The 24-yr old bowler has had a rather challenging year after trying to adapt to a new bowling style without much success. By clinching his first National Closed title, he has laid to rest his jinx of finishing in second position at numerous tournaments.

On Saturday, Aaron, who trailed in sixth position after a ten-game Masters Finals roll off, managed to defeat third seed, World Cup representative and former National Champion, Zulmazran Zulkifli with a 2-0 win at the quarter finals round (214-204,269-180). He went on to demolish top seed, two-times National Champion Adrian Ang 2-0 in the semi finals (216-185,237-227) to set up a challenge with Defending Champion, Muhd Shafiq Ridhwan. Nothing was going to stop him from claiming his first National Championship title. He breezed through his challenge with Shafiq with wins of 204-163 and 202-182 in the best of three games format. Aaron pocketed RM 7000 for his win.

In the Ladies’ Division, National backup squad member Sin Li Jane had a more challenging path to the top. She had trailed top seed and former National Champion Sharon Koh by only nine pins after a ten-game Masters Finals to finish second on the table. In the quarter finals, she defeated Penang Pesta 2009 Champion Zatil Iman in straight sets of 185-162,195-180 wins to proceed to the semi finals against fifth seed and former National Champion Wendy Chai. She rolled games of 236-214-237 to defeat Wendy who only managed games of 203-222-189 for a 2-1 win over Wendy.

In the Grand Finals round, Li Jane also was stretched to a three-game decider with sixth seed Fatin Syazliana, also a member of the National backup squad. Fatin opened with a 246-218 win over Li Jane, who came back with a 229-207 win over Fatin in the second game. In the final decider, Li Jane stormed home with a 215-175 win to claim her first National Closed Championship title. Li Jane won herself RM3000 prize money.

18-yrs old Li Jane, from Perak, has had some time off to prepare for her SPM exams. She’s happy to have done well this time round as she did not fare well at the recent All Stars and Penang Pesta. Li Jane is hoping that this will be the start of better performances in the year ahead.

Men’s Open final results:

CHAMPION: Aaron Kong
2. Muhd Shafiq Ridhwan
3. Adrian Ang
4. Kelvin Keong
5. Zulmazran Zulkifli
6. Mohd Zaim
7. Muhd Nur Aiman
8. Kang Bo Long

Ladies’ Open final results:

CHAMPION: Sin Li Jane
2. Fatin Syazliana
3. Sharon Koh
4. Wendy Chai
5. Nur Syakirah Yeoh
6. Zandra Aziela
7. Zatil Iman
8. Yap Wi Yin

For more detailed scores, visit MTBC official website.

Have a great bowling year ahead.

Jonathan

The tournament saw many bowlers who were overaged for the Junior All Stars making attempts at qualifying to make the cut for the top 48. Youths who were not successful at the Juniors Finals also took a final shot at the RM30,000 Champion prize money on offer.

After six games, the field was cut to 24 bowlers who had to bowl another six games to qualify for the top 6 stepladder playoff.

The All Stars Classic is a handicapped tournament. Men Open-0; Ladies Open-8; Men Graded-5 pins. The top 6 finalists bowl on scratch scores to determine the Champion.

Results Top 24-Masters

1. Siti Safiyah (Malaysia)

2. Tannya Roumimper (Indonesia)

3. Jeon Eun Hee (Korea)

4. Aloysius Goh (Singapore)

5. Kang Bo Long (Malaysia)

6. Kim Ju Young (Korea)

In the first stepladder match between bowlers 4,5,6, Kang Bo Long triumphed on 209 to earn the right to play bowlers 2 and 3. Bo Long’s climb was halted when Jeon Eun Hee shot a 265 game to proceed to play topseed Siti Safiyah of Malaysia.

In the finals, Eun Hee continued her fine run with another high game of 255-187 win against Siti Safiyah, forcing a sudden death game shootout between the two. This time Siti was able to get her act together when Malaysia’s Head coach, Holloway Cheah was seen asking her to make changes. She fired a 215-180 win to lay claim to the first All Stars Classic 2009 title.

Final Results

Champion - Siti Safiyah

2. Jeon Eun Hee

3. Kang Bo Long

4. Tannya Roumimper

5. Aloysius Goh

6. Kim Ju Young

After a failure to add another win to her two previous ones (2004/2006) at the Junior All Stars, Siti Safiyah, a member of Malaysia’s Elite Squad, won some consolation with her RM30,000 pocket money. The 19-yr old bowler was the country’s representative at the 45th QubicaAMF World Cup held in Malaysia where she finished third.

Jeon Eun Hee who had finished tenth in the Junior All Stars settled for RM15,000. Kang Bo Long earned himself a RM10,000 Christmas present. Tannya pocketed RM7,000. Aloysius won himself RM5,000 and Kim pocketed RM3,000 for his sixth overall position.

Stay tuned for the 37th Penang Pesta results.

Jonathan

Six of the perfect games were achieved during the Masters Qualifyings (MQs) and two were achieved during the Masters Finals. While the MQs only awarded a daily prize reward of RM1000, the first bowler to achieve a 300 game during the Masters Finals would be rewarded with a cool RM50,000 to take home.

Malaysian youths who bagged the daily 300-High Game awards were Kang Bo Long (Elite Back-Up), Esther Cheah (Elite Squad), and Khoo Beng Khai (National Youth).

Others were Korean youth Woo Sang Young, 18-yrs old Australian Sam Cooley, and 17-yrs old Singaporean Gregory Gan.

18-yrs old Malaysian National Youth member, Aris Ardila, must be the biggest winner in the whole tournament. His 300 game was shot in Game 8 of the Masters Finals. He pocketed RM50,000 for his efforts. Korean youth Jang Hong Jun’s 300 game came a bit too late. He achieved it on Game 9, and so he ended up empty handed.

Two notable near misses came from Kim Sun Woo of Korea who had a day earlier shot a 299 game in the Boys Graded Masters and Malaysian youth Syimir Abd Razak who also shot a 299 game in Game 4 of the Boys Open Finals.

Check out the Tale of the Lucky and Not-So-Lucky bowler.

Better luck next time. Have a great day!

Jonathan

The 10th MILO International Junior All-Stars was to be Esther’s swan song. She will be over aged for next year’s edition. In befitting style, the 2005 World Women Singles Champion had pushed her way up from a fourth placing after a 10-game roll off in the Girls Open Division, to make the stepladder cut. She later edged out second seed Jo Hyun Jung (227-Korea) and third seed Shayna Ng (205-Singapore) with a superb 279 game during the stepladder semi-final to determine the challenger to face top seed Lee Young Im of Korea.

In the steppladder final against Young Im, Esther triumphed with a 198-170 win to force a sudden death game with the Korean. Young Im was unable to stop the Nebraska-Lincoln University psychology undergrad who shot a 217 second game to defeat Young Im’s 198 second game. As top seed, Young Im had two chances to dislodge her challenger.

With Esther’s win, Lee Young Im who had finished on 2382 pinfalls after 10 games (avg 238), had to settle for second placing with Jo Hyun Jung also from Korea in third position. Early leader, Shayna Ng of Singapore finished fourth. Esther took home RM 17,000 for her victory win.

In the Boys Open Division, top seed Kim Jong Wook had a close call with team mate Park Jong Woo when he shot a 212 game and Park replied with a 211 game. However, the 1-pin advantage was all he needed to claim the Boys Open Challenge trophy. Fourth seed Park (254-Korea) had earlier edged out second seed Aloysius Goh (179-Singapore) and third seed Aris Ardila (143-Malaysia) in the stepladder semi-finals to earn his right to challenge top seed Kim for the Championship title and a crack at the RM30,000 prize money.

Kim Jong Wook had earlier finished with a total 2412 pinfalls averaging 241.20 in the Boys Masters Finals. With Koreans dominating the Boys Open Division, Aloysius Goh of Singapore had to settle for third placing and Aris Ardila Of Malaysia finished on fourth position.

In the Boys Graded Division, Choi Tae Seung and Kim Soon Woo made it a 1-2 finish for Korea. Third position went to Jason Syow of Malaysia. The Masters Finals saw a keen tussle between the top two Koreans throughout with Choi finishing strongly with games of 269 and 259  averaging 240.30 (10-games) to shut out his team mate who shot commendable games of 231 and 223. Although Jason finished strongly with a high 277 game to pip another Malaysian youth, Muhd Aizudeen, it was not enough. He finished 141 pinfalls behind Choi and 111 pinfalls behind Kim.

Final position standings: Choi Tae Seung-Champion (2403); Kim Sun Woo-2nd (2373); Jason Syow-3rd (2262).

The top ten position standings saw a good mix of Koreans, Singaporeans and Malaysians in the fray. But it’s a totally different story in the Girls Graded Division.

In the Girls Graded Division, it was an all-Korean affair. Top five placings went to Korea. Malaysian youth Victoria Chin was the spoiler when she claimed her stake in the sixth position only to see the Korean girls dominating the next three positions with another Malaysian youth, Selva Nivashini making up the top ten positions. The intersting part here is all 8 Korean qualifiers were in the top ten…an interesting poser to our youth development?

Final position standings: Kim Kyung Sil-Champion (2091); Kang Soo Jim-2nd (2066); Kim Yeo Jin-3rd (2025).

In the Boys 15 & Under Division, Singaporeans dominated the top three positions with Malaysian youth Qalif Adnor tied in third place with Alexander Tan. Jaris Tan finished on 1733 pinfalls averaging 216.63 (8 games). There were 10 Singaporean youths in the field of 18 youths who qualified for the finals.

Final position standings: Jaris Goh-Champion (1733); Ryan Wee-2nd (1727); Alexander Tan (1684)/Qalif Adnor (1684)-3rd.

In the Girls 15 & Under Division, Malaysian youth Selva Nivashini bowled well to capture her first All-Stars title with a 209.13 average (8 games). Second position went to another Malaysian youth, Nur Fatimah and Stacy Lian of Singapore came in third. Although there were 12 Singaporeans in the total field of 18 qualifiers, position standings were spread out.

Final position standings: Selva Nivashini-Champion (1673); SH Nur Fatimah-2nd (1666); Stacy Lian-3rd (1640).

In the Boys 12 & Under Division, two Malaysian boys ruled the lanes. Muhammad Qayyum ruled supreme with 1512 pinfalls over 8 games (189 avg). Finishing second was another Malaysian youth, Muhammad Rafiq Ismail and coming in close was Chong Tai Wei of Singapore.

Final position standings: Muhammad Qayyum-Champion (1512); Muhammad Rafiq Ismail-2nd (1503); Chong Tai Wei-3rd (1498).

In the Girls 12 & Under Division, Faten Najihah of Malaysia averaged 186 to claim her first All-Stars title followed closely by Rena Ng of Singapore and another Malaysian, Nur Amirah Auni in third position.

Final position standings: Faten Najihah-Champion (1488); Rena Ng Yan Ling-2nd (1469); Nur AmirahAuni-3rd (1388).

For more detailed scores, please go to MTBC official website: http://www.mtbc.org.my/

For more stories and photos please go to my Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/ABC-To-Bowling/53315535453

Have a great day

Jonathan

Touted as one of the most popular Youth Tournaments in the world, this year’s tournament is expected to attract 600-700 youths from 12 countries.

Top youths aged 23 and below from Australia, Chinese Taipei, Germany, Hong Kong, Korea, Holland, India, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam, together with Malaysian youths, will pit their skills to topple the two defending Champions who happen to be Malaysia’s Sin Li Jane and Adrian Ang.

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s National Elite Back-Up Squad member, Kang Bo Long, shot the tournament’s first Perfect Game on the opening night of qualifyings. The 23 yr old youth who was promoted to the Back-Up squad this year, has been bowling since he was 13 yrs old. He was the 2007 Singapore Youth Champion, 2008 Malaysian Open second runner-up, and together with teammates Rodson Tong, Kelvin Keong and Syafiq Ridhwan, won a silver medal for Malaysia at the 3rd Asian Indoor Games 2009 in Ho Chi Minh City. This is Bo Long’s first perfect game at an official tournament…although he has shot 6 perfect games during training times.

Be seeing you at the Junior All-Stars,

Jonathan

A total of 87 men and 66 women bowlers from 89 countries, convened at the Melaka International Bowling Center in the beautiful and historical state of Malacca, in Malaysia, over the last few days.

Yet another new Champion has emerged in both the Men’s and Women’s categories. 2005 World Cup Champion Michael Schmidt from Canada was denied another title by Choi Yong-Kyu from Korea. Michael had earlier disposed off Ryan Lalisang from Indonesia with games of 202/247 (2) against Ryan’s 180/217 (0) in the best of 3 games in the semi-finals.

Final results: Choi Yong-Kyu (Korea) 236/227 (2); Michael Schmidt (Canada) 173/208 (0)

The Championship title also makes Choi Yong-Kyu the first Korean national to bring home the coveted World Cup. He also rolled the tournament’s only perfect 300 game.

In the Women’s Division, Zara Giles from England defeated Malaysian youngster Siti Safiyah Amirah with games of 202/226 (2) against Safiyah’s 180/218 (0) games in the semi-finals.

However, Zara’s quest for the title ended when she was not able to stop the impeccable form of top seed, Caroline Lagrange from Canada. The Canadian lost the first game on 189 against Zara’s 194. She recovered to roll games of 210/218 to clinch the title from Zara who ended up with games of 181/211. The final decider was a close call for Caroline. Zara put up a good fight but was denied victory.

Final results: Caroline Lagrange (Canada) 189/210/218 (2); Zara Giles (England) 194/181/211 (1)

The Best Country Award went to Canada with a Champion and Runner’s up titles.

You can get detailed scores from the MTBC homepage
http://www.mtbc.org.my/

Have a great bowling day

Jonathan

After 3 days of intense competition to determine the top 24 men and 24 women bowlers for the round of 24, the quarter-finalists will now bowl another 8 games tonight to determine the top eight to advance to the semi-finals tomorrow morning.

Topping the Women’s Division is Zara Giles of England who has managed to maintain her lead for 3 consecutive days. Her total pincount stands at 5275 (24 games averaging 219.79). Close on her heels is Malaysian teenager Siti Safiyah Amirah who leaped frog from a second day 9th position to second spot after a superb 1893 series today. She totals 5241 (218.38 avg). Caroline Lagrange of Canada also bowled well today to finish 3rd on 5218 (217.42 avg).

Evgenia Tsarkova (Russia), Tenelle Milligan (USA), Liza del Rosario (Philippines), Helen Johnsson (Sweden) and Baek Seung-ja (Korea) make up the top eight bowlers.

In the Men’s Division, Choi Yong-Kyu of Korea maintained his second day lead with another superb 1986 series. His total pincount of 5652 gives him a 235.50 average. Coming in strongly was Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia with 5366 pincount (223.58 avg) and Martin Larsen of Sweden on third spot with 5282 (220.08 avg).

2005 World Cup title holder Michael Schmidt of Canada also came back strong to finish on fourth position. Zulmazran Zulkifli (Malaysia), Surasak Manuwang (Thailand), Walter Ray Williams Jr (USA) and Wicky Yeung (Hong Kong) make up the top eight men bowlers.

Top American probowler, Walter Ray Williams Jr made an incredible comeback with a high 1891 series today after two lack lustre days.

Four times World Cup Champion, Paeng Nepomuceno had his hopes of a fifth title dashed when he failed to make the top 24 cut by a mere 3 pins.

For full updates and detailed scores, please go to this link
http://www.mtbc.org.my/

For some photos of World Cup participants and supporters, go here
http://www.facebook.com/pages/ABC-To-Bowling/53315535453

Have a great bowling day

Jonathan