19th March, Kuwait: Recently crowned Bahrain Open champion, Osku Palermaa took his second consecutive title after beating top seed, Tom Smallwood of USA twice to win the 9th Kuwait International Open and the 6th stop of the WTBA World Bowling Tour.

Palermaa, who was seeded third, had earlier edged winner of the first match and No. 5 seed, Ronnie Russell of USA, 234-230 to advance into the third match. The Two-time EBT Player of the Year outclassed No. 2 seed, Wu Siu Hong of Hong Kong, 278-237 to set up the finale with Smallwood.

Having to beat top seed twice, the two-handed Finn flew past the American, 276-232 in the first game and then registered another impressive 268-226 in the second game to take the championship match and the title.

Palermaa, who had won the Kingdom of Bahrain International Open just two weeks ago in Manama, earned another big pay-check of US$25,000 as champion.

"This is an important win for me and my first World Bowling Tour title," said the 28-year-old Finn, who lives in Gothenburg, Sweden and the first international player and two-handed bowler to win the PBA World Championship.

"I got a lucky break in the match against fellow-PBA pro Ronnie (Russell) when he had a split in the last frame to hand the match to me. After that, I knew luck was on my side. Both Wu (Siu Hong) and Tom (Smallwood) bowled well the whole week and I'm extremely lucky."

Smallwood settled for US$12,000 after finishing as first runner-up while Wu, who slipped down to third earned US$8,000. Russell, who defeated No. 4 seed, Martin Larsen of Sweden, 250-226 in the first match, took home US$6,000 and Larsen received US$5,000.

Smallwood ended the exceptionally high-scoring Modified Round-Robin Matchplay finals (three player per match - 20 for win, 10 for second highest scorer and no bonus pins for lost) in the lead with 3105 from five wins and two second.

Wu took second spot with 3033 from four wins and two second. Palermaa finished third with 3023 from six wins and two second while Larsen, who posted the eighth perfect game in the position-round match, took fourth spot with 3013 from four wins, two second and a tie.

Russell, who was second before the positions-round, was lucky to make the stepladder finals in fifth after a disastrous 162 in his final match. He had five wins and a second. Dominic Barrett missed the cut finishing a distant sixth with 2925.

Defending champion, Chris Loschetter of USA managed eighth position with 2844 while Round 5 leader, Josh Blanchard of USA ended in 11th position with 2796.

Meanhile in the special Women's stepladder finals, top seed Jazreel Tan defeated team-mate, and No. 3 seed, Shayna Ng 257-206 in the all-Singapore title match. Ng had earlier ousted No. 2 seed, Putty Armein of Indonesia, 248-209 in the first match.

Jazreel received US$2,850 for the win while Ng settled for US$1,850. Armein took home US$1,400 and the fourth highest women finisher was Sharon Limansantoso of Indonesia, who received US$1,200.

A total of 110 players from 19 countries took part in the championship, the sixth stop of this year's WTBA World Bowling Tour. The next stop will be the Brunswick Euro Challenge in Saint Maximin, France starting March 20.

The top 16 Asian have qualified for this year's second leg of the ABF Tour - Kuwait 2012 which will be staged at the same bowling center tomorrow.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

18th March, Kuwait: Third seed, Abdulrahman Suwayed clinched his first title after defeating top seeed, Ahmed Abdulla, 223-194 in the final stepladder match of the 9th Kuwait International Open Youth Masters on Saturday.

Fourth seed Aseel Roomi edged last year's champion, Mustafa Mousawi 182-180 in the first stepladder match to face No. 3 seed, Abdulrahman Suwayed in the second match. But Aseel was no match for Abdulrahman going down, 172-205.

In the match against top seed and Asian Schools Masters gold medalist, Ahmed Abdulla, the champion was in total control cruising home a comfrtable victory over Ahmed, 223-194 to clinch his first youth title.

Abdulrahman 18, who won the Doubles gold and Team gold medals at last year's 7th GCC Youth Championships in Saudi Arabia, won a trophy and US$1,000 as champion while Ahmed settled for US$750.

Aseel, who slipped one spot down to third earned US$500 while Mustafa took home US$300 for remaining in fourth position. A total of 10 youths took part by competing alongside the open and women bowlers in which the top four youths advance to the stepladder finals.

Sheikh Talal M. Al-Sabah, President of Asian Bowling Federation and Kuwait Bowling Federation congratulated the Abdulrahman and presented the trophy to the champion.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

18th March, Kuwait: Four-time PBA Tour champion, Sean Rash of USA stamped his mark after rolling yet another record-breaking 6-game total of 1614 to take Round 4 of the 9th Kuwait International Open and crusied into Round 5.

Rash, who owns four PBA Tour titles including the 2007 USBC Masters, set the lanes on fire with lines of 270, 258, 278, 230, 299 and 279 to end the finals with 1614 pinfalls. The 29-year-old lowest game of 230 was a result of three gutter balls he threw in which he managed to spare.

The American PBA pro finished 113 pins ahead of Martin Larsen in second with 1501. The Swede also knocked down the tournament's sixth perfect game after Indonesia's Putty Armein had registered the fifth 300 in the second game.

Asia's top finisher was Wu Siu Hong of Hong Kong, who took third spot with 1488.

Another PBA pro, Josh Blanchard of USA finished fourth again in this round with 1464 while Round 2 leader, Basel Al Anzi completed up the top 5 with 1460.

Singapore's newcomer, Keith Saw impressed to take up sixth position with 1450 after setting the pace in the early stage of the round. Ildemaro Ruiz of Venezuela and Sayed Al Hashemi of UAE survived to make the cut in seventh and eighth positions.

2011 Asia Men ranked No. 1, Shaker Al Hassan of UAE missed the cut by 33 pins after finishing ninth while current WTBA WBT ranked No. 1, Mika Koivuniemi of Finland ended in a dismal 15th position.

The tp 8 will be joined by the seven 1 to 7 ranked qualifiers for Round 5 finals over 4 games. All 15 players will proceed to the Modified Round-Robin Matchplay finals over 7 games with pins carried forward from Round 5. The top 5 at the end of the Matchplay finals will proceed to the stepladder grand finals.

All four women in the finals failed to progress but Jazreel Tan of Singapore, Putty Armein and 2011 Asia Women ranked No. 1, Shayna Ng made the cut for the women's stepladder finals in 11th, 12th and 13th spots.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

18th March, Kuwait: Thailand's Badin Lerdpiriyasakulkit turned in a record-breaking performance with a 6-game total of 1554 to take Round 3 of the 9th Kuwait International Open and advanced into the next round.

Amercian PBA pro, Josh Blachard blitzed the lanes at Cozmo Bowling Center with 268, 290 and 256 in his first three games to lead 2011 Asia ranked No. 1, Shaker Al Hassan of UAE in second.

A lowly 203 in the fourth game by the American allowed Badin Lerdpiriyasakulkit to share the lead on 1017 after the Thai rolled 235, 248, 256 and 278 in his first four games.

Blanchard responded with a big game of 279 in the fifth and was hoping to distant himself from his nearest rival but Badin kept the American at bay with his own big game of 269 to trail by 10 pins.

The Thai then ended on another high game of 268 to finsih in pole position with 1554 pinfalls. Sharon Limansantoso of Indonesia continued her fine run to share second spot with Venezuelean Ildemaro Ruiz on 1488.

Pace-setter Blanchard downed 191 in his last game to drop to fourth with 1487, just 1 pin off Ruiz. Two Emiratis Shaker Al Hassan and Sayed Al Hashemi finished sixth and seventh with 1432 and 1414 respectively.

Singapore's Jazreel Tan and Round 2 leader, Basel Al Anzi of Kuwait survived the cut to advance into the next round in eighth and ninth positions. Swede Mathias Arup missed the cut by 5 pins to finish tenth.

The top 9 will be joined by eight players ranked 8 to 14 from the qualifying standings for another 6 games in Round 4 finals later today. The top 8 at the end of Round 4 will advance into tomorrow's Round 5 finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

18th March, Kuwait: Basel Al Anzi of Kuwait shot the tournament's fourth 300 en-route to winnning Round 2 finals of the 9th Kuwait International Open and advanced into the next round.

Basel, the 30-year-old Kuwaiti national bowler, rolled his career 18 perfect game and eighth at Cozmo Bowling Center in the opening game of the Round 2 finals to lead the field of 16 finalists.

Despite following it up with 194, 223 and 224 in his next three games, Basel lost the lead to Mohammad Janahi of Bahrain, who took over the running. There was nothing between the duo as they were locked at the fifth game with 1178.

Basel ended stronger of the two and won the round with 1423 as Janahi settled for second with 1395. UAE's Sayed Al Hashemi did well to take thid spot with 1390 followed by two Indonesians, Ryan Lalisang and Sharon Limansantoso fourth and fifth positions.

Debutant, Ildemaro Ruiz of Venezuela stormed home with a big game of 269 to clinch sixth spot with 1315 ahead of a second Kuwaiti Rakan Al Amiri seventh with 1309.

Singapore's 16-year-old youth, Muhammad Jarsi Goh squeezed into the next round in eighth spot with 1297. Fadhel Al Mousawi missed the cut by 4 pins despite a strong final game of 228.

Two Thai finalists, Yannaphon Larpapharat and Annop Arromsaranon failed to advance. Dubai Open and H.H. Emir Cup champion, Kim Bolleby of Sweden also failed to progress. The top 8 will join the 15 - 22 ranked qualifiers for Round 3 finals later today.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

17th March, Kuwait: Squad B leader, Ahmed Abdulla earned a spot in the top 6 bracket for the Round 5 finals of the 9th Kuwait International Open after ending the third block of qualifying round in pole position.

Asian Schools Masters gold medalists, Ahmed Abdulla had dropped down into the second bracket before the final game but bounced back with a sizzling 289 to move back up into the top 6 qualifying bracket with 3555.

Making the top 6 meant that his team-mate, Khaled Al Dubyyan, who was in the third bracket, received an automatic entry into the top bracket in seventh spot reserved for the top Kuwaiti finisher.

Lonnie Walizcek of USA needed 264 or more in his last game to crack into the top 6 but managed 216 to settle for second behind the Kuwaiti with 3481 and moved into the second bracket in 12th spot.

The spot vacated by Khaled meant that PBA pro, Mika Koivuniemi of Finland, who had finished third behind Ahmed to take up 15th spot in the third bracket, was promoted into the second bracket in 14th position.

The Finn's move allowed American PBA pro, Chris Barnes, who finished 23rd position in the fourth bracket, to move up one spot up into 22nd position.

The two additional vacant spots went to Indonesia's Sharon Limansantoso and Thailand's Annop Arromsaranon in 33rd and 34th positions with 3306. Novie Phang of Indonesia, who also had 3306, missed the cut because she had the lowest final game in the third block.

The four slots reserved for Kuwaitis went to Jassem Darwish, Fadhel Al Mousawai, Rakan Al Amiri and Mohannad Ebrahim.

Ahmed Abdulla also took top spot for the Youth stepladder finals tomorrow at 8.30pm local time with Abdulrahman Suwayed, Aseel Roomi and Mustafa Mousawi being the three other qualifiers.

Round 2 finals over 6 games will be contested tomorrow morning at 10.00am local time. The top 8 will join the 8 ranked qualifiers from the third bracket for another 6 games in Round 3 finals starting at 1.30pm.

The top 9 finishers will advance into Round 4 finals at 5.00pm joined by the 7 ranked qualifiers from the second bracket for a further 6 games in Round 4 finals. The top 8 will proceed to Round 5 finals on Monday, March 19.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

17th March, Kuwait: Three Indonesian national bowlers from Jakarta Bowling secured their places in the finals of the 9th Kuwait International Open Bowling Championships at the end of the third block of qualifying rounds on Saturday.

Putty Armein, who topped the second block yesterday, continued where she left off for another scintilating performance in her third block to post 1183 and retained her lead in Squad A with 3523.

Her team-mate, Tannya Roumimper took over second spot with 3428 after the 20-year-old from Bandung knocked down 1226 in this block. But the biggest mover was scorer of the first perfect game of the tournament, Ryan Lalisang.

Lalisang had an poor 1054 in his first block to finish seventh in the squad despite registering the first 300. He had another put outing in the second block, managing only 1024 to remain in seventh.

But the Indonesian was on a roll in his final block with 246, 289, 274, 214 and 266 for a stunning 1289 series which moved him up to third behind Putty and Tannya with 3367.

Sharon Limansantoso, who was second yesterday, managed only 1103 to tie fourth spot with Thailand's Annop Arromsaranon and first block leader, Novie Phang with 3306.

Putty's superb run put her 10th in the overall qualifying standings and will earn automatic entry into Round 4 finals. Tannya made the third bracket to earn automatic entry into Round 3 finals.

Lalisang secured his place in the finals in 29th position and will have to bowl in the Round 2 finals and finishing in the top 9 in order to advance into the next round and join Tannya.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

17th March, Kuwait: Americans Tom Smallwood and Chris Loschetter cracked into the top 6 bracket of the overall qualifying standings after finishing one-two in Squad D third block of the 9th Kuwait International Open.

Tom Smallwood, 34 from Michigan, got off the mark with a brilliant 279 to share the lead with overnight leader and compatriot, Chris Loschetter who rolled 244 in his opening game. Smallwood was in a roll after he ended the block with 1252 to take the squad with 3667.

The American's effort put him into the top 6 bracket behind Squad C and overall leader, Osku Palermaa of Finland. Defending champion, Loschetter settled for second with 3608 to join Smallwood in the top bracket third overall.

Day 1 leader, Ronnie Russell remained third in this squad with 3577 to occupy the sixth and final spot of the top bracket. Shayna Ng of Singapore did well to finish fourth in the squad.

But the Singaporean ended in eighth position with 3529 and in the second bracket. Newly-crowned ABF Tour TOC champion, Wu Siu Hong of Hong Kong took fifth in this squad to follow the Singaporean in ninth overall with 3524.

American PBA pro, Sean Rash improved two notches up from eighth to sixth in this squad to settle for the second bracket in 11th position with 3505.

Two squads remained and those with 10-game totals of 2200 or above will have a strong chance of making the cut provided that they can register 1100 or more in their third block.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

17th March, Kuwait: Two-time EBT Player of the Year and Bahrain Open champion, Osku Palermaa of Finland took over the lead of Squad C of the 9th Kuwait International Open to secure his place in the top bracket after the third block.

Palermaa got off to a flying start in his opening game and almost rolled the tournament's fourth 300 but settled for 299 to move into the lead over second block leader, Dominic Barrett of England in second.

The two-handed Finn led all the way and kept his distant against his nearest opponent to cruise home a comfortable leader with 2683, 93 pins ahead of Barrett. The Brit did finished strongly with 270 in the last game for a 15-game tally of 3590.

Singapore's youngster, Keith Saw, who was sixth overnight, moved up to third in the squad with 3476 while his team-mate, Jazreel Tan took fourth place with 3461.

Three Swedes, Mathais Arup, Martin Larsen and Kim Bolleby finished fifth to seventh positions with 3447, 3433 and 3383 respectively while first block leader, Muhammad Jaris Goh lost one spot from 7th to 8th.

Based on average, Palermaa occupied overall pole position with 245.53 ahead overnight leader, Americans Chris Loschetter of USA second with 245.00 and Tom Smallwood third with 241.50.

Ahmed Abdulla of Kuwait (239.40), Barrett (239.33) and PBA pro Ronnie Russell (235.20) made up the top 6. The cut-off mark is 220.20 average held by Tannya Roumimper of Indonesia.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

20th March, Kuwait: American PBA pros continued to dominate Squad D of the 9th Kuwait International Open with defending champion, Chris Loschetter leading compatriots, Tom Smallwood and Ronnie Russell to occupy the top 3 spots.

Loschetter, who trailed compatriot Ronnie Russell by 16 pins in the first block, bowled most consistently with lines of 221, 244, 240, 245 and 266 for a second block score of 1216 and a 10-game total of 2450 to become the overall pole sitter.

Smallwood, who rolled the tournament's third 300 in the ninth game, finished behind Lochetter in the squad to take up second overall with 2415.

Squad C leader, Dominic Barrett of England slipped down to third with 2396 after occupying pole position breifly before the final squad of the day was played while Squad B leader, Ahmed Abdulla of Kuwait took fourth spot with 2394.

Two-time EBT Player of the Year and recent winner of the Bharin Open, Osku Palermaa of Finland and 5-game series highest scorer, Mathais Arup of Sweden made up the six in the top bracket.

Overnight leader, Russell led the second bracket qualifying pool in eighth with 2352 after a lower second block score of 1102. A second Finn, Mika Koivuniemi finished ninth with 2338. The top female finisher and Squad A leader, Putty Armein of Indonesia occupied 10th position with 2335.

Singapore's best performer, Jazreel Tan took 11th position ahead of American pro, Lonnie Walizcek in 12th, Swede Martin Larsen 13th and Keith Saw 14th position. Apart from Ahmed in the top bracket, the next best Kuwaiti was Khaled Al Dubyyan leading the third bracket qualifying pool in 15th position with 2317.

Other Amercian PBA pros, Sean Rash, Chris Barnes, Tom Hess, Josh Blanchard and Dan MacLelland all dropped into the final qualifying pool in 23rd, 24th, 25th, 27th and 29th positions respectively.

The current cut off mark is set by Singapore youngster, Joel Tan with 197-over. And with the final day of qualifying left tomorrow, the cut-off mark could go up to as much as 320-over to qualify.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

16th March, Kuwait: Dominic Barrett of Essex, England took over the lead of Squad C and secured pole position in the 9th Kuwait International Open Bowling Championships overall qualifying standings after the second block.

Barrett, who was third in the first block, set a blistering pace with 279 and 267 in his two opening games to take over the lead with Osku Palermaa of Finland trailing in second as overnight leader, Muhammad Jaris Goh of Singapore slipped down to third.

Swede Mathais Arup also posted two massive opening games of 277 and 279 to take up fourth. Despite a 203 in the third, the Brit ended the second block with 225 and 221 to finish in the lead with 2396.

Palermaa settled for second with 2389, just 7 pins adrift while the Arup ended with another big game of 279 to register the highest 5-game series of 1310 and clinching third place with 2364.

Singapore's best performer was Jazreel Tan, who posted 1264 for a 10-game total of 2333 to take up fourth position. A second Swede, Martin Larsen rounded up the top 5 with 2320. Another SIngaporean youngster, Keith Saw finished sixth with 2317 ahead of team-mate and overnight leader, Muhammad Jaris Goh losing ground to seventh with 2267.

Barrett's effort allowed him to secure overall pole position, 2 pins ahead of Squad B leader, Ahmed Abdulla of Kuwait in second with 2394 and Palermaa in third spot overall with 2389.

Mathais Arup, Mika Koivuniemi of Finland and Squad A leader, Putty Armein of Indonesia made up the top bracket with 2364, 2338 and 2335 respectively.

Jazreel led the second bracket qualifying pool followed by Lonnie Walizcek of USA, Larsen, Keith Saw, two Thais Badin Lerdpiriyasakulkit and Yannaphon Larpapharat and 2011 Asia No. 1, Shaker Al Hassan of UAE.

Squad D will complete their second block ending the second day of qualifying. The combined scores of all the squads will determine qualifiers for the three different brackets for the finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

16th March, Kuwait: Indonesian women put in another dominating performance by occupying the top 5 positions of Squad A after the second block of qualifying rounds at the 9th Kuwait International Open Bowling Championships on Friday afternoon.

Putty Armein, who was second to her team-mate Novie Phang yesterday, put in a scintilating performance today rolling 1228 to take over the lead in Squad A with a 10-game total of 2335.

Her other team-mate, Sharon Limansantoso also notched up an improvement with 1121 to move one spot up into second with 2203 while third position went to a third Indonesian women, Tannya Roumimper with 2202.

First block leader, Phang could not repeat the form she displayed yesterday and managed only 949 for a total of 2162 but the biggest mover was a fifth Indonesian, Ivana Hie up from 17th to fifth with 2151.

The best men in this squad was Thailand's Annop Arromsaranon, who chalked up 1128 to haul himself up from 19th to sixth position with 2101. First perfect gamer, Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia took seventh spot with 2078.

Putty's effort put her temporarily in the top 7 bracket, third behind overall leader Ahmed Abdulla of Kuwait and Mika Koivuniemi of Finalnd in second. Based on her average after two blocks, she could well find herself in the second top 7 bracket.

Two remaining squads C and D will complete their second block of qualifying rounds and the combined scores will determine those in the top, second and third brackets. The qualifying rounds will end with the third block on Saturday, 17 March.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

16th March, Kuwait: Overnight Squad B leader, Ahmed Abdulla of Kuwait retained his lead after the second block of 5 games in the 9th Kuwait International Open qualifying rounds on Saturday with PBA pro, Mika Koivuniemi of Finland moving into second.

Current WTBA World Bowling Tour ranking leader, Mika Koivuniemi got off to a cracking start with a stunning 279 in the opening game of the second block to take over the lead, just 9 pins ahead of Ahmed Abdulla in second.

But the 17-year-old Kuwaiti responded with a sizzling 261 to regain the lead and moved ahead of the Finn by 15 pins as American Lonnie Walizcek closed up on the leading duo in third.

Ahmed widened his gap to 56 pins after the third game with 2011 Asia Ranked No. 1 Shaker Al Hassan of UAE taking over second spot as Koivuniemi lost his momentum with a aweful 139 to slip down the field.

By the fourth game, the Kuwaiti youngster was in control knocking down 259 and 222 ending the block with 1202 series to retain the lead with a two-day total of 2394.

Koivuniemi recovered with 259 and 289 to regain second spot with 2338 followed by Walizcek third with 2331. Two Thais, Badin Lerdpiriyasakulkit and Yannaphon Larpapharat did extremely well this block to take up fourth and fifth spots with 2301 and 2283.

PBA pros, Josh Blanchard, Chris Barnes, Dan MacLelland and Tom Hess ended their second block weaker finishing behind Shaker, who took sixth position with 2274.

Fadhel Al Mousawi of Kuwait rolled the second 300 of the tournament in his tenth and final game but managed to finish only 12th position. Three remaining squads A, C and D will be held today.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

15th March, Kuwait: Singapore youth, Muhammad Jaris Goh took the final squad of the first day of qualifying at the 9th Kuwait International Open Bowling Championships with an impressive score of 1245 to finished second overall.

Muhammad Jaris Goh, who took his first major title with a victory in the 2011 Singapore Sports School-Opulent International Championships, posted two massive games of 275 and 278 in the third and fifth game to add to his three other games 224, 244 and 224 for the lead.

Newly-crowned Bahrain Open champion and two-time EBT Player of the Year, Osku Palermaa of Finland took second position with 1221 while pace-setter, Dominic Barrett of England settled for third with 1191.

Goh's team-mate and leader after the third game, Keith Saw slipped to fourth position with 1151 while Qatari youth, Hassan Ibrahim rounded up the top 5 with 1136.

Goh felled short by 5 pins to topple Squad D and overall leader, Ronnie Russell of USA, who topped the first day of qualifying in pole position with 1250. Defending champion, Chris Lochetter of USA was pushed down to third as a result of the Singaporean's superb performance.

Palermaa finished the day in fourth while Squad A leader, Novie Phang of Indonesia slipped down to fifth overall with 1213. American PBA pro, Sean Rash completed the top 6 with 1196.

Squad B leader, Ahmed Abdulla of Kuwait heads the next seven qualifiers in eighth position with 1192 followed by Barrett ninth, Josh Blanchard of USA tenth, Tom Smallwood of USA 11th and Chris Barnes of USA 12th.

Biboy Rivera of Philippines and Mohammed Sultan of Bahrain completed the next top 7 qualifiers. The current cut at 34th position is occupied by Dubai Open Youth Under-23 champion, Jassem Darwish with 88 over or averaging 217.60.

The second block of 5 games will be bowled tomorrow and the third anf final block on March 17 before the finals on March 18 and 19.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

15th March, Kuwait: American PBA professionals dominated Squad D of the 9th Kuwait International Open Bowling Championships qualifying rounds with Ronnie Russell, Chris Loschetter, Sean Rash and Tom Smallwood taking the top 4 spots.

Ronnie Russell, who almost shot the tournament's second 300 in the third game but downed 299, chalked up a 5-game total of 1250 to lead the first block of Squad D qualifying rounds.

Defending champion, Chris Loschetter fired 279 in his fifth and final game to snatch second spot with 1234, 16 pins adrift while Sean Rash downed 1196 to take up third spot. Tom Smallwood completed the top 4 with 1179.

The best Asian finisher in this squad was Mohammed Sultan of Bahrain after he totaled 1159 and the best Kuwaiti was Khaled Al Dubyyan in sixth position with 1098.

Russell and Loschetter both overtook Squad A leader, Novie Phang of Indonesia to become the new overall leader and second place finisher after three squads. Rash claimed fourth spot and Squad B leader, AHmed Abdulla of Kuwait rounding up the top 5.

The first day of qualifying will end with Squad C later. Amongst those in Squad C are Dominic Barrett of England, Bahrain Open champion, Osku Palermaa of Finland and Dubai and H.H. EMir Cup champion, Kim Bolleby of Sweden.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

15th March, Kuwait: Kuwaiti youth and Asian Schools Masters gold medalist, Ahmed Abdulla stole the show in Squad B of the opening block of qualifying rounds at the 9th Kuwait International Open Bowling Championships.

Ahmed, who was third going into the fifth and final game of the first block, snatched pole position with a strong game of 249. The Kuwaiti youth led the squad with 1192, 13 pins ahead of two American PBA pros, Josh Blanchard and Chris Barnes in second and third with 1179 and 1167.

Biboy Rivera of Philippines, who lead before the final game, slipped down to fourth with 1160. Two addidtional PBA pros, Lonnie Walizcek of USA and current WTBA World Bowling Tour ranking leader, Mika Koivuniemi of Finland finished fifth and sixth positions with 1155 and 1138 respectively.

Dan MacLelland of Canada took up seventh position with 1134 with Fadhel Al Mousawi of Kuwait in eighth with 1127. Shaker Al Hassan of UAE and Tom Hess of USA rounded up the top 10.

Squad A leader, Novie Phang remained in the lead after two squads, 21 pins ahead of Squad B leader, Ahmed Abdulla in second. Blanchard and Barnes lie in third and fourth with Rivera completing the top 5.

Two more squads will bowl their first block of 5 games which will end the first day of qualifying rounds. Players will continue their second block tomorrow and their third block on Saturday, March 17.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

15th March, Kuwait: Indonesians shone in Squad A of the opening block of the 9th Kuwait International Open Bowling Championships with Novie Phang, Putty Armein, Sharon Limansantoso and Tannya Roumimper occupying four out of the top 5 positions.

Novie Phang, who made the semi-finals of yesterday's ABF Tour Tournament of Champions but was eliminated by eventual champion, Wendy Chai of Malaysia, blizted the lanes at Cozmo Bowling Center today with 246, 232, 279, 190 and 241 to lead the opening squad with 1213.

Her team-mate, Putty Armein finished second with 1107, 106 pins adrift while Sharon Limansantoso, who was also eliminated by Korean Jo Hyun-Jung in the same semi-finals of the ABF Tour TOC, took third spot with 1082.

A fourth Indonesian women, Tannya Roumimper ended the 5-game first block strongly to take up fifth with 1058. Kuwaiti youth, Abdulrahman Suwayed prevented the Indonesian total domination by finishing third with 1083.

Meanwhile, 2009 ABF Tour TOC champion, Ryan Lalisang gave Indonesia plenty to cheer on opening day when he rolled the first 300 in the second game but only managed 1054 to take up seventh position.

Players are divided into four squads of 28 each and will bowl three blocks of 5 games each over the next three days. The Top 6 plus the top Kuwaiti qualifier will earn bye into Round 5 finals.

Qualifiers in positions 8 to 14 will advance automatically into Round 4 finals. Qualifiers in positions 15 to 22 will advance into Round 3 finals while qualifiers in positions 23 to 34 plus 4 Kuwaitis will have to contest Round 2 finals.

The field will be cut to 9 in each round and will be joined by the seeded qualifiers for the next round until the final Round 5. All players will play an additional 4 games before moving into the Modified Matchplay Round-Robin.

The top 5 will proceed to the stepladder grand finals and a chance to bag the top prize of US$25,000 with the first runner-up earning US$12,000 and second runner-up US$8,000. The top 50 players will also earn WTBA World Bowling Tour ranking points.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.