25th July, Jakarta: New Hui Fen of Singapore clinched her first open title by capturing the 9th Indonesia International Open Women's Masters crown while Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand won his second open title this year in the Men's division.

Singapore women had dominated the finals from yesterday's stage 1 with all nine advancing into today's stage 2 finals. New Hui Fen led from start to finish ending the stage with 2145, 18 pins ahead of team-mate and stage 1 leader, Cherie Tan in second with 2127.

Hong Kong Open champion Shayna Ng finished third with 2068 while Fok Ka Wai took fourth spot to qualify for the stepladder finals. ABF Tour Hong Kong leg champion, Tannya Roumimper of Indonesia and Wendy Chai of Malaysia made the cut in fifth and sixth.

Tannya won the Women's Open first stepadder match by deating Ka Wai and Wendy, 210-158-199 to face No. 2 seed, Cherie Tan and No. 3 seed, Shayna Ng in the second match. The Indonesian was on a roll knocking out her opponents, 223-185-201 to challenge Hui Fen.

Hui Fen started with a strike but a single pin miss in the second frame allowed Tannya to take a small lead. The top seed reversed the advantage after stringing together three strikes-in-a-row from frame 5.

A split in the ninth frame appeared to have swung the advantage back to Tannya especially when the Indonesian struck out for a socre of 187. But Hui Fen kept her cool to spare and struck in her final throw for the victory with 192.

"I expected a tight match in the finals after seeing Tannya beating me team-mates in the other two matches," said the 19-year-old Hui Fen, who won two gold medals each at the 2010 Asian Youth Championships and 2009 Asian Youth Games.

"And that miss didn't helped too but I managed to get my composure back and fought back for this victory. It's slowly sinking in that I've won my first international open title."

Hui Fen became the second Singaporean to win the Women's title. Bernice Lim, who ended in 18th position in the second stage, won it in 2007. Geraldine Ng finished ninth, Jazreel Tan 13th and Jasmine Yeong-Nathan 15th.

Meanwhile, Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand captured his second open title this year with a slender one pin victory over challenger, Basel Al Anzi of Kuwait, 192-191 in the deciding match.

Basel has edged Yannaphon, 208-199 after striking out in his final frame to force a sudden death second match. Basel had earlier, snatched a 218-211-214 win over No. 2 seed, Shaker Al Hassan of UAE and team-mate, Mohamed Al Zaidan in the second match.

Mohamed Al Zaidan beat fourth seed, Zulmazran Zulkifli of Malaysia and fifth seed, Surasak Manuwong of Thailand, 245-191-231 to advance into the next match.

"I should have closed out my opponent in the first match and not go into the second match but I just couldn't get anymore connecting strikes," said the Yannaphon, who ended a five year title drought by capturing the Macau China Open early this month.

"I tried so hard to win a title and failed to win one. And all of a sudden you win two. It's just simply fantastic. I have to thank my team-mates for their strong support during the match."

Yannaphon won 150 million Indonesian rupiah (approx. US$17,500) and Basel took home 100 million rupiah (approx. US$11,700). Basel also picked up a Tag-Heuer watch worth US$1,500 for scoring the only perfect game.

Second seed, Shaker Al Hassan slipped to third to take home 60 million rupiah (approx. US$7,000). The women's champion, Hui Fen won 50 million rupiah (approx. US$5,800) with Tannya 25 million rupiah and Cherie Tan 12.5 million rupiah.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Jakarta.

24th July, Jakarta: Singapore women dominated the first round of the Women's Open Masters finals at the 9th Indonesia International Open in which Cherie Tan and New Hui Fen finished one-two while Bahrain's Yousef Falah took pole in the men's division.

Guangzhou Asian Games silver medalist, Ivana Hie set the pace with an opening game of 233 to lead Malaysia's Jacqueline Sijore in second but her lead was short-lived as Singapore's New Hui Fen took over the running after the second game.

Another Malaysian, Esther Cheah made her bid with a big game of 264 in the third to move ahead of Hui Fen as the field settled down with the finals.

But it was Hui Fen's high games that put her back into the lead which she held for the next three games until Esther bounced back to share the lead with the Singaporean after the seventh game followed by a third Malaysian, Hee Kar Yen trailing by 6 pins.

A second Singaporean Cherie Tan then stormed home with 212, 213 and 226 to snatch pole position with 2136 at the end of the 10-game Round 1. Hui Fen settled for second with 2114 while Kar Yen hung on for third with 2109.

"I started off rather slow but after changing my bowling ball, I managed to string togther more consistent games which allowed me to finish this well," said the 22-year-old Cherie, who bagged the 2011 EBT Masters title in February,

"It'll all be back to square one tomorrow and I hope I can continue to bowl this consistently. I'm happy with my performance today and I'm also glad that all my team-mates made the next round."

Seven Singapore women contested this round and they will be joined by top seed and Hong Kong Open champion, Shayna Ng, 2007 Indonesia Open champion, Bernice Lim and Siti Shazwani of Malaysia.

Thailand's Angkana Netrviseth missed the cut 15 pins despite ending with a superb game of 242. The 18th and cut position for next round went to Singapore's Jasmine Yeong-Nathan with a total of 1908.

Three more seeded qualifiers from the local pool, Putty Armein, Novie Phang and Sharon Limansantoso will join the top 15 for another 10 games in Round 2 starting from scratch.

Meanwhile, the Men's Open Round 1 finals was a more closer contest where the lead changed hands more than five times throughout the 10-games played. Williem Widjaya of Indonesia set the opening pace with a scintilating 277 but lost the lead to Yousef Falah of Bahrain, who led for two games thereafter.

But the Indonesian regained the lead after rolling 248 and 268 in the third and fourth games only to lose it again to perfect gamer, Basel Al Anzi of Kuwait, who surged into the lead after the sixth game.

The lead changed hands again after Hong Kong's Michael Tsang registered 234 and 249 in the seventh and eighth games. But Tsang faded off toward the end while Thailand's Surasak Manuwong and Yousef tussled for the lead.

The Bahraini ended stronger to take pole with 2259 and Surasak settled for second spot with 2230. Tsang hled on to third spot with 2197 as American PBA pro, Tim Mack stormed home to take fourth with 2182.

"I bowl much better than during the qualifying rounds and I'm pleased with where I am," said the lanky Baharaini leader, Yousef Falah. "The lanes are good and the playing area is wide which allowed me to score well.

"I hope the conditions is the same tomorrow. But it won't be easy because the field will be stronger with the six seeded qualifiers. Let's see how it goes tomorrow."

Basel completed the top 5 with 2181 ahead of defending champion and only spinner in the field, Hsieh Jing Liang of Chinese Taipei sixth with 2142.

UAE's Hareb Al Mansoori missed the cut by 4 pins to finish 19th position with 1999. Isaac Russell, Yannaphon Larpapharat and Wu Siu Hong from the overseas pool and Oscar, Ryan Lalisang and Harry Rachmadian from the local pool will join the top 18 for the next round.

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

Photos by Terence Yaw in Jakarta.

23rd July, Jakarta: Ex-national Isaac Russell of Malaysia staked his claim on the Men's Open Masters title of the 9th Indonesia International Open after an astonishing scoreline of 1545 to surge into pole position.

Isaac Russell, who stopped bowling after being dropped from the Malaysian national team two years ago, only started to bowl again some four months ago. Only just 21, Isaac proved that he still has what it takes to be competitive.

In total the youngster has made 10 attempts, two in the Men's Graded A division in which he easily made the cut and the remaining 8 all in the open division.

He made the top 3 spots two days ago in third position on a total of 1431 with 761 and 670 series. But this morning, Isaac blitzed the lanes with an astonishing 784 to take his tally to a record-breaking 1545, an average of 257.5 to move into top spot.

Overnight leader and Macau China Open champion, Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand settled for second with 1487 while early leader, Wu Siu Hong of Hong Kong slipped down to third with 1461.

2009 Indonesia Open champion, Zulmazran Zulkifli of Malaysia was knocked out of the top 3 spots into fourth on a total of 1441 and may have to make another attempt if he wish to earn the Round 1 bye.

The cut now stood at 150-over and with four more squads left before ending late tonight, it may go up as high as 160-over.

There were not much changes to the women's division as Singapore women continued to dominate proceedings. Hong Kong Open champion, Shayna Ng sat firmly on top of the standings with 1433 followed by 2007 Indonesia Open champion, Bernice Lim second and New Hui Fen third.

Singapore has taken up seven of the ten places of the overseas pool with Jasmine Yeong-Nathan, Cherie Tan, Jazreel Tan and Geradine Ng split by Malaysia's Wendy Chai and Hee Kar Yen in fourth and seventh positions.

2010 Singapore national champion, Fok Ka Wai and Amanda Ng were the two other Singaporeans making the cut in the mixed pool.

The cut for the women's division stood at 58-over and will likely reach 60-65 over by the end of the evening. The 30 men qualifiers and the 24 women qualifiers will bowl 10 games in Round 1 finals tomorrow. The top 18 men and top 15 women will advance into Round 2 finals together with the 6 seeded (3 local, 3 overseas) qualifiers for another 10 games in Round 2.

The top 6 at the end of the round will advance into the stepladder shootout finals to detemine the champions.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Jakarta.

22nd July, Jakarta: Macau China Open champion, Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand is eyeing for his second title this year after another stunning qualifying effort at the 9th Indonesia International Open on Friday.

Yannaphon, who is the most senior member of the Thai national squad, broke a four-year drought by capturing the Macau China International Open early this month after several near misses.

En-route to the title, the 28-year-old also led the qualifying table before rounding off with the well-deserve victory. Here at Ancol Bowling Center, Yannaphon also posted a stunning 788, the highest 3-games series so far, to take over the lead in the Men's Open Masters qualifying table.

Adding to his other modest 699, the Thai aggregated a 6-game total of 1487 to dislodge overnight leader, Wu Siu Hong of Hong Kong into second spot.

Malaysia's Zulmazran Zulkifli stormed into third spot with two splendid series of 729 and 711 for a total of 1441 to join the Yannaphon and Wu for Round 2 finals. Recently-crowned ABF Tour Hong Kong leg champion, Annop Arromsaranon of Singha Thailand had improved to third only to be pushed back down to fourth and missing the crucial first round bye with 1438.

Indonesia's challenge for the men's title will come from Ryan Lalisang, who led the local pool with 1349. Team-mate, Hardy Rachmadian and Oscar joined Lalisang for the top 3 automatic qualifying spots for Round 2 finals.

The current cut stood at 1334 held by Malaysia's Syafiq Ridhwan and with one more day of qualifying left, it will still be around the 150-160 over margin to make the cut.

In the women's division, Singapore women retained the top 3 spots of the overseas pool with newly-crowned Hong Kong Open champion, Shayna Ng heading the table with 1433. 2005 Indonesia Open champion and team-mate, Bernice Lim finished second with an improved 1380.

New Hui Fen, who was second, dropped down to third with 1354 as Malaysia's Wendy Chai missed the top 3 spot after moving up to fourth with 1347. Jasmine Yeong-Nathan, who was third eaalier rounded up the top 5 with 1341.

Putty Armein, who was the fifth local seeded qualifier, shot a superb series of 709 to take her tally to 1384 and to lead the local pool. Novie Phang and national rookie, Puteri Astari finished second and third.

The current for the women's division stood at 1241 held by Thailand's Angkana Netrviseth and will like be raised to 60-70 over margin. Qualifying will end tomorrow, July 23 and the Masters finals will be staged over two rounds of eight games on July 24 and 25.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Jakarta.

22nd July, Jakarta: Malaysians Aris Ardila and Tengku Emanina Laily swept the Youth Under-21 Boys and Girls Masters titles of the 9th Indonesia International Open at Ancol Bowling Center on Friday.

Rangga Yudhira of Indonesia set the opening pace with a superb 235 to lead the field of 15 finalists ahead of Asian Schools Masters gold medalist, Abdulla Ahmed of Kuwait in second and Hong Kong's Leo Tse third.

Rangga's lead only last one game as Aris surged ahead after rolling 235 in his second game. The 20-year-old Malaysian stepped up his pace with 248 in his third game to remain in the lead as Leo Tse closed into second and Rangga slipping down to third.

Leo youth took over the running after the fourth when Aris managed only 184 but he immediately regain the lead after bouncing back with 226 in the fifth game.

After a keen tussle with the Hong Kong youth, Aris went on to end the 10-game finals with 2159 to claim his second youth title this year. The champion had won the Singapore Open Youth title in May.

Muhd Syafiq Sajel stormed home to snatch second position and gave Malaysia a one-two finish with 2100. Leo claimed the third podium position with 2038. Indonesia's Diwan Rezaldy and Abdulla Ahmen rounded up the top 5 with 2014 and 2013 respectively.

National youth, Tengku Emanina Laily completed Malaysia's clean sweep of the youth titles when she totaled 2026 to win the girl's crown. Indonesia's Alisha Nabila, who led before the final game settled for second with 1945.

UAE's Samantha Hannan did well in her debut to clinch third spot with 1865 while another front runner, Victoria Chan of Hong Kong ended up in fourth with 1843.

Listea A of Indonesia took fifth position with 1788 followed by Hong Kong Open Women's Open first runner-up, Zoe Tam finishing sixth with 1756.

Tengku Emanina won 5 million rupiah (approx. US$500) as champion with Alisha and Samantha taking home 2.5 million and 1.5 million rupiah respectively. Aris Ardila was richer by 6 million rupiah for winning the boy's title while Mohd Syafiq and Leo Tse settled for 4 million and 2.5 million.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Jakarta.

21st July, Jakarta: The qualifying rounds of the 9th Indonesia International Open heated up as it moved into the last three days with Hong Kong's Wu Siu Hong and Singapore's Shayna Ng topping the Men's and Women's Open Masters standings.

ABF Tour Hong Kong leg first runner-up, Wu Siu Hong posted two stunning 3-games series of 732 and 729 to move into the lead of the Men's Open table with a 6-game tally of 1461. Apart from winning the ABF Tour Saudi leg last year, the 26-year-old has had several runner-ups in 2009.

Wu's last international open title was winning the 2008 Chinese Taipei Open men's crown and based on his current form, he will be a firm title contender. Second in the table was Thailand's ex-national, Surasak Manuwong, who totaled 1435.

Another ex-national, Isaac Russell of Malaysia finished third and will join Wu and Surasak to automatically qualify for Round 2 finals. American PBA pro, Tim Mack missed the top 3 with 1428 to take up fourth.

On the local front, 2010 ABF Tour TOC winner, Ryan Lalisang improved one of his 3-games series with 747 to give himself a 6-game aggregate of 1349 earning the automatic entry into Round 2 finals. Rudy Goenawan and Erick Ngo made up the top 3 local qualifiers with 1289 and 1249 respectively.

The current cut is held by recently-crowned Macau China Open champion, Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand and Cyrus Cheung of Hong Kong, both tied at 1312. With two more days left, the cut could be as high as 160 over.

Meanwhile, Singapore women continued their fine run after almost dominating the Hong Kong Open last week. Newly-crowned Hong Kong Open champion, Shayna Ng took over top spot with 1433 after her only two attempts of 733 and 700.

She led team-mates, New Hui Fen and Jasmine Yeong-Nathan to occupy the top 3 spots and thus advanced into Round 2 finaLS. Hui Fen rolled 1354 and Jasmine 1341. Overnight leader, Hee Kar Yen slipped down to fourth with 1273.

ABF Tour Hong Kong leg champion, Tannya Roumimper remained in the lead of the five local seeded women qualifiers. National rookie, Puteri Astari topped the local pool with 1294 and she will lead second-placed Shalima Zalsha and third-placed Novie Phang for Round 2 finals.

Current cut for the women stood at 1188 held by Malaysian Open champion, Zandra Aziela of Malaysia. The cut will most likely reached 60 to 70 over.

The Youth Under-21 Masters finals for boys and girls will be contested July 22 morning while the qualifying continues through to July 23. The Open Masters Round 1 finals will be staged on July 24 and Round 2 on July 25.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Jakarta.

20th July, Jakarta: Kuwait's Basel Al Anzi took the early lead in the Men's Open qualifying rounds of the 9th Indonesia International Open underway at Jaya Ancol Bowling Center on Tuesday.

Having arrived early from the just concluded Hong Kong Open, the Asian Championship bronze medalist, Basel An Anzi shot a stunning 736 and another 656 for a 6-game aggregate of 1392 to lead the Men's Open Masters qualifying table.

UAE's Hassan Al Zaabi of UAE totaled 1316 after rolling 674 and 645 to take up second spot. Brunei, which has sent their SEA Games squad to try out the lanes, had AK Mohd Aizar occupying third spot with 1273.

American PBA pro, Tim Mack finished fourth with 1246 while another Brunei national bowler, Mohd Haidar Fadzillah completed the top 5 with 1229.

In the local pool, five qualifiers are seeded headed by Williem Widjaya. Rudy Goenawan topped the standings with 1289 followed by Erick Ngo in second and Diwan Rezaldy third with 1249 and 1235 respectively.

The top 3 local and top 3 overseas men qualifiers will skip Round 1 finals and directly into Round 2. Nine qualifiers from the local pool, nine from overseas pool and 12 from mixed pool will contest Round 1 finals.

Meanwhile, newly-crowned ABF Tour Hong Kong leg chamoion, Tannya Roumimper led the top 5 local seeded qualifiers with Shalima Zalsha topping the standings with 1224. A Anyu and Silva finished second and third.

Milki Ng led Hong Kong women who have registerd scores on th overseas pool with 1224 after rolling 623 and 601. Chan Shuk Han and Vanessa Fung took second and third positions with 1199 and 1149.

The top 3 local and top 3 overseas women qualifiers will skip Round 1 finals and directly into Round 2. Seven qualifiers from the local pool, seven from overseas pool and nine from mixed pool will contest Round 1 finals.

Qualifying continues through to July 23 and the Open Masters finals Round 1 and 2 will be staged on July 24 and 25. The top 6 men and top 6 women will advance into the stepladder shootout finals.

The top 16 Asian men and top 16 Asian women will also qualify for the last leg of the ABF Tour 2011 in the Indonesia leg which will be held on Monday, July 26.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Jakarta.