2nd June, Manama: Mubarak Al-Muraikhi of Qatar bagged his second tour title of the year after defeating compatriot, Saeed Al-Hajri, 259-226 in the finals of the ABF Tour Bahrain Leg title at Funland Bowling Center.

The champion had earlier knocked out Bader Al-Shaikh of Saudi Arabia, 226-184 in the semifinals to earn a crack at the title for the second time. The runner-up edged UAE's Jamal Ali in the other semi, 232-224 before going down to Mubarak.

Drawn against tour debutant, Fawaz Abdulla of Bahrain, the second-seed ousted his opponent, 226-212 in the first round before trashing Filipino, Chester King, 259-214 to earn his spot in the semifinals.

His compatriot, Saeed Al-Hajri posted the highest game of the leg when he outclassed Naif Oqab of UAE, 269-227 en-route to the next round. Saeed also chalked up an impressive 248 to win his second round match and a place in the semi against Mohd Al-Shawoosh of Bahrain, who could only score 208.

Zulmazran Zulkifli of Malaysia and winner of two back-to-back tour title, was eliminated in the second round by Jamal Ali of UAE, 216-227. While Zulmazran won his first match knocking out Fadhel Al-Musawi of Kuwait, 216-186, Jamal narrowly defeated Hameed Taqi of Bahrain, 226-172 in Round 1.

But Jamal's progress was ended when he lost to Saeed Al-Hajri, 224-232 in the first semifinal match.

ABF Tour next stop will be in the Philippines on the 18th June, 2006. The ABF Tour 2006 comprises 8 Legs and a Grand Final. Top 16 men and 16 women bowlers from the preceding International Open Masters Event (Open Grade) will be qualified and competed in a one-game match play knock-out competition for the individual men's and women's titles.

Highlights of the ABF Tour - Bahrain will be televised later on local television stations of the eight countries where the tour is being held. It is also broadcast later from parts of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, central Asia, China and Australasia with an estimated audience of around 90 million.

For further information and details please contact ABF Tour Committee Marketing and Event Management Division at Tel: (852) 2810 5191; Fax: (852) 28105192; Mr. Ritchie Lai (Mobile: (852) 93598669; email: ritchie.lai@tndgroup.com or Mr. Kelvin Pong (Mobile: (852) 9100 0958; email: Kelvin.pong@tndgroup.com or by visiting ABF Tour official website: www.abftour.com".

Photos by Ritchie Lai, TND Group.