17th July, Hong Kong: American PBA pro, Robert Smith captured his second Asian title this year with victory in the Men's Open Masters stepladder finals of the 37th Hong Kong International Open while Shayna Ng of Singapore bagged the women's crown.

The victory for Robert Smith did not come easy as he had to strike in the ninth and tenth frame to beat No. 3 seed and challenger, Shaker Al Hassan of UAE, 216-208 to win his second Asian title this year.

An opened frame in the first was not an ideal start for Smith but the American downed a double in the third and fourth frames to cover his opened frame as Shaker got a double strike in the fourth and fifth frames to take a slender 2 pin lead.

Smith struck first in the eighth and ninth frames to move ahead and forcing the Emirati to double up to level things. Apparently luck was not on Shaker's side when he failed to strike after making seemingly perfect pocket shots.

Another strike in the tenth frame allowed Smith to seal the victory and take the coveted title. Shaker also had a strike in the ninth frame and had the left-hander struck in the tenth frame, it would have been a tighter finish which could possibly force a sudden-death decider.

"I haven't been bowling a lot since I had a lot of coaching programs going on here in Hong Kong and to have qualified and shot a perfect game in the process was a bit of a surprise," said Smith, who won this year's Euromed-Storm Masters title back in February.

"Having skipped the first round, I had to work alot harder to reach the stepladder finals facing a stronger field. I'm happy for what I have achieved so far this year."

Shaker had earlier cruised into the finals by easily beating No. 2 seed, Annop Arromsaranon of Thailand and winner of the first match and compatriot, Sayed Al Hashemi, 220-156-158.

Sayed edged two Hong Kong stepladder finalists, No. 5 seed Eric Tseng and No. 6 seed, Michael Tsang, 223-222-200 in the first match. Smith pocketted HK$55,000 (approx. US$7,000) for the win while Shaker settled for HK$22,000 (approx. US$2,830) and Annop HK$14,000 (approx. US$1,800).

The champion ended the Round 2 finals with a total of 2229, 22 pins ahead of Annop in second with 2207. Shaker finished third with 2192 followed by Sayed fourth with 2183. Eric and Michael made the stepladder finals in fifth and sixth positions with 2167 and 2139.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Zoe Tam Shun Yee prevented a Singapore clean sweep of the Women's Open Masters finals when the fifth seed advanced all the way to the title match.

Zoe eliminated fourth seed and compatriot, Joey Yip and sixth seed, Jazreel Tan of Singapore, 245-178-217 to face two other Singaporeans in the next match. She ousted second seed, Cherie Tan and third seed, Geraldine Ng, 222-196-180 to face the top seed, Shayna Ng of Singapore.

But in the title match, Zoe appeared to have run out of steam going down to the Singaporean, 158-227 to settle for first runner-up.

"I knew that as a top seed, I would have two matches to beat my opponent so I just went all out and took my chances," said the 21-year-old Shayna, who won the Singles silver and Trios gold medal at the Guangzhou Asian Games last year.

"I've been close on many occasions but have always ended up second or third. I'm glad I've finally landed my first international title. The victory would boost my chances of getting selected for this year's World Women Championship which will be held here."

Shayna brought home 268 and 290 in her final two games in the earlier Round 2 finals to edge team-mate and front-runner, Cherie Tan for pole position with 2254. Cherie ended up in second with 2243 after leading most of the way.

Geraldine, who almost shot the tournament's third perfect game, had 289 in the sixth game and 267 in her final game to snatch third with 2226. Hong Kong's Joey Yip and Zoe Tam finished fourth and fifth with 2154 and 2145.

A fourth Singaporean and seeded No. 1 in the qualifying rounds, made the top 6 stepladder cut in sxith with 2141. All the four Indonesian women, who occupied the top 4 positions in Round 1, failed to make the cut.

Shayna won HK$26,000 (approx. US$3,360) while Zoe Tam settled for HK$14,000. Cherie Tan, who dropped to third after the stepladder finals, took home HK$7,000.

The top 16 Asian men and top 16 Asian women qualified for the penultimate leg of the ABF Tour Hong Kong which will be held at the same bowling center on Monday.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

16th July, Hong Kong: Indonesian women put in a dominating display at the 37th Hong Kong International Open by occupying the top four spots in the Women's Open Round 1 Masters finals while Thai Annop Arromsaranon claimed pole in the Men's division.

2009 Thailand Open champion, Tannya Roumimper set the opening pace with a cracking 256 to lead 2008 AMF World Cup champion, Jasmine Yeong-Nathan of Singapore by 15 pins after the latter shot an equally superb game of 241.

Jasmine followed it up with a scorching 267 to take over the running and building up a gap of 28 pins over Tannya who was in turn followed by team-mate, Sharon Limansantoso third.

Whilst the Singaporean led for another game, the finals belong to the Indonesians when Sharon surged ahead with a big game of 267 to lead Tannya in second and Novie Phang third.

Novie then took over the running from her team-mate mid way through the 10-game finals after rolling a superb 255 as Tannya bounced back but continued to trail in second. Novie then followed it up with another 256 to open up a gap of 84 pins over Tannya after the sixth game.

Despite a slight setback in the seventh game with 169, the lanky Indonesian went on to end the round with 224, 256 and 203 for a total of 2278 to take pole position. Sharon and Tannya traded second spot but it eventually went to Tannya who totaled 2221.

A fourth Indonesian, Putty Armein finished strongly to snatch third spot with 2209 as Sharon, completed Indonesia's domination by taking up fourth spot with 2190.

"I had a decent start and found my sweet spot from games three to six," said Novie Phang, who bagged the Asian Games Team silver medals with the same group of team-mates who trailed her in this round.

"My rythmn was good and I adapted well to the changing conditions. I hope I can repeat this tomorrow in the second block." Jasmine ended in fifth spot to finish as the best Singapore women while Chinese Taipei's Tsai Hsin-Yi made the top 15 cut with 2005.

Singapore's Bernice Lim missed the cut by 3 pins after finishing 16th position with 2002. Four Indonesians, four Malaysians, three Hong Kong, three Singaporeans and a sole Taiwanese advanced into the next round.

In the men's division, competition was more tense as bowlers scrambled furiously to make the top 18 cut for the next round. Three finalists, Shaker Al Hassan of UAE, Annop Arromsaranon of Thailand and Paeng Nepomuceno of the Philippines all shot 268 to share the opening lead.

Shaker, already with two international titles this year under his belt, almost shot the tournament's third 300 when he felled 299 in the second game to lead the field of 33 with Annop second, 88 pins adrift.

The Emirati left-hander held the lead until he downed only 183 in the seventh game as Annop had countless big games to surge ahead of Shaker. Another three superb games from the Thai gave him pole position with 2311.

Shaker settled for second spot with 2260 after rediscovering his early pace while local favourite and three-time Hong Kong champion, Wu Siu Hong claimed third spot with 2183.

"After a good start, I was able to stay focus and shoot reasonably good games," said the 26-year-old Annop of Singha Thai team, whose last title was almost six years ago.

"It has been a while now since I've won anything and I'll be very disappointed if I don't finish in the top 6 tomorrow when the lanes suit me."

Another Thai, Badin Lerdpiriyasakulkit did extremely well to finish fourth with 2136 ahead of Hall of Famer and recently crowned Philippine Open champion, Paeng Nepomuceno in fifth position.

Hong Kong national kegler, Wicky Yeung squeezed into the next round in 18th position with 2030 while Rickle Kam missed the cut by a single pin in 19th position. Defending champion, Hussain Al Suwaidi of UAE failed to progress finishing 21st position.

The top 18 men will be joined by the top 3 local and top 3 overseas seeded men qualifiers for another 10 games in the next round. The top 15 women will be joined by the top 3 local and top 3 overseas seeded women qualifiers for their second round.

The top 6 men and top 6 women at the end of the second round will advance to the stepladder shootout finals to determine the champions.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

16th July, Hong Kong: National youth member, Tony Wong Kwan Yuen, snatched the Youth Open Masters crown of the 37th Hong Kong International Open while Marcus Leong and Kimberly Ooi won the Men's and Women's Grade B titles.

Tony Wong, who had a disappointing outing at last week's Asian Schools Championship in Bangkok in which he came home empty handed, bounced back with a stronger performance in the Youth Open Masters finals to clinch his first-ever international crown.

Macau's Ho Weng Hou opened accounts with a strong game of 228 but Hong Kong national youth, Tony Wong would not let his opponent get away early as he fired 222 to trail by 6 pins in second.

Tony followed it up with another superb 232 to take over the running and opening up a gap of 30 pins over Ho. A set back of 163 in the third game put Tony on his back foot as Asian Schools Masters gold medalist surged into the lead.

Two-time Macau Open Youth champion, Lee Tak Man turned on his magic to roll 216, 258, 233, 222 and 208 to lead for the next five games but his finishing was poor when he only managed 180.

"I started off well and I wasm comfortable in the beginning," said the 15-year-old pint-sized Tony Wong. "When the lane changed slightly, I could not adapt fast enough and I had a bad game.

"Luckily, my coach told me to stay calm and make some adjustments and after that I was comfortable and could match up with the lane changes."

Youth Under-18 Masters champion, Chong Jun Foo of Malaysia added another podium position after he finished third with 2084 while Abdulla missed the podium to finish fourth with 2007.

Meanwhile, Singapore Sports School had plenty to celebrate when Marcus Leong and Kimberly Ooi captured the Men's and Women's Grade B Masters titles. The double victory was Leong's and Ooi's first-ever international title.

Marcus Leong, who had a keen tussle for the lead with team-mate, Alex Chong in the early stages, underlined his superiority with victory in the Men's Grade B Masters finals. Leong amassed 2495, 89 pins ahead of Andrew Lee, who rolled 2406.

Debutant, Cham Kam Fook of Megalanes, Malaysia edged Alex Chong by 23 pins to take third spot with 2383.

Kimberly Ooi and Charmaine Lim finished one-two in the Women's Grade B finals with 1463 and 1440 to give Singapore Sports School another double. Charmaine had most of the way only to end with 186 while Kimberly fired 223 to snatch the win. Hong Kong's Jenny Wong did well to take up third spot with 1371.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

15th July, Hong Kong: BWAA Collegiate Player of the Year, Jazreel Tan led Singapore's domination in the Women's Open Masters final day of qualifying at the 37th Hong Kong International Open with Cherie Tan and Geraldine Ng taking second and third positions.

In only four attempts, Jazreel Tan of Singapore amassed a 6-game tally of 1426 with two best series of 714 and 712 to lead the Women's table. EBT Masters champion, Cherie Tan came in second with 1410 as Asian Games Trios gold medalist, Geraldine Ng completed Singapore domination in third with 1394.

Brief leader, Putty Armein of Indonesia was pushed out of the top three spots and missing the automatic qualification into Round 2 finals by 2 pins on 1392.

Her compatriot and 2009 ABF TOC winner, Sharon Limansantoso completed the top 5 ahead of two more Singapore women, Shayna Ng and Bernice Lim in sixth and seventh positions.

Overnight leader, Hee Kar Yen of Malaysia, 2009 Thailand Open champion, Tannya Roumimper and a sixth Singaporean and 2008 AMF World Cup champion, Jasmine Yeong-Nathan rounded up the top 10 overseas qualifiers.

2009 Hong Kong Open champion, Chan Shuh Han and Milki Ng were the two local seeded qualifiers as ex-national Joey Yip, Zoe Tam Shun Yee and Vanessa Fung made up the top 3 local qualifiers earning automatic entry into Round 2.

Meanwhile in the men's division, 2008 Asian Championship gold medalist, Eric Tseng became the new leader in the local pool after a superb effort 754 at the 7.30pm squad for a new total of 1484.

Michael Tsang, who led only for one squad, settled for second spot with 1481 while Joshua Chow claimed third spot with 1462 to join his team-mates for Round 2 finals. Three time Hong Kong Open champion, Wu Siu Hong and Michael Mak were the two local seeded qualifiers who would have to bowl in the Round 1 finals.

Perfect gamer, Robert Smith of USA and Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia remained in the top 2 positions of the overseas pool with 1576 and 1490 respectively. Malaysian reigning national champion, Kang Bo Long clinched third spot with 1450.

Finalists of the Round 1 finals for both the men and women divisions will bowl 10 games on Saturday. The top 18 at the end of this round will join the top 3 local seeded and top 3 overseas seeded qualfiers for another 10 games in Round 2.

The top 15 at the end of the women's Round 1 finals will join the top 3 local seeded and top 3 overseas seeded qualifiers for their second round on Sunday. The top 6 men and top 6 women will advance to the stepladder shootout ginals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

15th July, Hong Kong: Favourites Chong Jun Foo of Malaysia and Takahiro Yoshida of the Philippines emerged as champions of the 37th Hong Kong International Open Youth Under-18 and Senior Masters finals at Hong Kong Bowling City on Friday morning.

Malaysian national youth, Chong Jun Foo got off to a cracking start in the Youth Under-18 Masters finals with 255 in his opening game but only 9 pins ahead of Chan Ho Yin of Hong Kong, who shot 246.

Another scintillating 264 by the 17-year-old Malaysian youngster allow Chong to open up a big gap of 98 pins over his nearest opponent, Kuek Wi En of Singapore Sports School in second. By the fifth game, the leader had as much as 156 pins margin.

Chong continued his relentless pace to end with 206, 211 and 257 for an 8-game total of 1840 to claim an easy victory. Alex Chong, 15 of Singapore Sports School pipped team-mate, Joel Tan by 1 pin to snatch second spot with 1620.

The 16-year-old Joel, who was second, settled for third with 1619 while top Hong Kong youth, Ricky SHam Ying Chiu, who was third going into the final game, was edged out of the podium by Joel to finish fourth with 1609.

Japanese veteran, Takahiro Yoshida of the Philippines, claimed his third international senior title after he narrowly beat Hong Kong ex-international, Chung Him by 8 pins with 1727.

The 53-year-old Takahiro had won his first senior title in the 2008 Philippine Open and his second at the 2010 Penang Pesta Open before today's victory. Chung Him, who had traded the lead with Takahiro several times, settled for second with 1719.

Another Hong Kong ex-national, Chiang Kwok Fai finished a creditable third position with 1707 ahead of early pace-setter, Edmond Ng of Hong Kong.

Takahiro won HK$3,500 (approx. US$500) as champion with Chung and Chiang taking home HK$2,000 and HK$1,000 respectively. Chong Jun Foo won HK$2,000 (approx. US$770) as champion of the Youth Under-18 division.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

14th July, Hong Kong: American PBA pro, Robert Smith shot the first 300 of the 37th Hong Kong International Open en-route to taking over the lead of the Men's Open Masters qualifying leaderboard on Thursday.

Robert Smith, who won this year's Euromed-Storm International Masters, shot the tournament's first perfect game to post an astonishing 804 series to add to his earlier best attempt of 772 and became the first to surpass the 1,500-mark with 1576.

Smith, who now resides in Hong Kong and provides regular coaching programs, bowls for HK Contact Proshop and Global 900. Asian Championship Doubles bronze medalist, Ryan Lalisang put in a splendid effort to take up second position with 1490.

Newcomer, Kwok Mui of USA came in third with 1437 and would join Smith and Lalisang to earn a bye in Round 1 and automatically into Round 2 finals. Thai national, Phoemphun Yakasem rounded the top 5 with 1392.

Guangzhou Asian Games brzone medalist and national bowler, Eric Tseng pipped overnight local pool leader, Wu Siu Hong for top spot with 1445 from 730 and 715 series. Wu settled for second with 1422.

Team-mate, Wicky Yeung made up the top 3 local earning automatic berths in Round 2 finals with a 6-game tally of 1418.

Meanwhile, Hee Kar Yen of Malaysia led the Women's Open Masters overseas qualifying pool with 1363 after she rolled 712 and 651. Asian Youth Games gold medalist, New Hui Fen of Singapore finished second with 1352.

Asian Games silver medalist, Novie Phang of Indonesia took third spot with 1349 to join the Malaysian and Singaporean for Round 2 finals. 2003 Hong Kong Open champion, Wendy Chai missed the top 3 by a single pin 1348 to settle for fourth position.

Overnight leader and ex-national, Jeoy Yip remained in the lead of the local pool with 1351. Hong Kong's Gloria Yung Ho Yee took second spot with 1268 ahead of Hong Kong national bowler, Milki Ng third with 1249.

Although national bowlers, Chan Shuk Han and Vanessa Fung are seeded qualifiers, both Chan and Fung finished fourth and fifth with 1218 and 1208 respectively and will try to finish in the top 3 to earn Round 2 final spots.

The Senior and Youth Under-18 Masters finals will be held on tomorrow morning as the qualifying rounds for other divisions will end late Friday evening. A desperado squad will be staged for Men's Open and Men's Graded A divisions thereafter.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

13th July, Hong Kong: Three-time Hong Kong Open champion, Wu Siu Hong set the qualifying pace to take top spot in the Men's Open Masters qualifying table of the 37th Hong Kong International Open underway at Hong Kong Bowling City.

Despite being seeded as No. 1 local bowler and gaining entry to Round 1 finals, Wu made his attempts in order to bypass the first round if he could finish in the top 3 of the local pool.

The three-time champion rolled two 712 and 710 three-game series to take his 6-game tally to 1422 to claim top spot in the table. 2009 ABF Tour Macau champion, Michael Tsang joined him with 1399 after shooting 707 and 692.

Lau Kwun Ho joined the duo with a superb 1385 from 694 and 691 series while national bowler, Cyrus Cheung missed the top 3 spots by 7 pins to take up fourth in the table with 1378.

Indonesia's SEA Games squad member, Hardy Rachmadian topped the overseas pool with 1373 after he downed 731 and 642. Bahrain's Fawaz Abdulla impressed with 1330 to claim second spot followed by UAE's Sayed Al Hashemi third with 1311.

the top 3 in the Men's Open local pool and top 3 in the overseas pool will earn byes in Round 1 while 33 other qualifiers (9 local, 9 overseas and 11 from mixed pool, 3 from desperado and defending champion) will contest Round 1 finals on Saturday July 16 over 10 games.

The top 18 men plus the 6 seeded qualifiers will bowl another 10 games in Round 2 during which the top 6 will advance to the stepladder shootout finals.

Meanwhile, ex-national Jeoy Yip scorched the lanes at Hong Kong Bowling City with a stunning 1351 total after posting 690 and 661 in her two best series to lead the women's division.

Gloria Yung Ho Yee posted 1268 from 653 and 615 series ahead of national bowler and fourth runner-up of the recent Macau China Open, Milki Ng of Hong Kong third with 1249. All three could advance automatically into Round 2 finals if the scores stay till the final day of qualifying.

Malaysian national bowlers, Hee Kar Yen and 2003 Hong Kong Open champion, Wendy Chai occupied the top two spots of the overseas pool with 1363 and 1348 respectively. Indonesia's newcomer, Puteri Astari clinched third spot with 1308.

The top 3 in the Women's Open local pool and top 3 in the overseas pool will earn byes in Round 1 while 24 other qualifiers (7 local, 7 overseas and 10 from mixed pool) will contest Round 1 finals on Saturday July 16 over 10 games.

The top 15 women plus the 6 seeded qualifiers will bowl another 10 games in Round 2 during which the top 6 will advance to the stepladder shootout finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

2nd July, Hong Kong: The 37th edition of the immensely popular Hong Kong International Open Tenpin Bowling Championship is set to roll off from July 9 to 17, 2011 at the 48-lane Hong Kong Bowling City at Kowloon Bay.

The opening ceremony of this year's championship will be graced by Mr Pang Chung, SBS, Honorary Secretary of General Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China together with Mr Bobby Cheng, JP, Deputy Director of Leisure and Cultural Services on July 9, 2011.

This year, the Organizing Committee decided to continue to include the Youth Under-18 Masters after last year's great response from the bowlers. The Under-18 Masters aims at developing and promoting the sport among students and youth.

The event is for youth born on or after January 1, 1993 and after. The Singapore Sports School, a staunch supporter of the championship, will be sending ten youths to participate in the event.

The Hong Kong International Open is the sixth leg of the 2011 Asian Bowling Federation Tour. The top 16 Asian men bowlers and top 16 Asian women bowlers from the Open Masters event of the Championships will qualify for the ABF Tour - Hong Kong to be held on July 18, 2011 in the same venue.

As the World Women Championships 2011 is less than two months away after the conclusion of the Hong Kong Open, this year's championship will become an arena for Asian National women teams from Singapore, Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong to test the official venue in preparation for the Championship.

Participating countries from around the region will be sending their top class men bowlers include Indonesia, Kuwait, Macau, China; Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and United Arab Emirates together with Defending Men's Open Masters Hussain Al Suwaidi of UAE.

Local favorites Wu Siu Hong, Gold and Silver Medalist of the 2011 Asian Championships and three-time champion will try his best to regain the Masters title this year and to win it for the fourth time.

His Asian Games teammates Cyrus Cheung, Michael Mak, Eric Tseng, Michael Tsang and Wicky Yeung, of course will also be eyeing the title of the Men's Open Masters as well. Both Chan Shuk Han and Vanessa Fung will be Hong Kong's title challenger for the women's crown.

Spectators will also be able to witness world-class performances from high caliber bowlers from all over Asia including Remy Ong, Shaker Al Hassan, Sayed Al Hasemi, Basil Al Anzi, Khalid Al Dubyyan, Yannaphon Larpapharat and many more.

Photos courtesy of HKTBC.