17th April, Bangkok: Thailand celebrated a grand double after Kim Bolleby and Yanee Saebae captured the Men's and Women's Open Masters titles of the 42nd MWA Singha Thailand International Open Tenpin Bowling Championships which concluded at Blo-O Rhythm & Bowl Ratchayothin.

Top seed, Bolleby needed only one match to easily dispatch second seed and challanger, Alex Liew of Malaysia, 248-191 in the all-lefty final stepladder match to win his second Thailand Open title, which the Thai first took the crown in 2014.

Liew, who breezed past third-seed, Norman Cai of Singapore and winner of the first match, Annop Arromsaranon of Thailand, 228-189-157 to earn a crack at the title facing the top seed. Annop had earlier edged fourth-seed, Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia and a second Singaporean, Cheah Ray Han, 210-201-208.

"I had a slow recovery after my surgery and had many bad outings since this week," said the delighted champion, Bolleby, who won the top prize of 300,000 Thai baht (approx. US$8,500). "It was a good week for me during the qualifying rounds.

"I had a slow recovery after my surgery and had many bad outings since this week," said the delighted champion, Bolleby, who won the top prize of 300,000 Thai baht (approx. US$8,500). "It was a good week for me during the qualifying rounds.

"And it gave me a lot of confidence going into the stepladder match. I knew exactly where I had to bowl and it's a ggod line. But I still had to make several adjustments during the final match. I'm glad I'm back to winning ways." Liew settled for first runner-up to earn 150,000 baht while Cai took home 75,000 baht. Annop, Cheah and Lalisang pocketed 40,000, 30,000 and 25,000 baht respectively.

Meanwhile, two-time ABF Tour Thailand winner, Yanee Saebae gave Thailand the double celebration when she won the Women's Open Masters crown to pocket 100,000 baht. But the Thai had to work hard to earn her first open title after coming close to winning it in 2013 when she finished as first runner-up.

The top seed lost the first match, 199-209 to third-seed and challenger, Tannya Roumimper of Indonesia and was forced into the second deciding match. But the champion got back her composure to run away with the victory, 251-189 in the decider.

Roumimper, who was third last year, had to settle for first runner-up to pocket 50,000 baht. The Indonesian had earlier defeated two Malaysians, second-seed, Sin Li Jane and winner of the first match, Nur Syazwani Sahar, 246-202-232 in the second match.

Nur Syazwani easily beat fourth-seed, Sharon Koh and sixth-seed, Hee Kar Yen, 239-180-188 in the all-Malaysian first match.

Nur Syazwani earned 25,000 baht as second runner-up while Li Jane, Koh and Hee took home 22,000, 18,000 and 16,000 baht respectively. Bolleby topped the Round 3 finals with 1445, 30 pins ahead of Liew in second with 1415 and Norman Cai third with 1332. Lalisang, Annop and Cheah made the stepladder finals with 1325, 1319 and 1315. Badin Lerspiriyasakulkit of Thailand missed the cut by 3 pins in seventh position.

Yanee also topped the ROund 3 finals with 1382, 74 pins ahead of Li Jane in second with 1308 and Roumimper in third with 1286. Koh, Nur Syazwani and Hee made the stepladder with 1279, 1270 and 1267. Jasmine Yeong-Nathan of Singapore missed the cut by 2 pins in seventh position.

The top 16 men and top 16 women in the Round 3 finals qualified for the ABF Tour Thailand 2016 with the inaugural leg under the official partner, ALisports at the same bowling center tomorrow.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

16th April, Bangkok: Defending champion, Muhd Rafiq Ismail of Malaysia and three Malaysian women headed by Nur Syazwani Sahar ruled Men's and Open's Round 2 Masters finals of the 42nd MWA Singha Thailand International Open Tenpin Bowling Championships.

Hong Kong's Wicky Yeung got off the round with a superb 258 to lead last year's first runner-up, Muhd Nur Aiman of Malaysia by one pin with Singapore's Cheah Ray Han and a second Malaysian, Ahmad Muaz in close company.

Muhd Aiman added another strong game of 245 to move into the lead as Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia and a second Singaporean, Ahmad Safwan sharing second spot, 39 pins adrift. Ahmad Safwan shot a stunning game of 267 to take over the lead while Aiman trailed by 10 pins.

Muhd Rafiq, who had a slow start with 197 in his opening game, added 222 and 268 in the second and third game before rolling a scintillating 277 to take up spot spot past the halfway mark.

Singapore's ex-international, Ramy Ong also had a big game of 299 to move into second position. The leader ended with 202 and 220 to win the round with 1386, 17 pins ahead of Ong in second with 1369.

Lalisang took third spot with 1337 while the top Thai finisher was Annop Arromsaranon in fourth position with 1330. Nobuhito Fujii of Japan occupied the 18th and final position to advance to the next round with 1209 as Jonovan Neo of Singapore missed the cut by 11 pins in 19th position.

Meanwhile, Malaysian women dominated the round by finishing in the top three. Debutant Nut Syazwani Sahar won the round with 1346, 27 pins pins from the fast finishing Sharon Koh in second with 1319. Hee Kar Yen took third spot with 1304.

2015 H.H. Emir Cup winner, Tannya Rouminper of Indonesia finished fourth with 1271 while Korean pro, Han Sol completed the top five with 1270. Milki Ng of Hong Kong secured the eighth and final position to advance to the next round with 1252.

Geraldine Ng of Singapore missed the cut by a single pin with 1251. The top 18 men and top 8 women will contest Round 3 finals later today joined by the six seeded men and six seeded women qualifiers for another 6 games.

The top 6 men and top 6 women finishers at the end of the round will proceed to the stepladder shootout finals to determine the champion.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

16th April, Bangkok: Thai ex-national bowlers, Somjed Kusonpithak and Yanee Saebae dominated the Grade A Masters finals by winning the Men's and Ladies' titles of the 42nd MWA Singha Thailand International Open Tenpin Bowling CHampionships on Saturday.

Saharat Piyasakunchai of Thailand set a cracking pace with 228, 212, 232, 188 and 207 to lead the first five games as compatriot, Vipavat Siriphonphaibool trailed throughout the early stages. A big game from Hasan Al Kharusi took the Omani into the lead after the sixth game.

Ex-national Somjed, who trailed Saharat after the fifth game, remained in , 10 pins adrift while Saharat slipped down to third. Somjed fired a superb 245 in the seventh game to take over the running with Saharat recovering to trail in second.

Despite ending with 196 in the final game, Somjed held on the lead to take the title with 1702. Hasan stormed home with 234 to clinch second spot with 1694 pushing down Saharat into third spot with 1683.

Ahn Kook Jin of Paisai University, Korea and Pollakit Thanasang of Thailand completed the top five with 1638 and 1599 respectively.

In the ladies' division, two-time ABF Tour Thailand winner and top local qualifier of the Women's Open division, had a good start with 233 but lost the lead after the second game as Park Ji Min of Korea shot into the lead.

The Korean held the lead for another game with a fine 212 but Yanee bounced back in the third game to regain the lead, 36 pins ahead of the Korean. The Thai kept a strong pace in the remaining games to win the title with 1642.

Park settled for second with 1609, 33 pins adrift while a second Korean, Jeong Eun Seo snatched third spot with 1599. A third Korean, Kim Min Ji finished fourth with 1584 while a fourth Korean, Jeong Ji Woon rounded out the top five with 1574.

Somjed picked up 120,000 Thai baht for his victory, Hasan took home 60,000 baht and Saharat earned 30,000 baht. Yanee pocketed 40,000 baht for capturing the ladies' crown leaving Park and Jeong earning 20,000 and 10,000 baht.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

15th April, Bangkok: The qualifying rounds of the Men's and Women's Open Masters of the 42nd MWA Singha Thailand International Open Tenpin Bowling CHampionship ended with Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand and Syaffique Ikhwan of Malaysia sharing the overall lead.

Yannaphon, winner of the Thailand Open twice, added a strong 1230 five-game series in the third block for a total of 3466 while Syaffique knocked down 1176 for the same total. The Thai led two compatriots, Kim Bolleby, who topped Squad C and Atchariya Cheng as the top 3 local qualifiers.

A second southpaw, Alex Liew of Malaysia topped the last squad of the day with 1236 to lepfrog into second spot in the overseas pool with 3457. First block Squad A leader, Sam Cooley held on to third with 3405 to automatically advance into Round 3 final.

A third Malaysian, Aris Ardila headed the second bracket with 3369 followed by Hong Kong's Michael Mak in eighth with 3357. Top Singaporean finisher was Jonovan Neo in ninth with 3345 while Squad D leader, Lee Tak Man of Macau completed the top 10 with 3315.

The cut at 32nd position went to 2014 Asian Championship Masters gold medalist, Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia with 3168.

Jassem Alsaqer of Kuwait missed the cut by 5 pins. Phumin Klanbida of Thailand topped the one-game desperado squad with 253 to qualify for Round 2 finals. Eric Tseng of Hong Kong and Wan Syahmi of Malaysia tied in second with 235 while the fourth and final spot went to Jay Leon Guerrero of Guam with 225.

In the women's division, three-time Singapore Open champion, Sin Li Jane earned top spot with 3354 after a keen battle for the lead with team-mate, Natasha Roslan throughout the third block. Natasha settled for second with 3352.

Esther Cheah completed Malaysia's domination with a third-place finish with 3218 and will advance automatically to Round 3 finals. Yanee Saebae topped the local pool with 3287 well ahead of compatriots, Tanaprang Sathean and Thitima Thongsaard in second and third.

Siti Safiyah Amirah of Malaysia headed the second bracket with 3151 as Alisha Iman Cheong completed the top 5 with 3130. Novie Phang of Indonesia and Geraldine Ng of Singapore completed the top 10 with 3117 and 3107 respectively.

The cut at 24th position went to Dayang Khairuniza of Malaysia with 2193 while Chan Shuk Han of Hong Kong missed the cut by four pins.

Qualifiers will bowl 6 games in Round 2 finals on April 17 and the top 18 men and top 8 women will be joined by the six seeded qualifiers for another 6 games in Round 3 finals. The top 6 men and top 6 women at the end of ROund 3 will proceed to the stepladder shootout finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

14th April, Bangkok: Thai national bowler, Kim Bolleby retained top spot in the Men's Open Masters qualifying leaderboard of the 42nd MWA Singha Thailand International Open Tenpin Bowling Championship after the second block on Thursday.

Despite posting a lower 5-game block of 1057 in Squad C, Bolleby held the lead with a 10-game total of 2315. Two-time ABF Tour winner, Sam Cooley of Australia was unable to take advantage and managed only 1045 in his second block in Squad A for second overall with 2303 but topped the overseas pool.

2014 Asian Games Singles gold medalist, Yannaphon Larpapharat and Atchariya Cheng also retained second and third spots in the local pool with 2236 and 2230 respectively. The top 3 local qualifiers earned one bye to automatically make Round 3 final.

Youth Under-21 Masters second runner-up, Syaffique Ikhwan of Malaysia shot the highest 5-game series of the day with 1240 to leapfrog from 41st position to second with 2290 while Basil Ng of Singapore retained third spot with 2258.

The top 3 overseas qualifiers also earned a bye for Round 3 finals. Squad B leader, Adrian Ang headed the Round 2 qualifiers in seventh overall with 2255, just 3 pins off the top bracket.

Two more Malaysians, Aris Ardila and Alex Liew finished eighth and ninth while Squad D leader, Jassem Alsaqer of Kuwait rounded out the top 10. The cut at 32nd position was occupied by Jimmy Cheung of Hong Kong with 2115 while Singapore's Cheah Ray Han was just five pins off the cut with 2110.

In the women's division, three-time Singapore Open champion, Sin Li Jane of Malaysia took over the overall lead by topping Squad A with 2263. 2014 Asian Youth Masters champion and overnight leader, Natasha Roslan slipped down to second with 2242.

Esther Cheah gave Malaysia the top 3 overseas positions with 2203 and will earn a bye for Round 3 finals. Two-time ABF Tour Thailand leg winner, Yanee Saebae of Thailand topped the local pool with 2184.

Thitima Thongsaard and Thanchanok Vilailak joined Yanee as the top 3 local qualifiers with 1952 and 1886 respectively. Overnight leader, Geraldine Ng of Singapore headed the Round 2 qualifiers with 2171, 32 pins off third spot.

Radin Nur Najwa of Malaysia occupied the last spot in 24th position with 1932 while Julia Lam of Macau is off the cut by 13 pins in 25th position with 1919. The bowlers will complete their qualifying rounds with the third block tomorrow.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

13th April, Bangkok: Kim Bolleby of Thailand and Geraldine Ng of Singapore topped Squad C of the Men's and Women's Open Masters first block qualifying rounds to take over the overall lead on the 42nd MWA Singha Thailand International Open Tenpin Bowling Championship.

Singapore's Basil Ng set the early pace of the last squad of the day with 265 to lead compatriot, Ong Jun Kai by 8 pins as Bolleby trailed in third with 244. The Thai followed it up with an identical 244 to take over the running, just one pin ahead of Ng.

Bolleby added a 235 in the third for a 10 pin lead over Ong as Ng slipped back slightly. The leader extended his lead to 51 pins after almost rolling the tournament's second 300 with 299 in the fourth game while Ng recovered with 267 to regain second spot.

The left-hander finished the block with 236 to top the squad and became the new overall leader with 1258. Although Sam Cooley of Australia also posted 1258, his lower fifth game put him in second overall.

Ng, Singapore's best men finisher, settled for second in the squad with 1152 and fifth overall. His team-mate, Jonovan Neo did well to take up third in the squad with 1147 and sixth overall. Squad D leader, Jassem Alsaqer of Kuwait slipped to third on 1217.

Meanwhile, 2014 Asian Championship Trios gold medalist, Geraldine Ng of Singapore topped Squad C with 1146 to become the new overall leader in the Women's Open division. Alisha Nabila of Indonesia had set the early pace but trailed Ng after the third game.

But Ng, who started off with 242 and 233 added a stunning 269 to take over the running. The 2013 Indonesia Open champion ended the block with 211 and 191 to finish top of the squad.

Two-time ABF Tour Thailand leg winner, Yanee Saebae of Thailand stormed home to snatch second both in the squad and the overall standings with 1129. Squad A leader, Natasha Roslan was pushed down to third on 1127.

2015 Chinese Taipei Youth champion and 2015 Milo Junior All-Stars Youth champion, Tracy See of Singapore also ended strongly to tie with Alisha in fifth overall with 1079. The cut for the women at position 24 went to RIna Asada of Japan with 957.

Yanee, Thanchanok Vilailak and Kantaporn Singhabubpha occupied the top 3 local women's spots while Ng, Natasha and Sin Li Jane occupied the top 3 overseas women's spots. Bolleby, Yannaphon Larpapharat and Atchariya Cheng occupied the top 3 local men's spots and Sam Cooley, Jassem Alsaqer and Basil Ng occupied the top 3 overseas men's spots in the standings. The bowlers will resume with their second block tomorrow, April 14 and ending their qualifying rounds with their third block on April 15.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

13th April, Bangkok: Kuwait's Jassem Alsaqer topped Squad D of the Men's Open Masters first block qualifying round of the 42nd MWA Singha Thailand International Tenpin Bowling Championship to moved into second in the overall standings.

Vietnam's Nguyen Thanh Pho rolled the tournament's first 300 in his opening game of Squad D to lead debutant Rashid Al Satmi of Oman in second, 22 pins adrift and another Vietnamese, Le Anh Tuan in third, a further 33 pins away.

A lowly 176 from Nguyen saw his lead reduced to 16 pins as a second Omani, Ghalib Albusaidi moved up into second spot and Rashid dropped away after a poor second game.

Jassem bowled consistently with 242, 212 and 229 to take over the running after the third game with Le moving up to second and Nguyen fading away quickly. The Kuwaiti ended the block superbly with back-to-back 267s to win the squad with 1217.

Saudi Arabia's Yasser Abulreesh stormed home with 267 and 258 to snatch second position with 1144 while a second Saudi, Bader Alshaikh did well to finish third with 1110.

Jassem's effort took him into second overall after three squads combined, 41 pins behind leader Sam Cooley of Australia with 1258. Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand slipped down to third on 1177.

In the women's division, 2014 Emir Cup champion, Tannya Roumimper of Indonesia topped Squad D with 990 but managed only 11th position overall. Two Macau national bowlers, Julia Lam and Filomena Choi was second and third in the squad with 972 and 936 respectively.

The top 7 positions remained occupied by Malaysian women with Natasha Roslan, Sin Li Jane and Esther Cheah occupying the top 3 spots. Squad B leader, Han Sol is placed eighth and Tannya 11th.

The fourth and last squad will contest their first block of five games at 9.00pm. The bowlers will resume with their second block tomorrow, April 14 and ending their qualifying rounds with their third block on April 15.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

13th April, Bangkok: Malaysia's Muhd Nur Aiman and Korea's Han Sol topped the second squad of the Men's and Women's Open Masters first block qualifying round of the 42nd MWA Singha Thailand International Open Tenpin Bowling Championship.

Annop Arromsaranon of Thailand got off the block with a cracking 268 to lead Muhd Rafiq Ismail of Malaysia by 13 pins. Despite a 218 in the second game, Annop remained in the lead albeit his gap being reduced to just 5 pins.

A second Thai, Atchariya took over the running after the third game but his lead was short-lived as a third Thai, Badin Lerdpiriyasakulkit moved into the front of the pack, 46 pins ahead of Atchariya with the fifth and final game of the block.

Atchariya ended stronger with 221 while Badin managed only 175 to tie with 1120. But Muhd Nur Aiman stormed home with 227 and 238 in his last two games to snatch pole position with 1129.

But the Malaysian's total was not good enough to topple Squad A leader, Sam Cooley of Australia. The leader ended in sixth position from two squads combined. Atchariya and Badin finished eighth and ninth respectively.

In the women's division, Korean pro Han Sol led throughout the five games to end her first block with 1020. Rina Asada of Japan finished a distant second with 957, 63 pins adrift while Thanchanok Vilailak of Thailand completed the top three with 954.

The Korean's effort put her eighth overall with two squads. Natasha Roslan, Sin Li Jane and Esther Cheach remained in the top three with 1127, 1098 and 1073 respectively.

Squad D will take to the lanes for their first block of five games at 5.00pm followed by Squad C at 9.00pm.

The bowlers will resume with their second block tomorrow, April 14 and ending their qualifying rounds with their third block on April 15.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.

13th April, Bangkok: Sam Cooley of Australia and Natasha Roslan of Malaysia topped the opening squad of the Men's and Women's Open Masters first block qualifying round of the 42nd MWA Singha Thailand International Open Tenpin Bowling Championship on Wednesday.

Cooley, a two-time ABF Tour winner, set a blistering pace with 268 in his opening game to lead Hong Kong's Mike Chan and Joshua Chow tieing second, 10 pins adrift and a third Hong Kong national, Wicky Yeung in third.

The Aussie lost the lead after the second game when a fourth Hong Kong national, Michael Mak shot into the front with 265 following his first game of 235. Cooley trailed in second and Chow in third.

But the Aussie bounced back brilliantly with 279 in the third game to regain the lead as Mak manahed only 201 to drop 71 pins behind the leader with Malaysia's Aris Ardila moving up to third. The leader added another stunning 278 to extend his lead to 130 pins after the fourth game.

Cooley eased off with 208 to end the first block with 1258. Thailand's top national bowler

and 2014 Asian Games Singles gold medalist, Yannaphon Larpapharat stormed home to take up second spot with 1177. Yeung finished third with 1145 while Aris and Mak completed the top five with 1140 and 1136 respectively.

Meanwhile 2015 Asian Youth Masters gold medalist, Natasha Roslan of Malaysia topped the women's division of the opening squad with 1127. Three-time Singapore Open champion, Sin Li Jane, who had set the opening pace and slipped back slightly, recovered to finish second with 1098.

Esther Cheah took third spot with 1073 ahead of Hee Kar Yen in fourth with 1072. Siti Safiyah Amirah finished fifth with 1070 while ealry pace-setter, Sharon Koh completed the top six for Malaysia with 1066.

The players will resume with their seconc block of 5 games at 1.30pm local time. Squad B, Squad C and Squad D will contest their first block at 1.30pm, 5.00pm and 9.00pm today. Bowlers will compete three blocks of 5 games each.

The top 3 local and top 3 overseas finishers from the combined squads will earn one bye to

advance to Round 3 finals automatically. The next 26 Men's Open qualifiers together with 4 from the one-game desperado squad will qualify for Round 2 finals. The next 18 Women's Open qualifiers will qualify for Round 2 finals.

The top 18 Men's Open finishers and top 8 Women's Open finishers in Round 2 finals will be joined by the 6 Men's Open and 6 Women's Open seeded qualifiers for another 6 games finals in Round 3. The top 6 men and top 6 women will advance to the stepladder shootout finals with the first match for bowlers seeded 4 to 6 over one game. The winner will meet bowlers seeded 2 to 3 for another game in the second match.

The winner will earn the right to challenge the top seed for the title on a beat-twice format. The men champion will pocket the top prize of 300,000 Thai baht (approx. US$9,500) and the women champion 100,000 Thai baht (approx. US$3,000).

Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.