15th August, Hong Kong: Top seeds, Mirai Ishimoto of Japan and Jesper Svensson of Sweden captured the prestigious Girl's and Boy's Masters title on the final day of the 13th World Youth Championships 2014 on Friday.

Ishimoto and third-seed, Sanna Pasanen of Finland both rolled a double in the first three frames during the final and at the midway point, only 2 pins separated the medal contenders. The Japanese encountered a 7-pin split in the sixth frame but was converted to stay in the match.

And by the eighth frames, the Finn had just a single pin lead. The match swung in favour of Ishimoto when Pasanen suffered a 7-10 split which she failed to convert. The top seed struck twice in the tenth frame to seal the match 208-191 to capture the gold.

The champion had earlier ousted fourth-seed, Daria Kovalova of Ukraine, 196-180 to advance to the final match while Pasanen had an easy match against third-seed, Jenny Wegner of Sweden, 188-136 in the other semi.

Ishimoto topped the Step 2 Round-robin finals winning 4 matches and tieing one for a grand total of 6486 pinfalls, just 4 pins ahead of Wegner in second with 6482 from 6 wins. Pasanen finished third with 6413 from 5 wins and Daria Kovalova made the cut in fourth with 6395.

Overnight second position and All Events silver medalist, Mary Wells of USA missed the cut by 4 pins to take up fifth while Team and All Events gold medalist, Shion Izumune of Japan managed only sixth position with 6304.

Meanwhile in the all-lefty two-handed Boy's title match between top seed, Jesper Svensson of Sweden and Team and All Events gold medalist, Wesley Low of United States, turned out to be a thrilling contest.

Low got off the mark with four strikes-in-a-row as Svensson had an early split in his opening frame to trail the American by 30 pins. But the Swede bounced back with a turkey to reduce the gap to just 20 pins at the seventh frame.

Low could only spared his next three frames before a strike in the tenth and a spare in his bonus frame. Svensson needed three strikes to level the match, which he did confidently and then doubled in the tenth frame to snatch victory, 237-227.

The champion edged his Pontus Andersson in an all-Swede semi-finals, 206-195 to reach the final while Low had to dig deep to beat third-seed, Kamron Doyle 227-220 in the all-American second semi to challenge Svensson.

Svensson led the earlier Step 2 finals with 7031 winning 4 matches and tieing one. Low, who led in yesterday's Step 1 finals, settled for second with 6954 with only 2 wins and a draw.

Doyle finished third with 6912 to face Low in the semi-finals while Andersson made the cut to meet Svensson in the other semi-final match.

Japan emerged as the Girls with 3 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze medal followed by United States and Korea with 1 gold medal each. United States also won 1 silver and 2 bronze medals.

United States emerged as the Boys champion with 2 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze medals with Sweden in second with 2 gold and 3 bronze medals. Korea was the only other country to win 1 gold from the Singles event.

United States also took home the Overall Champion title with a medal haul of 3-5-4 followed by Japan in second with 3-2-2 ahead of Sweden third with 2-1-4.

166 boys and 96 girls from 46 countries participated in the CGSE World Youth Championships 2014 at SCAA Bowling Centre. The next championship will be held in Nabraska, USA in 2016.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

14th August, Hong Kong: Top seeds and All Events gold medalists, Shion Izumune of Japan and Wesley Low of United States won the Girl's and Boy's Step 1 Masters finals of the 13th World Youth Championships 2014 on Thursday.

Izumune, who had already won 2 gold and 2 silver medals so far, set course for another medal as she led the field of 24 finalists to advance into the Step 2 Round-robin matchplay finals in pole position.

Except for one game at the halfway mark in which her nearest rival, Mary Wells of United States went ahead of the 18-year-old Japanese, Izumune added 1185 to the 18-games total of 3836 for a 24-game total of 5021.

Wells, who had picked up a silver in the All Events and a bronze in the 4-player Team event, amassed a total of 4985 to finish 36 pins behind the leader. Daria Kovalova of Ukriane ended strongly to snatch third spot with 4950.

Sanna Pasanen of Finland took fourth position with 4943 followed by a second Japanese, Mirai Ishimoto in fifth with 4938 and Jenny Wegner of Sweden sixth with 4931.

Doubles gold medalist, Lizabeth Kuhlkin of USA dropped third to seventh position with 4896 while Team bronze medalist, Nadia Pramanik of Indonesia made the Step 2 finals cut in eighth with 4882.

Team and All Events gold medalist, Wesley Low and Kamron Doyle finished one-two with 5415 and 5388 to put themselves in the forefront for medals in the Masters finals. Low led for three games before handing the lea to Doyle after the fourth game.

But the 17-year-old star of the championships, bounced back to win the Step 1 finals. Doubles gold medalist, Jesper Svensson of Sweden remained in third position with 5386, just 2 pins further away and 29 adrift the leader.

Swedes Pontus Andersson and Magnus Johnson Jr rounded out the top 5 with 5136 and 5132 respectively while Muhd Rafiq Ismail and local hopeful, Michael Mak of Hong Kong finished sixth ans seventh positions.

Singles gold medalist, Choi Woo Sub of Korea squeezed into the next step in eighth with 5110 while Ramon Hilfernik missed the cut by 13 pins with 5097.

The top 8 girls and top 8 boys will bowl 7 Round-robin matches in tomorrow's Step 2 finals for a 20 pin bonus for a win and 10 bonus pin for a draw. The top 4 girls and top 4 boys will then advance to the semi-finals shootout for the two final gold medals of the championships.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

13th August, Hong Kong: Japan and United States finally captured their first gold medal of the 13th World Youth Championships 2014 in the Girl's and Boy's Team of 4 final while Wesley Low and Shion Izumune added their second from the All Events.

The victory for Japan did not come easy as they had to dig deep in the final match against Sweden to win their first gold medal after settling for 2 silver and 1 bronze medals in the the Singles and Doubles finals.

Mirai Ishimoto had three open frames to end with 171 and Mana Yoshida added 210. All Events gold medalist, Shio Izumune shone with 223 and the match went down to the wire for anchorwomen, Kana Shimoide.

Shimoide had two open frames in the third and fourth frames and was unable to double in any of her five frames thereafter. The Swedes had ended the the match with Singles bronze medalist finishing with 177 after failing to strike home in the tenth frame to seal the match.

Shimoide had to bring home a double strike in the tenth, 11th and at least a nine pin count in the 12th frame to take the match and the gold. The 20-year-old delighted the crowd as she came good to give Japan it's first gold of the championship.

Top seed, Japan ousted fourth-seed, Finland 750-710 in the first semi-finals to advance to the final while Sweden edged second-seed, USA 838-821 in the other semi to set up the finale with the Japanese quartet.

The champion amassed a total of 4874 in the earlier second block of the Team event ahead of United States in second with 4862. Sweden finished third with 4861 while Finland took fourth position with 4782. Malaysia, who was second in the first block, missed the cut after finishing fifth with 4733 followed by Russia in sixth and Korea seventh.

Meanwhile Matthew Farber, Gregory Young Kamron Doyle and Wesley Low finally broke the ice with an easy victory over second-seed Malaysia, 812-735 in the Boy's Team final match. Malaysia had a disastrous start to their bid to the Americans when all for had missed singles pins in the first two frames.

Muhd Rafiq managed only 174, Timmy Tan and Jonathan Ding struggle to recover to end with 145 and 168 while anchorman, Ahmad Muaz brilliant 248 did not help the team to settle for the silver medal.

United States, who weas denied the gold medal in the Singles and Doubles finals, advanced to the final by narrowly beating fourth-seed, Japan 776-760 in the first semi-finals.

Malaysia shot the highest game total when they thrashed third-seed, England, 909-738 in the other semi. The champion topped the earlier second block Team event with 5368, 302 pins ahead of Malaysia in second with 5066. England, who was sixth in the first block shot 5001 to take third spot while Japan made the cut in fourth from seventh overnight with 4980.

Sweden missed the cut after failing to improve their overnight fifth position to stay in fifth with 4977. Both Japan and USA added a second gold medal to their tally.

Shion Izumune won the All Events gold of the girl's division with an 18-game total of 3636. Mary Wells and Lizabeth of USA took the silver and bronze medals with 3541 and 3527. Daria Kovalova of Ukriane missed the podium by 5 pins to finish fourth with 3722.

Top 24 finishers in the standings qualified for the Step 1 finals over 6-games with pins carried forward. Laura Beuthner of Germany was the cut at 24th position with 3495 as Natasha Roslan of Malaysa missing the cut by 2 pins in 25th position with 3493.

Wesley Low, who rolled the competition's fisrt perfect game, won his second gold medal with 4001 in the Boy's All Events standings.

Kamron Doyle added a silver with 3846 and Singles gold medalist, Jesper Svensson of Sweden took the bronze with 3799. The top 24 boys advanced to tomorrow's Step 1 finals oer 6 games. Yuhi Shinbata of Japan squeezed in 24th position with 3698 while Atchariya Cheng of Thailand missed the finals also by 2 pins in 25th position with 3496.

United States topped the overall medal tally with 3 gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze medals after four events. Japan is second with 2 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals. Korea is third with 2 gold medals from the Singles event.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

12th August, Hong Kong: Malaysia completed their first block of Girl's 4-player Team event to top the second squad at the 13th World Youth Championships 2014 to move into second overall while the boy's squad leader, Canada managed only eighth.

This year's Hong Kong Open champion Victoria Chin led team-mates, Nerosha Keligit, Natasha Roslan and Radin Nur Najwa set the opening pace with 817 to lead the Swedish quartet of Ida Andersson, Annie Thorell, Cajsa Wegner and Singles bronze medalist, Jenny Wegner.

The Swedes took over the lead after the second game with a superb team score of 825 but settled for second at the end of the first block after a disappointing 740.

Malaysia regained the lead with a higher third and final game of 823 and a total of 2402, 31 pins ahead of Sweden. Russia completed the top three in this squad with 2333.

Squad 1 leader, Japan remained in the lead with 2504 after the two squads scores were combined and will lead 13 other teams to be seeded in Squad A for the second block. Canada missed the top 14 and will lead 11 lower seeded teams in Squad B.

Meanwhile Canadian quartet of Kevin Maurice, Jordan Klassen, Curtis Fach and Mitch Hupe topped the boy's second squad with 2412 followed by France in second ad Finland in third with 2409 and 2405 respectively.

But their effort only placed them eighth in the overall standings. Strong medal contender and Squad 1 leader, United States remained firmly in the lead with 2573 total, 81 pins ahead of Malaysia in second.

Peru, who finished third in the earlier squad also remained in third position with 2476 while Germany also remained in fourth with 2473. The top 22 teams are seeded and will bowl in Squad A while teams placed 23rd onwards will their second block in Squad A.

The top 4 boys team from Squad A and the top 4 girls team from Squad A will advance to the semi-finals shootout finals tomorrow evening.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

12th August, Hong Kong: Team USA continued to rule the lanes at SCAA Bowling Center with the boys leading the opening squad of the 4-player Team events at the 13th World Youth Championships 2014 after the first block while their girls finished third.

England got off the block with a stunning 865 to lead Germany by 48 pins followed by Australia and Czech Republic in close company. Although the English quartet knocked down a moderate 832, they continued to lead Germany by 23 pins.

Doubles silver and bronze medalists, United States who had a poor start with 756 in their opening game crawled their way up into fourth after a sizzling 917 and ended with another superb 900 to snatch pole with 2573.

Malaysia finished second to the Americans with 2493 while the surprise team was Peru which took third spot with 2476. Leader England suffered a hugh setback when they ended with a disastrous 640 to nose dive down to sixth position.

Undoubtedly the strongest girls in this championships are the Japanese. Having appeared in both the finals of the Singes and Doubles events in the past four days, they have yet to win a gold medal.

Singles silver and bronze medalists, Shion Izumune and Kana Shimoide teamed up with Mirai Ishimoto and Mana Yoshida to lead from start to finish in the first block with consistent lines of 892, 802 and 808 to lead the block with 2502.

Finland's Elisa Hiltunen, Roosa Lunden, Jonna Jokinen and Sanna Pasanen also bowled consistently with 850, 820 and 807 to trail Japan by 25 pins on a team total of 2477.

Doubles gold medalist, Sarah Lokker and Lizabeth Kuhlkin together with Mary Wells and Stephanie Schwartz totaled 2316 to finish third in the first block. Colombia and Singapore rounded out the top 5 with 2296 and 2271 respectively.

The second squad of 4-player teams will bowl their first block later today. After the two squads are combined, the top 22 boys team and the top 14 girls team will be seeded in Squad A while the lower places teams will be in Squad A.

The top 4 boys and top 4 girls team will again advance to the semi-finals immediately after the end of the second block.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

28th August, Hong Kong: Sarah Lokker and Lizabeth Kuhlkin added a second gold medal for United States after beating top seed, Japan in the Girl's Doubles final of the 13th World Youth Championships while top seed, Sweden won their first gold in the boy's division.

The final match between the second American pair and Japan's Shion Izumune and Kana Shimoide was indeed a tight match. Japan had a slight edge over the Americans up to the sixth frame but when Shimoide had back-to-back splits in the seventh and eight frames, it gave the American a slight hope.

It came down to the final frame for the second player to decide the champion. Kuhlkin doubled up in the ninth and tenth frames as her Japanese opponent struck in the ninth but managed only an 8-pin count and a spare in the tenth frame to go down, 361-370 in favour of United States.

The champion, who was seeded third, edged second-seed and Indonesia's second pair of Nadia Pramanik and Alisha Nabila, 354-350 to advance to the final.

The Japanese pair beat leader of the last squad and fourth-seed, Tatiana Munoz and Laura Plazas of Colombia, 387-368 to reach the final.

In the earlier fourth and final squad, Daria Kovalova and Oleksandra Yakunina of Ukraine finished second to the Colombians but missed the semi-finals cut by 15 pins in the overall standings.

Meanwhile top seed and Swedish first pair of Markus Jansson and Pontus Andersson bagged their first gold medal with a victory over the second American pair of Matthew Farber and Kamron Doyle, 405-371 in the final.

Two open frames from Farber and three open frames from Doyle made the job of overhauling the Swedes an extremely difficult task. Although there was a slim hope to catching up their opponents, Jansson and Andersson prevailed to take the match and the gold medal.

The top seed had ousted fourth-seed Mexico, 401-376 in the first semi-final match while second-seed Gregory Young and Singles gold medalist, Wesley Low lost to their team-mates of Farber and Doyle, 371-423 in the all-American semi-finals.

Young and Low reached the semi-finals after topping the fourth and final squad with 2641 for second position overall while Enrique Kassian and Andre Fors of Mexico made the cut in fourth with 2582. Germany's second pair of Rene Filor and Christian Birlinger missed the cut in fifth position overall with 2498.

Competition will shift to the 4-player Team event with the first block of three games to be played tomorrow split into two squads for both the boys and girls divisions. The second block of three games will resume on August 13.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

11th August, Hong Kong: Matthew Farber and Kamron Doyle of United States moved into second in the overall standings after topping the Boy's Doubles third squad of the 13th World Youth Championships 2014 while no girls doubles pair made the top 4.

Canadian first pair of Curtis Fach and Mitch Hupe made the early running with a stunning 489 in the opening game to lead Farber and Doyle by 10 pins. The American pair matched the Canadian's first game of 489 to take over the running and building up a margin of 135 pins.

Another superb 447 in the third game from Farber and Doyle put them 172 pins ahead of Canada and despite a moderate 393 in the fourth game, the leader was still in the lead with the Malaysian first pair of Timmy Tan and Ahmad Muaz taking over second.

Farber and Doyle recovered with a better fifth game of 449 before rounding off with 373 to a comfortable lead of 146 pins on 2630 total against the Malaysian pair, who totaled 2484.

Canada setted for third position with 2473 while Netherlands and Iceland completed the top 5 in this squad with 2471 and 2397 respectively.

The Americans moved into second overall with their total of 2630 after three squads have contested their doubles event, 49 pins behind Squad A leader, Markus Jansson and Pontus Andersson of Swedish first pair.

The second Swedish pair and Squad B leader, Jesper Svensson and Magnus Johnson slipped down to third with 2496 while Malaysian first pair occupied fourth with 2484. Canada missed the top 4 by 11 pins in fifth.

Meanwhile, none of the doubles teams made the top 4 in the overall standings after three squads. Malaysia's first pair of Victoria Chin and Radin Nur Najwa made most of the running to lead the first four games before being overhauled by Korea's second pair of Kim Jung Un and Yang Su Jin.

The Korean amassed a team total of 2385 to take the squad, 27 pins ahead of Malaysia in second with 2358. Singapore's first pair of Kristin Quah and Ilma Nur Jannah finished third with 2351.

The second Korean pair's effort only put them seventh overall and the Malaysians eighth. The top 4 positions remained unchallenged with the second Japanese pair and overnight leader, Shion Izumune and Kana Shimoide remained in pole position with 2508.

Indonesia's second pair of Nadia Pramanik and Aisha Nabila is second with 2501. American second pair of Sarah Lokker and Lizabeth Kuhlkin is third with 2449 while Mexican second pair of Sara Pelayo and Raquel Orozco is fourth with 2394.

The fourth and final squad with probably the strongest bowlers fielded by the teams will bowl 6 games to complete the doubles standings which will determine the top 4 boys and top 4 girls to advance to the semi-finals medal shootout.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

10th August, Hong Kong: Singles silver and bronze medalists, Shion Izumune and Kana Shimoide of Japan posted higher scores in the second squad to take over the lead of the Girl's Doubles at the 13th World Youth Championships 2014.

Australia's second pair of Emily Rigney and Kaitlyn Commane made the early running ahead of the second Indonesian pair of Nadia Pramanik and Alisha Nabila in second. But the lead was short-lived as Indonesia took over the lead at the halfway mark.

The Indonesia duo continued to lead for the next three games as Australia and Japan made their bid for the lead. Izumune and Shimoide stormed home with a superb 448 in their final game to snatch the lead with 2508.

Indonesia settled for second with 2501 while the second American pair of Sarah Lokker and Lizabeth Kuhlkin also ended strongly to grab third spot with 2449.

The second Mexican pair of Sara Pelayo and Raquel Orozco finished fourth in the squad with 2394 while early leader, Australia rounded out the top 5 with 2387. All top 4 finishers in this squuad bettered the scores posted by Squad A.

Kim Kyoung Sil and Kim Hee Been of Korea slipped to fifth overall with 2391 after two squads with Australia 2 in sixth position.

In the boy's division, Singles bronze medalist, Jesper Svensson paired up with Magnus Johnson to top the second squad with 2496. Ahmed Al Goud and Taha Selail of Bahrain finished second with 2408.

The second Japanese pair of Tetsuya Chiba and Kenta Yoshida completed the top 3 in this squad with 2385. But Svensson and Johnsson's effort failed to topple their team-mates and the first squad leader to settle for second overall.

The second Bahraini pair took third spot while the first Kuwaiti pair of Mostafa Almousawi and Abdulrahman Suwayed, who was second in the first squad, slipped down to fourth.

Both the third place finishers in their squads, Japan 2 and Singapore 2 rounded out the top 5 in the overall combined standings. Two more squads will be contested tomorrow and the top 4 will advance to the semi-finals shootout.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

10th August, Hong Kong: Markus Jansson and Pontus Andersson of Sweden took a commanding lead of the opening squad of the Boy's Doubles event at the 13th World Youth Championships 2014 while Korea led the girl's division.

Russia's first pair of Nikita Kuznetsov and Maxim Okorokov got off the mark with a superb 445 in the first game to lead Poland's pair 30 pins. But their lead only lasted one game as Kuwait's Mostafa Almousawi and Abdulrahman Suwayed took over the running after posting 442 and 404 in their first two games.

The Kuwaiti duo kept the lead till the halfway mark when the Swedes shot into the lead with a splendid 478, 12 pins ahead of their nearest rival.

Despite rolling just 404 in the fourth, the Swedish pair was able to extend their lead to 136 pins. The leader went on to top the squad with 455 and 532 for a total of 2679, both Jansson and Andersson scoring a 6-game score of 1308 and 1371 respectively.

Kuwait took second position with 2407, 272 pins behind while Alex Chong and Alexander Tan totaled 2372 to take up third spot. Indonesia and Japan rounded out the top 5 with 2350 and 2348.

The Girl's Doubles was a much closer contest with Finland taking an early lead but was quickly over-taken by Korea after the second game. Kim Kyoung Sil and Kim Hee Been started off moderately with 379 but rolled 414 and 462 to take a 50 pin lead over Sweden.

The lead was reduced to 26 pins when the Korean first doubles pair managed only 343. Although they bounced back with 435 in the fifth game, they held on to the lead with just 358 in their last game for a total of 2391.

Anne Thorell and Casa Wegner put Sweden in the running for a semi-final spot with 2332 while a late charge by Stephanie Schwartz and Mary Wells of United States earned them third place with 2302.

Early pace-stter, Finland finished fourth with 2275 as Mexico completed the top 5 with 2262. Squad B will take to the lanes for their 6-game block after lane maintenance. The third and fourth squads will bowl their 6-games preliminary on August 12 where the top 4 semi-finalists will be finalised.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

9th August, Hong Kong: Choi Woo Sub and Yang Su Jin gave a double celebration by sweeping the Boy's and Girl's Singles gold medals at the 13th World Youth Championships 2014 on Saturday.

Third-seed, Choi edged top seed, Wesley Low of the United States, 226-214 in the final to win the gold. Low started off with a double strike but the Korean responded brilliantly with four strikes-in-a-row to open up a 23 pin lead.

The 17-year-old American was unable to match Choi's strides but made a late charge in the ninth and tenth frames to force Choi needing to mark his final frame to clinch the gold and the title.

Choi kept his cool to spare the tenth frame to narrowly beat his opponent by 12 pins. The champion had earlier sailed past second seed, Michael Mak of Hong Kong, 217-176 in the second semi-finals to reach the final.

Low edged fourth-seed, Jesper Svensson of Sweden, 225-223 in the other semi-finals to set up the finale with the Korean.

In the earlier final squad, Low topped the squad with 1431 to advance into the semi-finals shootout ahead of Svensson in second with 1412. 2013 Asian Youth Masters silver medalist, Lee Ik Kyu took third spot with 1396 but missed the cut in fifth overall.

Squad A leader, Choi advanced in third while leader, Mak slipped to second overall. Mario Herrera of Mexico and Muhd Rafiq Ismail of Malaysia were knocked out after Low and Svensson finished first and second overall.

Meanwhile fourth-seed, Yang Su Jin of Korea defeated second-seed, Shion Izumune of Japan, 237-208 in the final to give Korea a clean sweep of the Singles event. Yang doubled in the third and fourth frames to take a 16 pin lead.

As Izhumune struggled to string together strikes, Yang rolled a four bagger from frame seven to put the match beyond the Japanese. Although Izumune struck thrice from frame eight, Yang took the match and the gold with a 25 pins difference.

The champion ousted top seed Kana Shimoide of Japan, 236-208 in the semi-finals to reach the final while Izumune ousted third-seed, Jenny Wegner of Sweden 173-167 in the other semi.

The top 4 semi-finals spot were all taken by players in the earlier final squad. Shimoide and Izumune finished one-two with 1310 and 1303 respectively. Wegner finished third with 1288 with Yang claiming fourth position with 1272.

Earlier overall leader, Tania Yusaf of Scotland and Squad A leader, Mirai Ishimoto of Japan were knocked out to end in fifth and sixth positions.

Competition will resume with the doubles in four squads over the next two days. Again the top 4 boys pair and top 4 girls pair will advance to the semi-finals shootout on August 11.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

9th August, Hong Kong: Michael Mak of host nation, Hong Kong and Tania Yusaf of Scotland took over the lead of the Boy's and Girl's leaderboard after the third Singles squad of the 13th World Youth Championships 2014 were contested.

Chinese Taipei's Chang Cheng got off the block with a splendid 263 to lead Amr Nour of Egypt by 26 pins and Valentin Saulnier of France, a further 1 pin away in thrid. Chang kept the lead despite a lower second game as Amr continued to trail the Taiwanese.

Mak, who started off with only 195 blitzed the lanes with 256 and 279 in his next two games to surge into the lead with Ariel Young of Philippines inching up into second spot.

The leader kept a strong pace with 228 and 204 in the fourth and fifth games to give himself a total of 1162. Young kept close to Mak but fell back 42 pins behind before the final game.

Mak needed 251 or more in the final game to topple overall leader, Choi Woo Sub of Korea and with a large crowd of local supporters firmly behind him, he struck out in his final frame to end with 255 for a total of 1417.

Saulnier also ended strongly with 235 to take up second in this squad with 1318 while Christopher Lam of England clinched third position with 1413.

After three squads, Mak led Choi by 4 pins with Mario Herrera of Mexico in third with 1388 leaving the fourth and final semi-final spot to Muhd Rafiz Ismail of Malaysia with 1371. Saulnier and Lam managed only ninth and tenth positions in the overall standings.

Meanwhile, Tania Yusaf surprised the field after topping the third squad of the girl's division with 1258. Apart from Varvara Korobkova of Russia setting the opening pace with 249, the running was mostly made by Laura Plazas of Colombia.

Plazas started off well with 242 and her scores from the second to the fifth games were inconsistent, she was able to lead the field. But a stunning 288 from Tania shot the Scot into the lead after the fifth game.

Although Tania managed only 171 in her last game, it was good enough to make her the new overall leader with 1258, pipping overnight leader, Mirai Ishimoto of Japan by 6 pins. Pace-setter Plazas settled for second with 1242 and third overall.

Squad B leader, Veronica Dias De Souza slipped two spots down from second to fourth with 1226 while Daria Voronkova of Russia, who was third in Squad C, missed the top 4 by 6 pins to finished fifth overall.

The fourth and final squad will take to the lanes later today and the top 4 boys and top 4 girls from the combined scores will advance to the semi-finals and final medal shootout matches this evening.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

8th August, Hong Kong: Veronica Dias De Souza of Macau, China topped the Girl's Singles Squad B of the 13th World Youth Championships 2014 to move in second overall while Gaetan Mouveroux of France led the Boy's Squad B for ninth overall.

Alena Korobkova of Russia and Ivana Padarova of Czech Republic shared the lead in the opening game of the Girl's Singles second squad, 6 pins ahead of Czech team-mate Klara Nefova. Veronica Dias De Souza rolled a stunning 256 to take over the lead despite strating poorly with 154 in the firt game.

Another superb 229 in the third game from De Souza allowed her to stretch her lead to 33 pins ahead of her nearest rival, Sanna Pasanen of Finland in second and Kim Jung Un of Korea in third.

Kim shot into the lead with the 238 in the fourth game following her 227 in her third as De Souza slipped into second albeit just 2 pins adrift.

De Souza bounced back with 191 and 197 in her last two games to top the squad with 1226. England's Keira Reay ended strongly with 226 and 196 to snatch second spot with 1200 while Pasanen clinched third spot with 1186.

The leader's effort put her second after just two squads, 26 pins behind first squad leader, Mirai Ishimoto of Japan. Lizabeth Kuhlkin of USA slipped to third on 1216 while San Nicolas Merlina of Mexico rounded out the top 4.

In the boy's division, Gaetan Mouveroux of France topped the squad with 1303 but failed to make the top 4 and only managing ninth overall. Ahmed Al Goud of Bahrain set the pace in the opening game but ended up fourth in the squad with 1258.

Oyvin Kulseng of Norway and Islam Eid of Egypt led briefly but finished second and fifth in the squad with 1285 and 1254 respectively. Ramon Hilferink of Netherlands, who was leading before the final game, settled for third in the squad with 1265.

The top 4 spots in the boy's overall standings after two squads were retained by the top 4 finishers from Squad A. Choi Woo Sub of Korea remained in the lead with 1413 followed by Mario Herrera of Mexico in second on 1388.

Muhd Rafiq Ismail of Malaysia and Maxim Okorokov of Russia completed the top 4 with 1371 and 1367 as Squad B leader, Mouveroux taking ninth position.

The third squad will be contested at 9.00 am local time with the fourth and final squad at 1.30 pm. The combined scores of all the four squads will determine the top 4 boys and top 4 girls advancing into the semi-finals medal shootout.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

8th August, Hong Kong: Asians, Choi Woo Sub of Korea and Mirai Ishimoto of Japan led the opening Singles boy's and girl's squad of the 13th World Youth Championships 2014 underway at SCAA Bowling Centre.

Diwan Rizaldy of Indonesia set the early pace with a stunning 268 to lead neighbouring Malaysia's Muhd Rafiq Ismail by 13 pins after the opening game. Kamron Doyle of USA took over the lead after the second with Mario Hererra of Mexico trailing in second, 51 pins away.

Doyle kept the lead at the halfway mark but was closed down by Choi Woo Sub and narrowing the gap to 10 pins followed by Russia's MMaxim Okotokov moving up into second as pace-setters Rizaldy and Muhd Rafiq slipping out of contention.

Choi went on to end the squad with 224 and 244 for a total of 1413 to take the squad. Herrera finished strong with 277 to take second position with 1388, 25 pins adrift while the Muhd Rafiq rounded out the top 3 with 1371.

Okorokov took fourth position with 1367 ahead of James Stanley of Costa Rica completing the top 5 with 1355. Doyle ended up in sixth position with 1331. 19 out of 44 bowlers in this squad managed to average above the 200-mark.

Meanwhile, Mirai Ishimoto topped the girl's division opening squad with 1252. Nadia Pramanik of Indonesia set a cracking pace with 223, 213 and 185 in her first three games with Maxime De Rooij of Germany and Lizabeth Kuhlkin of USA exchanging second spot.

Ishimoto grabbed the lead after the a scintilating fourth game of 268 to take over the lead from Pramanik by 34 pins as the American held third spot. Kuhlkin snatched second spot with 1216 while San Nicolas Merlina of Mexico finished third with 1213.

The second American, Sarah Lokker stormed home to take fourth position with 1177 while early leader, Pramanik rounded out the top 5 with 1176.

A second squad of 44 boys and 24 girls will take to the lanes in the second squad later after lane maintenance which will complete the first day of bowling. Squad C and D will contest their 6-games Singles tomorrow.

The top 4 boys and top 4 girls from the combined scores will advance to the semi-finals with the top seed facing the fourth-seed and the second-seed facing the third-seed in one-match.

The winner will square off in the final for the gold with the loser settling for the silver. The losers of the semi-finals will be awarded a bronze medal each.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.

6th August, Hong Kong: A warm and traditional ceremony marked the official opening of the 13th World Youth Championships at SCAA Bowling Centre on Wednesday evening attended by dignitaries, federation representatives, team officials and players.

The ceremony was graced by guest of honour, Mr Timothy Fok, GBS, JP, IOC Member and President of Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, Mr William Ko, BBS, MH, Chairman of Major Sports Events Committee, Mr Kevin Dornberger, President of World Tenpin Bowling Association and FIQ and Ms Vivien Lau, BBS, JP, Honorary Life President of Asian Bowling Federation, Secretary General of FIQ & Organizing Chairman.

Also present were Mr Mike Seymour, Vice President of World Bowling and ABF, Mr Christer Jonsson, Seretary General of World Bowling, Presidium members of World Bowling and Asian Bowling Federation.

Among them were countless distinguished guests, federations presidents and representatives, consulars in Hong Kong of the participating countries.

Also present were representatives of title sponsors and co-sponsors, team officials, coaches, players, supporters and spectators. Ms Astrid Lo, emcee of the opening ceremony, welcome all present and kick off the ceremonies by introducing the distinguished guests before announcing the marchpast of the 46 participating countries.

Speeches started off with the organizing chairman, Ms Vivien Lau welcoming the players and officials to the championships followed by Mr Kevin Dornberger, who expressed gratitude to the support shown by member federations of WTBA in participating at this year's championships.

Mr William Ko also announced in his speech that the CGSE World Youth Championships 2014 has been awarded the 'M' Mark Brand Hong Kong logo by the Major Sports Events Committee under the HKSAR Sports Commission. He also expressed surprise by the large turnout of teams from around the world for this championship.

Guest of honour, Mr Timothy Fok then delivered han inspiring speech on behalf of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China and thanked the title sponsor, The Chinese Gold & Silver Exchange Society for coming forward with its generous sponsorship.

Ms Vivien Lau then invited Mr Fok, Mr Dornberger and Mr Ko to perform the traditional dotting of the lion's eyes to mark good fortune and success in the championships followed by Mr Fok declaring the championships officially opened.

The traditional lion dance, performed by the Sun Ngai Kwun Performaing Arts group then trilled the guests present at the end of which, displayed well wishes banners to the applause of the spectators.

Hong Kong team representatives, Ms Joan Cheng and Mr Michael Mak took the players' oath on behalf of all players while Mr Leung Yuet Ming took the officials oath on behalf of the officials.

166 boys, 96 girls and 120 team officials from 46 countries are taking part in this 13th edition of the World Youth Championships. Official practice will be held tomorrow, August 7 with the championships kicking off with the Singles for boys and girls over two days, August 8 and 9.

The Doubles will be held on August 10 and 11 while the Team of 4 will be contested on August 12 and 13. The top 24 boys and top 24 girls based on the All Events standings (18 games) will qualify for the Step 1 Masters finals on August 14.

The top 8 boys and top 8 girls after Step 1 finals will advance to Round-robin Matchplay Step 2 finals on August 15. The championships will close with the victory banquet at Panda Hotel in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Hong Kong.