9th April, Jakarta: Malaysia and Thailand emerged as Girl's and Boy's overall champions of the 8th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship as Malaysia's Siti Safiyah Amirah and Thailand's Somjed K captured the Girl's and Boy's Masters Gold medal.

Both Siti Safiyah and Somjed K ended the championship with three Gold medal each to cap off a superb outing for both countries. A rule change in the championship made in March this year, eleminated the points system for the overall champions instead is based on medals won by the A team hence with Malaysia and Thailnd winning identical 3 Gold and 1 Bronze medals, emerged as joint-overall champions and Malaysia is overall in the girls division while Thailand the boys overall champion.

Newly-crowned Malaysian Open champion, Siti Safiyah lived up to her reputation to bag the third crucial Gold medal for Malaysia when she defeated teammate and Doubles Silver medalist, Wan Nur Atiqqa 421-392 over the two-games girl's stepladder match. Siti had earlier topped the second block of the round-robin finals as top seed while third-seeded, Wan Nur Atiqqa pipped second-seeded and first block leader, Kim Lao of the Philippines, 204-203 in the first match.

"The girls have done Malaysia proud by retaining the girl's overall champion title," said Mr Terence Yaw, Team Manager. "I believe that our boys had under estimated our opponents in this championship hence we didn't win any medals. Overall it's a good outing for Malaysia."

The disappointment was for Singapore when Shayna Ng, who was third before the final position-round match, bowl poorly to finish fourth and missed the cut for the stepladder finals. Two Gold medalist, Sharon Koh did well to claim fifth spot.

The boy's stepladder matches was more keenly contested between top-seeded Somjed K of Thailand and second-seeded and challenger, Cheng Hsing-Chao of Chinese Taipei trading strikes for strikes. Somjed, who has bagged two Gold from the Doubles and Team event, went from strength to strength taking the first match, 211-205.

Somjed proved too good for Cheng with a 205-200 second match to claim his third Gold on 419-405 total pinfalls. Cheng settled for the Silver despite out-classing third-seeded, Jomar Jumapao of the Philippines, 268-198 in the first boy's stepladder match.

Jumapao took home the Bronze medal while Singles Gold medalist, Travis Tay of Singapore and Japan's Shota Kawazoe finished fourth and fifth in the earlier second block finals.

The Masters medals were presented by Mrs. Vivien Fung, Honorary Life President of Asian Bowling Federation at the end of the stepladder finals. Fifteen boys and 11 girls teams from 9 countries participated in this year's championship, with most team officials claiming that the organisation was superb and the hospitality extended by the host was exemplary.

Special mention goes to Mr Maxi Gunawan, President of Indonesia Bowling Congress, Mr Ongki Soemarno, Organising Chairman, Aswin Limasantoso, Director of International Affairs for Indonesia Bowling Congress and Ms Christina Koo, Manager of Jaya Ancol Bowling Center. The 9th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship will be hosted Thailand in Bangkok in 2006.

Photos bt Terence Yaw, MTBC.

8th April, Jakarta: Chinese Taipei's Cheng Hsing-Chao dominated the first block of the Boy's Masters in 8th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship leading all the way while Filipina Kim Lao snatched the pole in the eighth game.

Cheng, who scored the only perfect game of the championship so far, is determined to win his first Gold medal after he blazed the lanes in the Boy's first block Masters finals at Jaya Ancol Bowling Center this morning. Cheng won all but one of the 8 round-robin matches with lines of 257, 258, 224, 228, 223, 258, 182, 244 and a bonus of 70 points for the lead with 1944.

"Since I had the perfect game in the team event two days ago, I feel very comfortable with the lanes here which is why I can score," said the 17 year-old student from Taipei. "I have only managed to win two silver medals and I'm confident that I'll do well tomorrow too."

Two Gold medalist, Somjed K of Thailand finished second, 30 pins adrift with 1914 followed by Jomar Jumapao of Philippines A in third position with 1861. Singles Gold medalist, Travis Tay of Singapore and Japan's Shota

Kawazoe of Japan made up the top 5 in fourth and fifth spots with 1830 and 1758 respectively.

The girls top spot was more keenly contested as several bowlers traded the lead throughout the first block. Doubles Bronze medalist, Suzuna Miyagi set a blistering pace at the start of the round-robin finals but soon found herself down the field. Singapore's Gina Lim took over pole from game two onwards but also gave up the lead to teammate, Shayna Ng at the halfway mark.

But it was Filipina, Kim Lao who eventually snatched the lead in the final game with a total pinfalls of 1683. Lao won six matches and tie one for a 65 pins bonus. Malaysian girls put up a final charge towards the end to claim second and third spots. Girls Doubles Silver medalist, Wan Nur Atiqqa totalled 1668 for second while Team Gole medalist, Siti Safiyah Amirah came home third with 1665.

"I hope I can maintain this form in the second block tomorrow," said the 14 year-old Sacred Heart Schools for Girls student in Cebu City. "This is my third Asian Schools campaign and has never won anything so I will be very happy indeed if I can win something," added the 2003 and 2004 Youth Team Bronze medalist of the Philippines National Championships.

Early pace-setters, Shayna Ng and Gina Lim of Singapore could only finish fourth and fifth positions with 1648 and 1644 and with just 48 pins separating the top 5, it will certainly be a keen tussle in the second block which will be contested Saturday, April 9th. The top 3 at the end of the second block will make the cut for the stepladder finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw, MTBC.

7th April, Jakarta: It was an eventful day for Thailand and Malaysia as the boys and girls captured the Team of 4 Gold medals of the 8th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship at Jaya Ancol Bowling Center this evening.

Thailand started the eventful day with an outstanding performance when Supawat S and Somjed K bagged the Boy's Doubles Gold medal. The Thais went on to capture the coveted Team Gold medal when Supawat and Somjed teamed up with Prawit D and Todsaphon T to turn in yet another superb performance.

The quartet was trailing first block leader, Philippines A by 13 pins before the start of the second block but soon found themselves in the lead with a 832 game in the fourth while Philippines A could only manage 745 and Singapore A, 779. Thereafter, the Thais continued their relentless pursuit to win their second gold medal of the day.

A final 854 and 801 in the last two games sealed the win for Thailand as they celebrated an historical moment of capturing two gold medals in a day

with a team total of 5094. The Filipinos settled for the Silver with 4931 while the Singaporeans took home a Bronze with 4898.

In the girls division, Malaysia made amends after being pipped by the Japanese in the Girl's Doubles event earlier by capturing the Girls Team Gold medal. The Malaysian quartet of Siti Safiyah Amirah, Nur Syakirah Yeoh, championship rookie, Sin Li Jane, anchored by Singles Gold medalist, Sharon Koh trailed first block leader, Singapore A by 38 pins before the the start of the second block.

A superb 804 saw the Malaysian girls narrow the gap to just 2 pins. Seizing the chance of a Gold medal at sight, the foursome turned into overdrive to post 861 in the fifth game to take over the lead by 74 pins. The Malaysians were in lanes 17 ad 18 while the Singaporeans were in lanes 15 and 16. Tension mounted as both teams matched strikes for strikes as well as missing spares.

The Singapore put up a tremendous fight to the end to post 870 and Malaysia need to hit at least 800 and above. It was down to the wire as anchor-girl, Sharon was called to the task. She had to strike in the 10th frame to confirm the win and she did just that. The Malaysian eventually totalled exactly 800 to hang to to a 4 pin win over the Singaporeans on a total of 4725.

Gina Lim, Amanda Ng, Shayna Ng and Cherie Tan settled for the Silver with 4721 while the Japanese quartet of Aya Sakamoto, Kyoko Kamagahara, Sayaka Iho and Suzuna Miyagi could only score 4592 for the Bronze.

Mark Ho's superb 1314 in the team event sealed the Gold in the Boy's All Events with 3894 followed perfect gamer, Cheng Hsing-Chao of Chinese Taipei claiming the Silver with 3873 while Thailand's Somjed K took home the Bronze with 3870. Doubles Gold medalist, Kyoko Kamagahara of Japan confirmed the Gold in the Girl's All Events with 3846. Singapore's Amanda Ng settled for the Silver with 3767 while Malaysia's Siti Safiyah Amirah took home the Bronze medal with 3697.

Japan leads the Girl's Medal tally with 2 Gold and 3 Bronze medals with Malaysia in second with 2 Gold and 1 Bronze medal. Singapore is third with 3 Silver medals. Thailand topped the Boy's Medal tally with 2 Gold and 1 Bronze medal followed by Singapore with 1 Gold and 2 Bronze medals with Philippines in third with 1 Gold and 1 Silver medal. The top 16 boys and girls will contest the first block of 8 games Masters Finals tomorrow morning (8th April) and the second block on April 9th. The top 3 from each division will make the cut for the stepladder finals to determine the winners.

Photos bt Terence Yaw, MTBC.

7th April, Jakarta: Supawat S and Somjed K put up an outstanding performance to bag Thailand's first Gold in the 8th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship in the Boy's Doubles event this evening.

Supawat, a 17 year-old student from Bangkok and making his debut in the Asian Schools championship posted lines of 202, 201, 223, 267, 152 and 183 for six-games series of 1228 while the 2003 Malaysian Open Youth champion, Somjed K set the lanes at Jaya Ancol Bowling Center on fire with an equally impressive line of 225, 215, 242, 223, 205 and 210 for a total of 1320.

The Thais kicked clear with a 490 game in the fourth with Chinese Taipei's pair of Cheng Hsing-Chao and Huang Hung-Ping closing the gap with a superb 487 in the fifth game. A 357 from the Thais was enough to seal the Gold medal with a total of 2548 while the Chinese Taipei settled for the Silver with 2531.

Hong Kong Team B's Derek Tong and Michael Tsang storm home with a 490 to snatch the Bronze medal with 2490 with Philippines and Singapore in fourth and fifth positions.

After two events and the Team of 4 first block, Japan's Shota Kawazoe grabbed the lead in the Boy's All Events with 3254 ahead of perfect-gamer, Cheng Hsing-Chao in second with 3250. Filipino, Mark Ho finished third with 3237.

Japan leads the medal tally with 1 Gold and 2 Bronze with Singapore in second spot with 1 Gold and 1 Bronze while Malaysia and Thailand shared third with 1 Gold medal each. The Team of 4 second block will complete the second day of competition with the top 16 boys and girls based on the All Events making the cut for the Masters Finals.

Scores and photos provided by HKTBC.

7th April, Jakarta: Aya Sakamoto and Singles Bronze medalist, Kyoko Kamagahara of Japan stormed home in the final game to snatch the Girl's Doubles Gold medal of the 8th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship at Jaya Ancol Bowl this morning.

The Japanese pair started the event with a cracking pace of 478 to take the lead until the halfway mark when Ili Syazana and Wan Nur Atiqqa of Malaysia Team B took over pole with 428, 424 and 426 series. Sakamoto and Kamagahara continued to trail the Malaysian duo by 31 after the fourth game and by the fifth, they were down 52 pins and in third.

The Singapore pair of Shayna Ng and Amanda Ng took advantage of the dip in pace by the leaders to take up second spot going into the final game. But both Malaysia and Singapore could only score 350 each in the final game and handed to medals to the Japanese.

Japan won their first Gold with 2476 ahead of the Malaysian on 2467. Suzuna Miyagi and Sayaka Iho posted 407 in the final game to snatch the Bronze off the Singaporeans with 2419, just 3 pins ahead. Shayna and Amanda settled for fourth with 2416.

After two events and the Team of 4 first block, Kyoko Kamagahara of Japan leads the Girl's All Events with 3266 (15 games) from Singapore's Amanda Ng in second with 3165. Siti Safiyah Amirah crawled her way up to third with 3078.

Japan leads the medal tally with 1 Gold and 2 Bronze with Singapore in second spot with 1 Gold and 1 Bronze while Malaysia is third with 1 Gold medal. The boys will be contesting their Doubles event after which the Team of 4 second block will complete the second day of competition.

Photos by Terence Yaw, MTBC.

6th April, Jakarta: Philippines A boys and Singapore A girls led the Team first block of 3 games of the 8th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship as the first day of competition ended here at Jaya Ancol Bowling Center.

The Filipino quartet of Ian Dychango, Jeff Chan, Jomar Jumapao and Mark Ho all had 600 plus series each for a team total of 2620 from Thailand Team 1 of Prawit D, Somjed K, Supawat S and Todsaphon T, who totalled 2607, just 13 pins adrift.

Singapore, led by Singles Gold and Bronze medalist, Travis Tay and Wong Han Wei set the early pace for the lead but soon fizzled out when Thailand took over the lead in the second game by 48 pins. But a strong 913 in the final series by the Filipinos saw them surge into the lead at the end of the first block.

The Singaporean settled for third with 2549 while host nations, Indonesia did well to stay with the leaders in fourth position with 2445. Favourites, Malaysia ended up in fifth, a further 39 pins away with 2406. Last year's

Cathay Junior Classic champion, Ernest Cheng Hsing-Chao became the first bowler to hit a perfect game of 300 in the second game of the first block.

Meanwhile, Singapore's Gina Lim, Amanda Ng, Shayna Ng and Cherie Tan claimed the lead with a strong third game of 802 to give them a first block total of 2298. Early leader, Malaysia, comprising of Nur Syakirah Yeoh, Sin Li Jane, Siti Safiyah Amirah and anchored by Singles Gold medalist, Sharon Koh, settled for second, 38 pins adrift on 2260.

Third position went to the Japanese quartet of Aya Sakamoto, Kyoko Kamagahara, Syaka Iho and Suzuna Miyagi with a total of 2241 while Malaysia Team 2 of Ili Syazana, Saw Bee Gek, Siti Nur Syakila and Wan Nur Atiqqa finished fourth with 2219.

Girls Singles Bronze medalist, Kyoko Kamagahara of Japan leads the All Events with 1917 just 1 pin ahead of Singles Gold medalist, Sharon Koh in second with 1916. Singapore's Amanda Ng finished third with 1857.

The boy's All Events is lead by Singles Bronze medalist, Wong Han Wei with 2003 ahead of teammate and Singles Gold medalist, Travis Tay in second with 1998. Thailand's Todsaphon T took third spot with 1957.

The Doubles event will be contested on Thursday morning, 7th April followed by the Team of 4 second block in the evening. The top 16 boys and girls based on the All Events total will make the cut for the Masters Finals on the 8th and 9th April.

Photos by Terence Yaw, MTBC.

6th April, Jakarta: Sharon Koh of Malaysia finally struck her first Gold medal after her third attempt in the 8th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship winning the Girl's Singles at Jaya Ancol Bowling Center this afternoon.

Sharon, who took over the lead from teammate, Siti Safiyah at the halfway mark, trailed the leader, Kyoko Kamagahar of Japan by 4 pins going into the final game. A strong 224 in the last game sealed the win with 1326 pinfalls. ABF Tour Malaysia leg champion, Amanda Ng stormed home with 225 in her final game to snatch the Silver medal with 1296 while Kamagahara settled for the Bronze with 1294.

"I knew I was fighting for the top 3 positions but wasn't sure until the ninth frame when I had a stike," said the 17 year-old Bukit Jalil Sports School student. "I knew I had won the Gold when my dad came to hug me to congratulate me," added the jubilant Sharon.

"This is my third time participating in the Asian Schools championship and I'm glad that I finally win an individual Gold. I am now more confident than ever and with my strong teammates, we will do well in the Team event later.".

"Sharon bowled well throughout the series and we knew that she will do well as she is a competition bowler," said coach Mr Foong Tak Meng. "We drilled her a new bowling ball just before we left Malaysia and we are glad this ball worked well for her," said assistant coach, Mr Marcus Lee.

Newly-crowned Malaysian International Open champion and favourite, Siti Safiyah took an early lead with a superb 268 in the first game and held the lead until two low games pull her down and eventually finished fourth with 1255. The Singles medal presentation will take place shortly after which the Team of 4 first-block of three games will be played.

Photos by Terence Yaw, MTBC.

6th April, Jakarta: Singapore had an exurberant start to their 8th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship campaign when Travis Tay, Benjamin Lim and Wong Han Wei finished 1-2-3 for a clean sweep of the Boy's Singles medals at Jaya Ancol Bowling Center this morning.

Tay snatched the Gold from teammate, Wong Han Wei in the final game of the 6-games Singles event to win his first-ever title in an international tournament since taking up the game 6 years ago with a total score of 1356. The Raffles Junior College pre-u student took the lead from game 2 onwards but lost the lead briefly at the halfway mark.

Tay and Wong traded the lead throughout the 6 games but a poor game of 156 in the final crunch, dropped Wong into third for the Bronze medal with 1313 while Benjamin Lim scored 237 in his last game to pip Wong for the Silver with 1322.

"I'm happy to have won my the first Gold medal for Singapore. I only knew that I had won at the end of the event after being congratulated by my coaches," said 17 year-old Tay. "I'm also happy for my teammates, Lim and Wong for finishing second and third."

"Exurberant! That's the only comment I can give," said Mr Ng Eng Ching after the win. "Never in our 8 years of participation in this championship have we ever finish 1-2-3. The boys performed according to instructions and were able to read the lanes well," added Mr Ng.

Malaysia's Eric Ang, who was second at the start, finished fourth just missing the medal by 15 pins on 1298 ahead of Jeff Chan of the Philippines in fifth with 1292. Singapore only picked up points towards their overall champions campaign from the players in Team A despite the 1-2-3 finish.

The Girl's Singles event will follow immediately after lane maintenenace and thereafter, the Team of 4 for both the boys and girls will be played later this afternoon.

Photos by Terence Yaw, MTBC.

5th April, Jakarta: Asia's future stars from 9 countries paraded at the official opening of the 8th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship at Jaya Ancol Bowling Center this evening.

Amongst the youths participating at this year's meet is newly-crowned Malaysian International Open champion, Siti Safiyah Amirah of Malaysia and 15 year-old ABF Tour Malaysia leg champion, Amanda Ng of Singapore.

The official opening was graced by Honourable, Adhyaksa Dault, Minister of Youth and Sports of Indonesia, FIQ Secretary General, Dr Danny Santos, Mr Maxi Gunawan, President of Indonesia Bowling Congress, representatives of the embassies of all the participating countries, distinguished guests, officials, parents, supporters and members of the media.

"These young athletes are the best in their country, some of them are even world class already. And it is not a secret that most Asian School champions become furture world class bowlers," said Mr Ongki P. Soemarno, Organising Chairman in his keynote address.

"The previous official international championship hosted by Indonesia was in 1990 during the Asian Championship and to be back here is not only an honour for FIQ but also for Asian Bowling Federation," said Dr Danny Santos, Secretary General of FIQ during his speech.

Fifteen boys teams and 11 girls teams from 9 countries paraded in the official opening held this evening at Jaya Ancol Bowling Center, during which the large crowd that has gathered here cheered the host nation, Indonesia as they marched in.

The guests were given a warm welcome reception after the Minister of Youth and Sports, Indonesia hit the "Gong" to officially declare the championship open. Guests were also treated to the traditional puppet dance known as "Ondel-ondel Betawi" accompanied by the "Gambang Kromong" band.

Competition commence Wednesday, April 6th with the Singles event for both the boys and girls divisions followed by the Team of 4 first block of 3 games in the afternoon. The Doubles and Team of 4 second block will be contested on Thursday, April 7th.

The top 16 boys and girls based on the All Events (18 games) will qualify for Masters Finals to be played on Friday April 8th and Saturday April 9th. LIVE scores will be featured throughout the 4 day of competition.

Photos by Terence Yaw, MTBC.

4th April, Jakarta: The Indonesian Tenpin Bowling Association is all set to kick off the 8th Asian Schools Tenpin Bowling Championship at Jaya Ancol Bowling Center where a total of 9 countries will be competing for glory.

The Team Managers' Meeting was held this evening where a total of 15 teams from the 9 Asian countries have been entered for this year's championship. Mr Ongki P Soemarno welcomed all the managers who attended the meeting where teams finalised their line up and conducted the lane draws.

Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and host Indonesia fielded two teams each while Brunei, Chinese Taipei and Japan fielded one team each making up the 15 teams. The techincal committee consisted of Dr Danny Santos (FIQ Secretary General), Mr Chandra Silitonga (Host Tournament Coordinator) and Mr Andrew Fung (from Hong Kong). The Jury of Appeal are Mr Kyohei Akagi (President, Japan Bowling Congress), Mr Alexander Lim (Philippines) and Mr Maxi Gunawan (President, Indonesia Bowling Association).

The official practice will take place tomorrow, April 5th followed by the official opening ceremony and welcome reception in the evening, hosted by Indonesia Bowling Associationa and Jaya Ancol Bowling Center. Competition will commence with the Singles event for both the boys and girls in the morning and afternoon followed by the Team of 4 first block of 3 games in the evening.

The Doubles event for both the divisions will be played on April 6th and the Team of 4 second block of 3 games in the evening. The top 16 boys and girls based on their All Events (18 games) will qualify for the Masters Finals played over two days on April 8th and 9th. For detailed LIVE scores will be featured here throughout the championship.

Photos by Terence Yaw, MTBC.