14th November, Suzuka: Japan emerged as overall champion of the 9th Asian Senior Bowling Championship after Yasuo Nishida claimed the Men's Senior Masters title and Toshihiro Takahashi clinched the Men's Grand Senior Masters crown.

Men's Senior All Events champion and first block leader, Ysauo Nishida of Japan posted the highest 16-game Masters finals with 3632 and winning 10 matches for a grand total of 3732 to emerge as champion. The Japanese veteran led from start to finish to end the block 142 pins ahead of his nearest opponent.

Lee Hai Ki of Korea, who was fourth in the first block, posted 3470 and winning 12 matches for a grand total of 3590 and clinched the silver medal while Masami Onishi of Japan, who was fifth overnight settled for the bronze medal with 3553.

Two Australians, Paul Terry and JP Li missed out the chance of winning a medal despite being second and third in the first block to take uo fourth the fifth positions with 3533 and 3443 respectively.

Toshihiro Takahashi gave Japan gold medal no. 18 as he fought on galantly to clinch the Men's Grand Senior Masters title with a grand total of 3610. Takahashi, who was fifth in the first block with four wins, won another 6 matches in the second block for the victory.

Team gold medalist and first block leader, Katsumi Kamishita of Japan finished second to Takahashi to take the silver medal with 3548 while triple silver medalist, Lee Soo Ho of Korea, settled for the bronze medal with 3495.

The Japanese seniors won 3 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals whilst the grand seniors won all the 5 gold medals, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals. The men contributed 8 gold and together with the 10 gold won by the women, Japan emerged an unchallenged overall champion with 18 gold, 13 silver and 6 bronze medals.

Photos courtesy of Japan Bowling Congress.

14th November, Suzuka: Japanese women again totally dominated the Masters finals of the 9th Asian Senior Bowling Championship as they swept both the gold medals at stake in the Women's Senior and Grand Senior divisions on Wednesday afternoon.

Women's Senior All Events silver medalist, Junko Kuji claimed the Masters gold medal with 3380 after winning 11 out of the 16-game round-robin matchplay finals. Kuji, who trailed overnight leader, Nishiko Katoh by 29 pins overturned the deficit to win by 159 pins.

Triple gold medalist, Nishiko Katoh of Japan, who totaled 3221, settled for the silver medal and becoming the bowler with the most medals winning 3 gold and 2 silver medals. Korea's Hwang Wol Young took home the bronze medal with 3206.

Two other Japanese women, two gold medalist, Sumako Wada and singles silver medalist, Suzuko Hashimoto missed out on the podium to finish fourth and fifth positions with 3162 and 3159 respectively.

Team gold and doubles silver medalist, Yuriko Suzuki of Japan, finally nailed her first individual gold medal when she emerged victorious in the Women's Grand Senior Masters division. The veteran amassed a grand total of 3201, just 46 pins ahead her strongest challenger.

Barb Richmond of Australia, who was awarded two bronze medals after Japan had taken the top 3 positions of two events, gave a good account of herself to earn the silver medal with 3155 when she finished second to Suzuki.

Yukiyo Hara of Japan took the bronze medal after a fine run in the second block winning all but one match. Hara, who was 13th in the first block posted 1515 in the second block to total 3021 to finish third.

Japan also emerged the Women Senior and Grand Senior champions with identical 5 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze medals. Together, they won all the 10 gold medals at stake.

Photos courtesy of Japan Bowling Congress.

12th November, Suzuka: Japanese women took another four more gold medals in the 9th Asian Senior Bowling Championship after they won both the Women's Senior and Women's Grand Senior Team of 4 event and topping their respective All Events standings.

Misako Karatsu with Singles gold medalist, Nishiki Katoh steered their teammates and Doubles gold medalist pair of Chieko Hirata and Sumako Wada for a convincing victory in the Women's Senior Team of 4 event on a total of 4716, 219 pins ahead of their nearest opponent.

The champion led the first block with 2399 and 112 pins ahead of Korea and was on a roll in the second block with 802 and 797 in the fourth and fifth games. Despite a lowly 718, the Japanese quartet was able to end the 6-game event in the lead.

Another Japanese team of Sachiko Takemoto, Junki Kuji, Harumi Chatani and Harumi Suzuki, who was behind the Koreans in third in the first block, overtook them to finish 1-2 for Japan and clinched the silver medal with 4497.

Song Myung Ok, Han Chin Sook, Kang You Soon and Hwang Wol Young of Korea, could not keep pace with the Japanese to end in third with 4406 and settling for the bronze medal.

Nishiko Katoh of Japan, clinched her third individual gold medal when she topped the Women's Senior All Events table with 3773. Junko Kuji took the silver with 3653 while Han Feng-Chin, who finished fifth with 3440, was awarded the bronze medal.

Women's Grand Senior Doubles gold medalist, Michiyo Teramura won her first individual medal and Japan's 14th gold medal with a total of 3490 in the All Events table.

Toshiko Takami of Japan claimed the silver with 3416 while Barb Richmond of Australia was again awarded with the bronze despite finishing ninth after the top 8 were occupied by the Japanese.

Photos courtesy of Japan Bowling Congress.

12th November, Suzuka: Chinese Taipei men took their second gold medal in the Men's Team of 4 Senior division in the 9th Asian Senior Bowling Championship to prevent Japan another clean sweep.

Doubles gold medalist, Chen Ho-Tsai and Chen Yu-Chia partnered Wang Yu-Jen and Lin Han-Chen to emerged the team champions with a total of 4990 to capture their second gold medal. Han-Chen posted the highest 6-game score in the team with 1313 with Ho-Tsai and Yu-Jen contributing 1273 and 1272. Yu-Chia posted 1132.

The Taiwanese quartet was in second when the first block of 3 games were played on Sunday trailing Korea by 20 pins with 2509 but the champion shot a total of 2481 to snatch the gold medal by 45 pins.

First block leader, Korea ended up in third to take home the bronze medal after a lowly 2317 in the second block. Choi Soon Ha, Lee Hai Ki, Hwang U Ki and Ho Hui Jae amassed a total of 4846, 99 pins behind Japan, who totaled 4945.

Japan took their eighth gold medal when Tomoyoshi Oike, Setsuo Yoshida, Katsumi Kamishita and Toshiaki Ono snatched the Men's Grand Senior team gold medal from first block leader, Korea by 4 pins. The Japanese quartet had trailed the overnight leader by 5 pins but reversed the order with a superb 2473 to Korea's 2464.

Lee Soo Ho, who posted the highest 6-game series of 1377, was let down by his teammates Choi Yoon Chil scoring 1207, An Pyung Mo socring 1132 and Choi Bok Moon 1244 to settle for the silver medal with 4960.

Another Japanese quartet of Yoshinori Tanaka, Shuitsu Korin, Yutaka Maruo and Toshihiro Takahashi finished third to claim the bronze medal with 4622. Japan also took fourth spot when their Team D totaled 4622.

Men's Senior Singles gold medalist, Yasuo Nishida won his second individual gold medal when he topped the Men's Senior division All Events with 4069 over 18 games to give Japan their tenth gold medal. Chen Ho-Tsai and Lin Han-Chen took the silver amd bronze medals with 3931 and 3872 respectively.

Men's Grand Senior Singles gold medalist, Yusuku Harimoto won his second individual gold when he amassed an 18-game total of 3901 in the All Events. Korea's Lee Soo Ho again settled for the silver with 3845 while Yutaka Maruo took the bronze medal with 3817.

Photos courtesy of Japan Bowling Congress.

10th November, Suzuka: Japanese women proved that they were simply too strong for the field as they again swept the Women's Grand Senior and Senior Doubles gold medals of the 9th Asian Senior Bowling Championship at Circuit Bowl on Saturday evening.

Toshiko Takami and Michiyo Teramura of Japan edged their fellow-countrywomen, Takako Oki and Yuriko Suzuki by 12 pins to clinch the Women's Grand Senior Doubles gold medal. The champion pair totaled 2298 with Teramura posting the highest 6-game series of 1200 and Takami contributing 1098.

Oki and Suzuki settled for second to win the silver medal with 2286. Oki scored 1164 while Suzuki posted 1122. Reiko Sasamori and Sayoko Hamamoto surrendered their bronze medal to Korea's Lee Keum Ja and Hyun Jung Sook, who only managed to finish eighth with 2081 behind 7 Japanese pairs.

Australia's Maxine Forest and Singles Bronze medalist, Barb Richmond finished ninth with 2078 ahead of Filipino pair of Lina Labaguis and Aurora Villena making up the top 10 with 2034.

Japan ended Day 2 with their sixth gold medal of the competition so far when Misako Karatsu and Sumako Wada won the Women's Senior Doubles gold medal. The duo amassed a total of 2349, 38 pins ahead of their nearest opponent.

Korea's Hwang Mi Ri and Lee Jong Soon prevented the Japanese a 1-2 finish when the Korean pair snatched the silver medal with 2311 by just 1 pin. Singles gold medalist, Nishiko Katoh partnered Chieko Hirata to claim the bronze medal with 2310.

Katoh knocked down the highest 6-game series of the event with 1264 averaging an impressive 210.67. Chinese Taipei's Lin Shu-Chen and Han Feng-Chin were unlucky to miss out the medal finishing fourth with 2306, just 4 pins away.

After two days of intense competition, Japan is a runaway leader in the Medal Tally with 6 gold, 6 silver and 2 bronze medals. Korea is second with 1 gold, 1 silver and 5 bronze medals while Chinese Taipei is third with just 1 gold medal.

Photos courtesy of Japan Bowling Congress.

10th November, Suzuka: Japan clinched their fourth gold medal of the 9th Asian Senior Bowling Championship as Chikataka Iwai and Hiromi Matsubara emerged the Men's Grand Senior Doubles champion while Chen Ho-Tsai and Chen Yu-Chia won Chinese Taipei's first gold in the Men's Senior Doubles.

Chikataka Iwai and Hiromi Matsubara won Japan's fourth gold medal when the pair amassed a total of 2604 on Day 2 at Circuit Bowl on Saturday. The Japanese totally dominated the event bur had to content with the gold and the silver due to the rules for each country winning no more than two medals in an event.

Singles silver medalists, Yutaka Maruo partnered Toshihiro Takahashi to claim the silver medal with 2579, 25 pins adrift their fellow compatriots. Kenji Takahashi and Kazuyoshi Fukuoka could have won the bronze but had to surrender it to Korea's Seo Seong Won and Choi Byung Ik, who finished sixth with 2423.

Two other Japanese pairs of Katsumi Kamishita-Toshiaki Ono and Masashi Motonaga-Yusuke Harimoto finished fourth and fifth with 2538 and 2486 respectively giving Japan the top 5 places in the event.

Chinese Taipei prevented Japan another clean sweep on Day 2 as Chen Ho-Tsai and Chen Yu-Chia clinched the Men's Senior Doubles gold medal with 2664, just 15 pins ahead of Masami Onishi and Singles gold medalist, Yasuo Nishida of Japan.

Onishi and Nishida totaled 2649 to claim the silver medal ahead of their fellow-countrymen, Tadashi Sato and Yukio Sato, who settled for the Bronze medal with 2582.

Three other Japanese pairs took fourth to sixth positions. Chen Ho-Tsai posted the highest 6-game series in the event with 1413 as his partner scored 1251 for the Taiwanese to take the well deserved victory.

Photos courtesy of Japan Bowling Congress.

9th November, Suzuka: Japanese women dominated the Singles event of the 9th Asian Senior Bowling Championship as Sayoko Hamamoto and Nishiko Katoh added two more gold medals for Japan after sweeping the Women's Grand Senior and Senior singles titles.

Sayoko Hamamoto and Toshiko Takami added two more gold medals for Japan as both the women finished 1-2 in the Grand Senior singles event with 1173 and 1147 pinfalls respectively. Yusuke Harimoto had earlier won Japan's first gold in the Men's Grand Senior division.

Takami was stronger in the first half of the 6-game singles leading the field with 619 series but Hamamoto finished much stronger in the second half with 659 to emerge victorious over her compatriot.

Barb Richmond of Australia, settled for the bronze medal with 1124, 23 pins adrift Takami. Michiyo Teramura was unlucky not to pick up a medal as the championship rules that no three countries shall take all the medals despite tieing with Richmond with 1124.

The Japanese women totally dominated the Senior division but was only allowed to claim the gold and the silver despite occupying the top 8 positions. Nishiko Katoh claimed the gold with 1228, just 8 pins ahead of fellow compatriot, Suzuko Hashimoto, who settled for the silver with 1224.

Junko Kuji of Japan finished third with 1181 but had to give away the bronze medal to Korea's Lee Jong Soon, who finished ninth with 1137. Sumako Wada, Harumi Suzuki, Chizuko Hirata, Sachiko Matsubara and Chieko Hirata took fourth to eighth positions respectively.

The senior men and women will continue with the doubles event tomorrow. The Team of 4 will be staged on Sunday November 11 witht the first block of 3 games and the second block on Monday 12. The top 16 in the All Events will qualify for their respectively division masters finals.

Photos courtesy of Japan Bowling Congress.

9th November, Suzuka: Japan and Korea shared the glory on Day 1 of the 9th Asian Senior Bowling Championship as Yusuke Harimoto of Japan and Choi Soon Ha of Korea captured the Singles gold medals of the Men's Grand Senior and Senior divisions.

You Dong Kuk of Korea opened account with a 233 to take a 6 pins lead over Shuitsu Korin of Japan and Choi Byung Ik of Korea third a further 5 pins away. Setsuo Yoshida of Japan took over from the second game was only pins ahead of fellow countryman, Yutaka Maruo and Lee Soo Ho tied in second.

Maruo grabbed the lead from the third game and held it until the fourth when Lee shot a 257 to surge into the lead after the fifth game ahead of Yutaka and Yusuke Harimoto making up grounds to take third spot.

Harimoto shot a superb 257 in the sixth and final game ending the 6-game to snatch the Men's Grand Senior singles gold with 1288 while Maruo settled for the silver medal with 1281, just 7 pins adrift. Lee Soo Ho of Korea claimed the bronze medal with 1275.

In the Men's Senior division, Korea's Choi Soon Ha and Yasou Nishida of Japan, tied on 1429 to win a gold medal each. Choi set a cracking pace to take an early lead with 257 opening game and was 57 pins ahead of Nashida after another superb 279 in the third game.

Choi held the lead until Nashida posted 254 and 244 in the fourth and fifth games to take over the lead with 12 pins ahead of Choi. The two were going neck and neck and when Choi posted 249 in his final game and confident of winning the gold, Nashida fought on to post 237 to draw level.

Lawrie Hill of Australia stormed home with 268 and 206 in his last two games to snatch the bronze medal with 1312, just 3 pins ahead of Tadashi Sato of Japan in fourth with 1309. The Women's Senior and Grand Senior singles will commence in the afternoon.

Photos courtesy of Japan Bowling Congress.