17th July, Incheon: Korea ousted Malaysia 2-1 in second Mixed Team semi-final match of the 2024 IBF World Youth Championships to book their spot in the final while Sweden eliminated top-seed, Czech Republic, 2-1 in the first semi.

Korea started off brilliantly with five strikes-in-a-row to open up a substantial gap over their opponent, Malaysia. Two open frames costed the Koreans as Malaysia ended strongly to edge Korea by one pin. Both teams struggled in the second match and Korea prevailed to beat Malaysia, 181-174 to set up a third and deciding match.

Malaysia returned a decent game but it was Korea who finished atop with a 248-212 victory to finally secure a spot in the final. Czech Republic and Malaysia earned a bronze medal each after losing their semi-finals.

In the earlier Matchplay Rounds, Czech Republic amassed 15 points from five wins and a total pinfall of 1449. The second Korean quartet tied with second USA team on 12 points a piece forcing a one-game tie-breaker roll-off. Korea came away with a 202-176 win to advance as second-seed in the semis.

Malaysia on the other hand had to play in the three-way tie-breaker after sharing top spot with the second Sweden team and the first American team on 15 points each. Malaysia (256), Sweden (247) advanced as first and second-seeds when USA managed only 216.

The Czechs stole the limelight when team 1 and team 2 ended the 10-game qualifying round in first and second overall. The first team topped Squad 1 with 2212 and the second team led Squad 2 with 2168. Malaysia claimed third position with 2165.

The second USA team squeezed into the Matchplay Round in 16th position with 2024 pinfalls. Australia 1 missed the cut by just two pins after finishing 17th position with 2022.

Tomorrow, the final day of the championships, will witness all the final matches starting with the Singles, Doubles, Team and the Mixed Team. Korean Broadcasting Services (KBS) will televise the finals on their local stations. Unfortunately there will be no live streaming here as we were not given the rights.