 and 223 helped Jason Sin Chun Ting of Hong Kong to snatch third spot with 2082.

Achilles Hung Po Fai and Michael Chan Yat Long of Hong Kong completed the top five with 1985 and 1963 respectively. Cheng won HK$3,000 as champion with Phumin and Jason taking home HK$1,500 and HK$700.

Indonesia's Glenn Iriawan snatched the Men's Grade B Masters crown after posting three high games of 237, 223 and 246 in his final three games. Iriawan finished with 2322, 7 pins ahead of pace-setter, Achariya Cheng of Thailand on 2315.

Hong Kong's Ben Tam Wai Kit took third position with a total of 2313, a further 2 pins away while pace-setter, H.M. Sio of Macau faded off to fourth with 2308 and Vong Vong Ip of Macau finished fifth with 2294.

Iriawan was richer by HK$6,000 and Achariya settling for HK$3,000. Ben Tam took home the third prize of HK$,1500.

Meanwhile, the Women's Grade B Masters crown went to Pion Lau Siu Mai of Hong Kong with a total of 1387 over the 8-game finals. Yeung Suk Han finished strongly to claim second spot with 1383, just 4 pins behind the champion.

India's Anuradha Sarda did well to finish third with 1367, a further 16 pins away. The champion took home HK$2,500 with the first and second runnerup winning HK$1,300 and HK$800 respectively.

The Men's and Women's Open Masters Stage I finals over 10 games will be contested later this afternoon. The top 18 men will be joined by the top 6 seeded men qualifiers (3 overseas, 3 local) while the top 15 women will be joined by the top 6 seeded women qualifiers for Stage II finals on Saturday, September 18.

The top 6 men and top 6 women at the end of another 10 games will advance to the stepladder grand finals to determine the champion.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

16th September, Hong Kong: Ex-international, Eric Lau of Hong Kong shot the second 300 of the 36th Hong Kong International Open but had to settle for second spot as Malaysia's Zulmazran Zulkifli posted 1508 to take over pole position.

Eric Lau scorched the lanes at Hong Kong Bowling City when he reeled 227, 268 and the tournament's second perfect game for a 3-game qualifying effort of 795 to add to his earlier 696 to top the Men's Open Masters qualfying leaderboard with 1491.

Although his superb performance put him top of the local pool and earning him an automatic entry into second stage finals, Lau had to settle for second overall after Malaysia's Zulmazran Zulkifli became the first bowler to surpass the 1500-mark.

The 25-year-old Malaysian started off his 11.30am squad with a sizzling 280 and then followed it up with 233 and ended the round with 267 for a 3-game total of 780. Addng his earlier best of 728 to give him a 6-game aggregate of 1508.

Zulmaran dislodged PBA American, Robert Smith into second spot on 1474 and was joined by team-mate, Aaron Kong in third position. The top three advanced into the second stage finals.

"It's just one of those days when your timing is perfect, everything works perfect," said the 44-year-old Eric Lau, who was a member of the Hong Kong national squad for 10 years since 1997.

Another Malaysian, Chong Jun Foo dropped down to fourth with 1441 while India's Dhruv Sarda made great progress to take up fifth with 1417. Eric Lau led Wu Siu Hong and Rickle Kam as the top three local automatic Stage 2 qualifiers.

Malaysian women were begining to show their mettle as Zandra Aziela surged into second spot ahead of first perfect gamer, Esther Cheah after a superb 731 series for a total of 1400. Singapre's Shayna Ng remain in front with 1403.

Singapore's New Hui Fen, Geraldine Ng and Cherie Tan grabbed the next three positions in the overseas pool with 1385, 1343 and 1341 respectively. Joey Yip, Milki Ng and Vanessa Fung remained the top three in the local pool who would advance autmatically into Stage 2 finals.

Qualifying would end late this evening and for those who did not make the cut, they would have a final chance in the one-game desperado squad in which the top three would qualify.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

16th September, Hong Kong: Cheng Hsing Yueh of Chinese Taipei snatched the Youth Under-18 Masters crown of the 36th Hong Kong International Open in the final game of the 8-game finals at Hong Kong Bowling City on Thursday morning.

Local youngster, Leon Tang Lai Wo set a cracking pace with a superb 210 in his opening game and continued to set the pace with another fine 200 in the second game ahead of Singapore Sports School's Joy Yap in second.

But it was Yap who stole the limelight in the third after grabbing the lead by 1 pin from another local youngster, Alex Li Siu Tsun in a close second while Leon Tang failed to maintain his hot pace.

At the halfway mark, Li had built up a healthy lead of 33 pins from another Singapore youth, Kwa Lay Teng second, 33 pins adrift. Li looked set to cruise to a comfortable victory but a poor 165 in his final game allowed Taiwanese, Cheng Hsing Yueh to snatch victory with a high game of 257.

Cheng, 15 clinched his first international title after totaling 1661 as Li settled for second with 1636. Joy Yap took third spot with 1577 thanks to an 8 pin handicap she received.

Meanwhile, 57-year-old veteran, Tomokazu Maeda of Japan also snatched the Senior Masters title in the final game from pace-setter, Raymond Leung Wai Man of Hong Kong. Leung had surged into the lead after the third game but failed to hang on to it with an aweful final game of 184.

Maeda clinched the crown with 1645 thanks to a 1 pin handicap, just 4 pins from Leung in second with 1641. Ken Wong of Hong Kong took third spot with a final high game of 247 for a total of 1625, a further 20 pins away.

Charles Tam of Hong Kong and Thailand Open Senior champion, Harshv Sarda of India rounded up the top five with 1572 and 1556. Maeda won HK$3,000 as champion with Leung settling for HK$41,500 and Wong HK$700.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

15th September, Hong Kong: Esther Cheah of Malaysia shot the tournament's first perfect game en-route to claiming second spot in the Women's Open Masters qualifying table of the 36th Hong Kong International Open on Wednesday.

Esther Cheah, who was fifth in the mixed pool with 1261, became the first bowler to score a perfect game at the 11.30am squad to register 752 in her third attempt. Her effort gave the Malaysian a 6-game aggregate of 1390 to move into second spot in the overseas pool.

Esther also earned the automatic qualification into the second round of the Masters finals as one of the top three finishers. Before Esther's third career 300, Singapore's Shayna Ng, New Hui Fen and Geraldine Ng had dominated the top three places.

Shayna topped the table with 1403 (675 and 668) ahead of Esther. New Hui Fen slipped down to third on 1385 (732 and 653). Geraldine Ng dropped to fourth with 1343 while Xu Lan of China rounded up the top 5 with 1309.

Vanessa Fung, Milki Ng and Sylvia Kong are the three seeded local women as ex-national Joey Yip, Vanessa Fung and defending champion, Chan Shuk Han notched up 1333, 1287 and 1255 to earn automatic berths in Round 2.

Mr Sam Ho of Fusion Excel International, one of the championship's sponsors, presented a Quantum Science Scarla Energised pendant to Esther Cheah as prize for being the first bowler to score the perfect game.

In the men's division, 2009 Singapore Open Youth champion, Rickle Kam improved his earlier 1406 effort by 10 pins to move up into second spot with 1416 behind three-time Hong Kong Open champion, Wu Siu Hong in pole position on 1455.

Early leader, Wicky Yeung slipped down to third with 1414 but join Wu and Rickle for Round 2 finals. Although Wu is also the top local seeded qualifier, the 25-year-old would prefer to skip the first round.

Michael Mak and Eric Tseng are the two other local seeded qualifiers in the Men's division. American PBA bowler, Robert Smith improved to move to top spot in the overseas pool with 1474 (770 and 704).

Malaysia's Aason Kong finished second with 1460 (751 and 709) followed by fellow-compatriot Chong Jun Foo third with 1441. World Championship Doubles silver medalist, Muhd Nur Aiman did well as a southpaw to finish fourth with 1410.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

13th September, Hong Kong: Hong Kong national bowler, Wicky Yeung Wai Ki staked his claim on the Men's Open Masters title of the 36th Hong Kong International Open underway at Hong Kong Bowling City by taking pole position.

Wicky Yeung posted a superb 649 in his first qualifying effort and added an improved 651 in his subsequent attempt to take top spot in the Men's Open Masters qualifying table. Yeung also became the first bowler to register a 6-game aggregate of 1300. Yeung then bettered that score with 1414.

Yeung first tasted success when he won the 1998 Hong Kong Open Youth Masters and the 2001 National Youth Masters title in New Zealand. The 31-year-old also won the 2005 EAG Team Silver medal.

After an absence from the national squad, Yeung returned to finish sixth at last year's Hong Kong Open. Winning the coveted title on home ground would certainly give his confidence a big boost before the Asian Games in Guangzhou in November.

2008 Singapore Open youth champion, Rickle Kam took second spot with 1406 (764 and 642) ahead of Chung Kwong Chuen of Hong Kong third with 1389. A third attempt better than 606 would easily put him in pole position.

Three national bowlers, Wu Siu Hong, Eric Tseng and Michael Mak are seeded and would automatically qualify for the finals.

In the women's division, the three seeded bowlers are Vanessa Fung, Milki Ng and Sylvia Kong. Although Ng is seeded, she posted impressive 645 and 569 from her two best attempts. Ex-national, Joey Yip topped the local pool with 1313 (694 and 619) ahead of Frankchesca Li in second with 1226 and Katherine Wu Sau Ting third with 1181.

2008 ABF Tour TOC champion, Tang Joh Six of Malaysia took top spot in the overseas pool with 1265 followed by Filomena Choi of Macau with 1201. Chan Shuk Han of the Hong Kong national squad shot 624 and 617 and will advance automatically as defending champion.

Most overseas participants have arrived and will take to the lanes for their qualifying rounds.

Qualifying will end September 16 with the first block Open Masters finals contested on September 17 and second block on September 18. The ABF Tour Hong Kong leg, which will be held on September 19, will be the final leg of the year for bowlers to accumulate ranking points for the Tournament of Champions.

Photos by Terence Yaw.