World Championship Gold medalist, Saeed Al-Hajri of Qatar bagged the 25th Sports Toto Malaysian International Open Men's Masters title defeating local 18 year-old local favourite Zulmazran Zulkifli while the Women's title went to Korea's Kim Soo-Kyoung.

Saeed forced top-seed Zulmazran into the sudden-death game of the final step-ladder match after winning the first game 225-213. In the final match, Saeed snatched the victory by just two pins after Zulmazran had a split in the 9th frame and a bad mistake missing pin-10 in the last frame to hand the title to Saeed 185-183.

It was a bitter blow for local favourite Zulmazran, who was trying hard to win back-to-back titles after becoming the youngest-ever national champion two months ago.

Zulmazran completed the 2nd block finals to finish top with a score of 3,705 pinfalls followed by Saeed Al-Hajri on 3,571 in second. Third was Singapore's Remy Ong with 3,479 with Malaysia's Ben Heng in 4th on 3,466. Australia's Andrew Frawley did well to finish fifth with 3,451 with Philippines' Paeng Nepomuceno just making the last spot for the step-ladder finals.

In the first step-ladder match between Ben Heng, Andrew Frawley and Paeng, Frawley was a runaway winner of the first match 237 to Heng's 186 and Paeng's 175 to move up the ladder. In the second match between 2nd seed Saeed and 3rd-seed Remy Ong, it was Saeed's show all the way to the last frame to win the match 233 to Remy's 197 and Frawley's 172.

In the women's division, top-seed Kim Soo-Kyoung, who scored the third perfect game of the tournament in the 11th game of the second block finals today, became the women's champion defeating teamate Kim Hyo-Mi 186-178 in the final match for the title.

Kim shared the perfect game of RM50,000, sponsored by CGU Insurance, with Philippines' Paeng and Malaysia's Choy Poh Lai, who scored the second perfect game during the 15th game of today's second block finals.

In the first step-ladder match between 4th seed Kim Hyo-Mi, 5th Choy Poh Lai and 6th seed Sharon Chai of Malaysia, the Korean took the match scoring 202 against Choy's 172 and Chai's 172. Hyo-Min then went on to meet 3rd seed and teammate, Nam Bo-Ra and England's Kirsten Penny. The match was easily won by Hyo-Mi with a score of 244 against Bo-Ra's 204 and Penny's 202.

The top 14 Asian men and women have now qualified for the CGU Asian Bowling Tour Malaysia leg which will commence tomorrow 24th through 25th at the same venue, Pyramid Mega Lanes, Sunway Pyramid, Kuala Lumpur.

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Four times World Cup champion and Philippines bowling legend, Paeng Nepomuceno became the second bowler to hit a Perfect Game Award in the 25th Sports Toto Malaysian International Open at Pyramid Mega Lanes, Sunway Pyramid, Petaling Jaya.

Paeng, who returned after a wrist operation two years ago, shot the perfect game in the 5th game of the first-block Men's Open Masters finals and wwill be awarded the RM50,000 cash sponsored by CGU Insurance. He will bag the full prize if no other bowler hits another perfect game in tomorrow's second block finals.

Chinese Taipei's and last year's CGU Asian Bowling Tour Malaysia leg champion, Hsieh Yu-Ping and Qatar's World Championship Gold medalist Saeed Al-Hajri share the lead in the Men's Open Masters first-block 8-games finals with 1,787 pinfalls. Defending champion, Tomas Leandersen of Sweden lies 3rd with 1,747, who missed the perfect game also in the 5th game with 298. Last year's Penang Pesta champion, Gerald Samuel of Malaysia is in 4th spot with 1,742 followed by Paeng Nepomuceno in 5th with 1,730.

Korea's Kim Soo-Kyoung leads the Women's division with 1,791 followed by World Games Gold medalist, Kirsten Penny in second with 1,748 while CGU ABT Hong Kong leg champion, Vanessa Fung from Hong Kong in third with 1,742. Lai Kin Ngoh and SHaron Chai did Malaysia proud to stay in contention in fourth and fifth with 1,720 and 1,719 respectively.

Both the Men's and Women's division will bowl another 8 games in tomorrow's second-block finals where the top six finishers will proceed to the step-ladder finals. All top 14 Asian bowlers will qualify for the first leg of the 2002 CGU Asian Bowling Tour on the 24th and 25th March, 2002 at Pyramid Mega Lanes, Sunway Pyramid, Kuala Lumpur.

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18 year-old student from Korea, Kim Kyung-Min strikes it rich to win the RM190,000 Proton TD2000 Perfect Game Award in the 25th Sports Toto Malaysian International Open at Pyramid Mega Lanes, Sunway Pyramid, Petaling Jaya.

A member of the Korean National Team, Kim Kyung-Min who won an individual Silver in the 6th World Games at Akita, Japan last August, hit the jackpot to score the first Perfect Game of 300 pinfalls of the tournament. The Award that came with the Perfect Game is the Classic TD 2000 Vintage Car worth RM190,000 sponsored by EON Bhd. Senior Manager of EON Bhd Y.Bhg Dato Haji Abdul Razak Dawood presented the mock key to Kim during a special press conference held at Pyramid Mega Lanes this afternoon.

"I am shocked myself as this is my first perfect game in an international open tournament," said the shy and lengthy Kim expressing his feelings at the Press Conference through interpretation from Robert Dong, Vice President of Asia/Pacific Sales & Marketing, Storm Products Inc. "I was very nervous in the last throw, but glad that I made it through. I will never forget Pyramid Mega Lanes for the rest of my life. This is my first trip to Malaysia and it is certainly the most memorable outing for me. I like to thank MTBC and KBC for getting me here." Kim was feeling uneasy facing the media and confessed that it was his first ever press conference.

Kim, one of the top three bowlers in Korea at this moment, was bowling his Men's Open Masters qualifying in Lanes 1 & 2 for the perfect game at the 4th game. He did poorly in the first three games and only managed 887 pinfalls in the squad. He however shot 937 immediately after and made it for the Finals in the Mixed pool.

Asia' top ranked women bowler, Shalin Zulkifli shot the highest scores of the Tournament this morning when she registered 1,025 in the Singles higher than the overall Men's score so far. She had lines of 279, 266, 222 & 258 to accumulate 1,025 and is almost certain to win the Singles.

2001 World Games Gold medalist, Kirsten Penny from England topped the Women's Overseas Pool after scoring 962 to dislodge overnight leader Wang Yu-Lin of Chinese Taipei by just one pin. While the Women's Masters qualifying slots were hotly contested by the Korean, Singapore and Chinese Taipei women, Kirsten's teammate, Lisa John also made the finals with a score of 893.

There was no changes in the Local Pool as most of the qualifying squads were filled by the forgeign bowlers making their last few attempts at qualifying.

4 Times World Champion Paeng Nepomuceno of Philippines made the finals this afternoon after several attempts. He shot 279, 188, 227 and 279 for a total of 973 to secure a place in the overseas pool. World Youth Masters Champion, Alex Liew of Malaysia also made it with 961 after he was pushed out when his teammates, Aaron Chin and Azren Md Noor late last night with 934 and 930 respectively.

Former World Cup champion, Tore Torgersen of Norway is lying in last spot in the Mixed Pool and will need to improve if he is to make the finals. His teammate and reigning World Cup champion, Kim Haugen have yet to make finals who will also be making his last few attempts.

The last qualifying squad will be at 11.30 pm tonight before the Masters Finals which will commence tomorrow morning.

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World Youth Championship's Triple Gold medalist - Wang Yu-Lin of Chinese Taipei shot an impressive 961 total to take over the lead from Singapore's Lena Teng in the Overseas Pool of the Women's Open Masters Qualifying this afternoon. Wang shot 224, 255, 224, & 258 for an impressive 240.25 average over 4 games.

Korea's Nam Bo-Ra, Akita's World Games Runner-up, is in second with 924 total while Singapore's Rena Teng was pushed down to 3rd spot.

In the Women's Graded division, Denise Hee of Penang topped the Masters' table with a score of 833 followed by Indonesia's Tan Bie Ling with 799 while Selangor's Esther Cheah took third spot with 788.

The Men's Graded division was hotly contested with Thailand's Tusrin K. taking the top spot with 915. Zulmazlan Zulkifli of Selangor settled for second with 893 while Penang's Foo Guan Foong took third spot with 876.

In the Men's Open division, Hong Kong's Vincent Yip became the second bowler in the tournament to score above the one thousand mark with 1,013 to lead the Men's Overseas Pool. Vincent knocked down 268, 225, 258 and 262 for an average 253.25. He is leading by just one pin from Asian Championship Gold Medalist Saeed Al Hajri of Qatar who shot 1,012.

On the local front, Commonwealth Games two gold medallist, Kenny Ang signalled his return after a long injury showed that he is still one of our best bowler when he shot 989 to move up to second spot just behind 18 year-old Zulmazran Zulkifli. Kenny had an impressive and consistent lines of 258, 248, 248 & 235.

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Malaysian Women team of Shalin Zulkifli with 15 year-old Yazliza Razlan and new national recruit Choy Poh Lai shot a superb 1,382 to lead the Women's Trios event in he 25th Sports Toto Malaysian International Open at Pyramid Mega Lanes, Sunway Pyramid.

Yazliza was in awesome form to start off with a great 279 followed by 226 to total 505. Poh Lai too complemented the team with 226 and 235 while Shalin anchored with 214 and 201.

While there were not much changes in the Local Pool of Men's Open Masters qualifying table, Nor Nazira Rosli did well to squeeze into 11th spot with 837.

The new leader in the Overseas Pool of the Men's Open Masters was Vincent Yip of Hong Kong who shot 1,013 with Asian Championship Gold medlaist Saeed Al-Hajri of Qatar improving from 9th to second just one pin away on 1,012. Two Chinese Taipei spinners made their mark early with Li Chen-Neng (974) in fifth and Last year's CGU-ABT Malaysia leg champion, Hsieh Yu-Ping (932) in 11th.

Asian top ranked, 18 year-old Wu Siu Hong of Hong Kong scored 933 in his first attempt for 10th place.

Singapore's Rena Teng topped the Women's Overseas pool with 916 followed by her teammate Cheryl Soon on 865. Chinese Taipei's Huang Chiung-Yao, who did extremely well in last year's World Ranking Masters in Abu Dhabi, took third spot with 858. England's World Games Gold medalist, Kirsten Penny shot 834 and is lying in 6th position.

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Shalin Zulkifli, fresh from returning with a 3rd placing in the 3rd Qatar International Open at Doha yesterday, took to the lanes and fired an impressive 925 total to take over the lead from overnight leader and teenage national bowler Yazliza Razlan. Shalin started the four-games qualifying with a modest 189 and came back strongly with a superb 267 followed by 212 and 257.

"I find the lanes good and very similar with those we bowled at Doha. I feel very comfortable and will put up a couple more practices before the finals on Friday," said Shalin after her 2.30pm squad at Pyramid Mega Lanes. The other National bowler to improve several positions was WTBA Asian Schools Gold Medalist Vivien Khoo, who jumped from 12th place to 8th with 841.

There are not much changes in the Men's Open division except Alex Liew scoring 900 to take 13th spot. With more foreign participants starting to take to the lanes, there will be plenty of changes in the Men's Overseas Pool.

The Senior Competition of the 25th Sports Toto Malaysian International Open 2002 concluded tonight. Previous National bowler southpaw Richard Teh outclassed 40 other vetern bowlers to clinch the Champion Title and a cash award of RM3,000.

Asian Championship Gold Medalist and World Ranking Masters Runner-up - Bandar Al Shafi of Qatar took over the lead with 986 including a 290 game. Finland's Pasi Marjamaki shot 977 to take second place and reigning Bowler of the Year Tim Mack os USA improved his score to 972 to take 3rd spot.

2000 World Bowler of the Year Tore Torgersson of Norway shot 927 to place 6th. Defending Champion Tomas Leanderson of Sweden and Reigning World Cup Champion - Kim Haugen of Norway arrived this morning but will only take to the lanes tomorrow.

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Malaysian International All-Stars Junior champion, Yazliza Razlan took over the lead of the Women's Open Masters qualifying table of the 25th Sports Toto Malaysian International Open at Pyramid Mega Lanes, Sunway Pyramid.

15 year-old Yazliza, who won the 3rd WTBA Asian Schools Masters Gold medal, was in fine form to knock down a total of 907 pinfalls dislodging overnight leader Wendy Chai for the top position.

Wendy Chai is now second on 895 while Sarah Yap dropped a spot to third with 871.

In the Men's Open division, Zulmazran is still leading the local pool with 1,020 he shot yesterday and there is not much changes in the other positions of the local pool. Tim Mack, the reigning World Bowler of the Year from USA and the Qatar national bowlers were the first batch to arrive yesterday and quickly took to the lanes late last night and this afternoon.

Tim had an impressive 965 to lead in the overseas pool with lines of 269, 246, 246 & 204. Mubarak Ali of Qatar took second spot with 946 while Asian Championship Gold Medalist and World Ranking Masters runner-up Bandar Al Shafi shot 933 with his first attempt to take third spot.

At press time, the Indonesian contingent, Hong Kong national team and some Thai bowlers have arrived and will take to the lanes this evening. Former World Cup Champions Tom Hahl and Tore Torgerson have also checked-in and will take to the lanes later tonight.

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CGU Asian Bowling Tour Philippine Leg and National champion, Zulmazran Zulkifli took over the lead in the Men's Open Masters qualifying table of the 25th Sports Toto Malaysian International Open at Pyramid Mega Lanes, Sunway Pyramid.

Zulmazran, who became the youngest men to win the National Champion title last month, scored a superb 1,020 pinfalls over four games this afternoon for the lead. He had lines of 246, 288, 238 and 248.

14 year-old Adrian Ang, who missed the perfect game by just one pin for a classic vintage car TD2000 worth RM190,000, leads the Milo International Youth Masters Boys Open with 947.

His teammate, Aaron Kong is in second spot with 941 followed by Hafizul Hafiz in third with 892.

Wendy Chai still leads the Women's division with a score of 895 with Sarah Yap a close second with 871 while newcomer to the Malaysian National Squad, Choy Poh Lai in third with 865. Lying fourth is Low Poh Lian on 862 with SEA Games Masters Gold medalist, Lai Kin Ngoh in fifth with 842.

The first of the foreign bowlers arriving at Pyramid Mega Lanes were World Bowler of the Year 2001, Tim Mack of USA and leading a strong Qatar challenge was Saeed Al-Hajri. They will be taking to the lanes soon. Defending champion, Tomas Leanderson of Sweden, Tore Torgerson of Norway and Singapore's Tom Hahl will also be arriving tomorrow.

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SEA Games Double Gold Medalist and Hong Kong Open Masters Champion, Ben Heng took the lead in the Men's Open Masters qualifying this afternoon with a high 963 total over four games. Ben had two announcements for 7 consecutive strikes during the block and had lines of 254, 237, 252 and 220 for an average of 240.75.

Commonwealth Games gold medallist Kenny Ang, who rejoined the national squad after a 6 months absence over a shoulder injury, announced his return with an impressive 917 and is now in 4th place in the qualifying table. Singapore Open Champion and CGU ABT Korea Leg Champion - Wendy Chai also had a fine performance this afternoon taking over the lead in the Women's division with 895 total. She had lines of 233, 224, 247 & 191 for an average of 223.75.

National Youth bowler, 14 year-old Adrian Ang, who missed the perfect game by just one pin for a classic vintage car TD2000 worth RM190,000, leads the Milo International Youth Masters Boys Open with 947. Adrian, who topped the selection final last weekend yo represent Malaysia in the forth-coming 5th WTBA Asian School Championship at Melbourne, was bowling in the Youth Boy's Open Trios event and had 11 strikes in a row. He was obviously a little nervous in delivering the final throw and had pin 6 standing to score 299.

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