13th January, P.Jaya: Selangor retained the overall champion title of the 23rd Malaysian Interstate Bowling Championship after adding three more gold medals from the Men's and Women's All-Events and the Men's Team event.

Selangor ended the three-days championship with a medal haul of 7 gold, 4 silver, 4 bronze and a 4th placing for a total of 56 points to emerge yet again the overall champion.

Wilayah Persekutuan-Kuala Lumpur, who was trailing Selangor by 1 point before the men's and women's team events and the All-Events were decided, ended a medal haul of 4-4-3 and six 4th placings for 43 points despite the women winning the team gold.

Sarawak, who failed to win a single gold medal finished third with 22 points from a medal haul of 0-4-4 and three 4th placings while Sabah, which won 3 gold medals took fourth spot with 20 points.

Zaid Izlan, Kelvin Keong, Alex Liew and Singles gold medalist, Zulmazran Zulkifli came close to breaking the 1-game record of 968 when they downed 966 in their fifth game. They also miss the 3-games record of 2654 in the second block with 2649 to win the team gold.

Their 6-games total of 5221 also missed the record of 5227 set last year. Penang finished a distant second with 4895 and 326 pins adrift to settle for the silver medal while Johor took the bronze with 4713.

Selangor failed to double up with a victory in the Women's Team event after finishing a distant second with 4781, 393 pins from the victorious WP-Kuala Lumpur. Hee Kar Yen, Cheryl Cheong, Wendy Chai and Sharon Koh eventually won their first gold medal with a total of 5174.

Their second game of 1012 smashed the 13-year record of 953 set by Selangor in 1997 and their total also erased the same year's record of 5087 set by Selangor en-route to winning the gold.

Johor, who was third in the first block, hung on to third to take home the bronze medal with 4694 while Sarawak missed the podium finishing fourth with 4566.

Zulmaran Zulkifli earned his second individual gold and his third after accummulating an 18-game total of 4284 in the three events. Adrian Ang of Penang took the silver medal with 4051 followed by Kelvin Keong of Selangor taking the bronze with 4018.

Siti Safiyah Amirah won her second gold medal after topping the Women's All-Events standings with 3980 from three events. WP-KL's Sharon Koh settled for the silver medal with 3924 while overnight leader, Zandra Aziela slipped to third to win the bronze medal with 3897.

Fourteen states took part in this year's 23rd Malaysian Interstate Bowling Championship over three days which saw a total 13 records smashed.

Photos by Terence Yaw using Canon EOS 450D.

13th January, P.Jaya: Johor and Sabah sprang surprise wins in the Youth Boy's and Youth Girl's Team event of the 23rd Malaysian Interstate Bowling Championship to clinch their first gold medal at Sunway Mega Lanes on Wednesday.

Chan Wei Siang, Syed Mohd Hafiz, Mohd Faizal and Mohd Haziq had given Johor the lead after the first block of 3 games were played earlier. The Johor youth downed 792, 857 and a record-breaking 915 for 2564 and 133 pins margin.

The team also smashed the 3-games record of 2516 set by Selangor in 2000 with 2564 pinfalls. The leader continued to post consistent scores in the second block with lines of 815, 739 and 825 to end the event with a team total of 4943 to earn a well-deserved victory.

The boys also won their first gold medal of the championship after drawing blanks in the first two days. Sarawak again failed to win that elusive gold by settling for the silver with 4800.

Melaka, who was fourth in the first block, finished stronger to snatch the bronze medal with 4792 and Sabah took fourth spot with 4759. Favourites, WP-Kuala Lumpur and Selangor slid down to fifth and sixth positions.

Meanwhile, Sabah girls also earned their first gold medal when they fenced off the challenges from Sarawak to win the Team event with a total of 4609. Steffira Greater, Alexandria Edith John, Eva Lee Ming and Siti Farahain, who led Negeri Sembilan by 46 pins in the first block with 2287 posted 2322 in the second block.

Sarawak again had to settle for the silver despite moving up from third in the first block to second on a team total of 4541 while Selangor, who was fifth, stormed home in the second block to claim the bronze medal with 4514.

Wilyah Persekutuan-Kuala Lumpur finished fourth for a crucial point to contribute to their overall medal points and is in the race with Selangor for the overall champion title.

Sabah had a double joy when Singles silver medalist, Ozzer Othaman took his first individual gold medal by finishing top of the Boy's All-Events standings with 3979 after 18 games played in the Singles, Doubles and Team events.

Selangor's Muhammad Amirul of Selangor and Singles gold medalist, Jason Syow of Melaka took home the silver and bronze medals with 3887 and 3879 respectively. M. Syafiq Hashim finished fourth with 3809.

WP-Kuala Lumpur's Nur Diana Hussin won her third gold medal after she topped the Girl's All-Events table with 3652. The 18-year-old national youth had won the Singles on the opening day and partnered Nur Umirah Raduan to win the Doubles gold.

Nur Diana's team-mate, Nur Umirah Raduan gave WP-KL a 1-2 finish in the girl's table to win the silver medal with 3632 while Sarawak's Nurafidza Bte Mohd Amran took the bronze medal with 3583.

Selangor and WP-KL are neck and neck in the fight for the overall champion crown. Selangor has a 4-3-2 medal haul and a 4th placing for 34 points while WP-KL has 3-3-3 and three 4th placings for 33 points.

Photos by Terence Yaw using Canon EOS 450D.

12th January, P.Jaya: Selangor underlined their dominance in the 23rd Malaysian Interstate Bowling Championship with victories in both the Women's and Men's Doubles while KL took their second gold and Sabah their first in the Girl's and Boy's divisions.

Singles bronze medalist, Jacqueline Jenelee Sijore partnered her national youth team-mate, Dayang Khairuniza to give Sarawak the lead in the opening game with 452 followed by Singles gold and silver medalist pair of Zandra Aziela and Siti Safiyah in second.

The national elite pair took over the running after another strong game of 442 in the second with another national elite pair from WP-Kuala Lumpur, Sharon Koh and Wendy Chai moving into second spot.

Despite having a lead of 41 pins at the halfway point, Koh and Chai found it difficult to hang on to the lead when Zandra and Siti rolled 484 and 471 in their next two games and regained the lead with 96 pins cushion.

Zandra and Siti gave Selangor their third gold medal after ending the Women's Doubles with a total of 2673. Zandra shot 1366 while Siti contributed to the victory with 1307 pinfalls.

Koh posted 1366 and Chai 1165 to settle for the silver medal with 2531 as the second WP-KL pair of Hee Kar Yen and Cheryl Cheong clinched the bronze medal with 2509 as Sarawak slipped to fourth.

Hee and Cheong broke the one-game record of 494 set by Sarah Yap-Shalin Zulkifli in 2003 with 501 as well as the 3-games record of 1299 set by Lydia Kwah-Sarah Yap in 1996 with 1346. Zandra and Siti smashed the 6-games record of 2526 set by Lydia-Sarah in 1996 with 2673.

Selangor underlined their dominance by winning their fourth gold medal after national backup squad members, Zaid Izlan and Kelvin Keong triumphed in the Men's Doubles event with 2742 and a comfortable 147 pins margin.

National youths, Chong Jun Foo and Aris Ardilla of Sarawak, took the silver medal with 2595 followed by the strong finishing WP-KL's pair of Yusuf Abdul Raof and Kua Jian Wen snatching the bronze medal with 2546.

Pace-setter, Aaron Kong and Adrian Ang of Pulau Pinang dropped their pace to end the doubles in a disappointing fourth on 2508. Zaid and Izlan also set a new 3-games record of 1443 erasing 1394 set by Syimir Abd Razak-Syafiq Ridhwan last year.

WP-KL's Nur Diana Hussin won her second gold medal after she partnered Nur Umirah Raduan to victory in the Girl's Doubles event contested this morning. The national youth won the first gold medal of the championship in yesterday's Girl's Singles event.

Nur Diana chalked up 1254 to Nur Umirah's 1260 to give the pair a total of 2514. Selangor's Dina Nurnadia and Nor Amilia, who was trailing the KL pair, just could not overhaul them and had to settle for the silver medal with 2419.

Singles silver medalist, Jackelyn Ng of Sarawak teamed up with Nurafidza Bte Mohd Amran to take home the bronze medal with 2404 whilst Hurul Ainul and Puteri Nadia of Negeri Sembilan missed the podium by 17 pins to take fourth spot.

The fourth gold medal of the second day went to Sabah's Tan Chien Nan and Singles silver medalist, Ozzer Othaman after the duo rolled a record-breaking 2647 to win the Boy's Doubles event. Sabah was battling with Perak for the lead in the early stages but was able to draw away from the field after a stronger second half.

Singles gold medalist, Jason Syow of Melaka and team-mate, M. Syafiq Hashim claimed the silver medal with 2520 while national youths, Tg Muhd Yasser and Muhammad Amirul Afif of Selangor, settled for the bronze medal with 2469.

Selangor men and women topped their respective medal standings with two gold medal each while Melaka led the boy's table and WP-Kuala Lunpur lead the girl's table. But WP-KL led the overall standings by 1 point with a haul of 2-3-3 and two 4th placings.

Reigning champion, Selangor is second despite having won four gold medals with a haul of 4-1-1 and a 4th placing. The remaining Team event and All-Events standings will determine the overall champion tomorrow.

Photos by Terence Yaw using Canon EOS 450D.

11th January, P.Jaya: National Elite squad member, Zulmazran Zulkifli smashed three national records en-route to winning the second gold medal for Selangor when he triumphed in the Men's Singles event of the 23rd National Interstate Bowling Championship.

Zulmazran Zulkifli, the two-time Malaysian Open champion blitzed the lanes at Sunway Mega Lanes with a scintilating 298 opener to lead Kedah's Ahmad Muaz Bin Fishol by 43 pins. The national elite followed it up with another amazing 279 to stretch his lead to 98 pins.

The leader then downed 237 in the third game to smash last year's 3-game series record of 737 set by Adrian Ang last year with 814. But that was not as Zulmazran went on to fire 278, 277 and 248 to end the event with another record-breaking 1617 pinfalls.

His opening game of 298 broke the 278 single game record jointly held by Richard Phua (1989) and Azizan Hanif (1992). His 6-game total also broke the 1409 set by Alex Liew last year.

Kedah's youngster, Ahmad Muaz, who was trailing Zulmazran throughout the 6-game event, settled for the silver medal with 1407, a whopping 210 pins behind while Penang's Khoo Beng Khai snatched the bronze medal with 1405.

Reigning national champion, Syafiq Ridhwan of WP-Kuala Lumpur missed the podium finishing fourth with 1382 despite finishing strongly with 248 and 274 in his last two games. Adrian Ang rounded up the top 5 with 1345.

The bowlers will resume their competition with the Doubles tomorrow and ending the Interstate Championship with the Team event on Wednesday, January 13. The All-Events champion based on the Singles, Doubles and Team event will gain automatic entry into the Masters finals in each individual category.

Photos by Terence Yaw using Caon EOS 450D.

11th January, P.Jaya: National Elite squad members, Zandra Aziela and Siti Safiyah Amirah put in a dominating display after the Selangor duo won the Women's Singles gold and silver medals of the 23rd Malaysian Interstate Bowling Championship.

Selangor's Ili Syazana got off to a great start by rolling 258 in her opening game followed by team-mate and newly-crowned Penang Pesta champion, Zatil Iman in a close second. While Ili shot another good game of 218, she lost the lead to national elite squad member, Zandra Aziela.

Zandra continued her hot pace with 216 and 229 in the third and fourth games but found national youth squad member, Jacqueline Jenelee Sijore of Sarawak moving to the front with 277 and 226 as Ili Syazana bounced back to trail in second.

Two stronger finishing games from Zandra saw the 23-year-old clinching the gold medal with an impressive 1382. Siti Safiyah stormed home with 256 in her final game to give Selangor a 1-2 finish and won the silver medal with 1372.

Jacqueline's poor effort of 183 in her last game forced her to tie third spot with WP-Kuala Lumpur's Hee Kar Yen and settled for a bronze medal with each with 1331 while midway point leader, Ili Syazana of Selangor slipped down to fifth with 1316.

Meanwhile, the remaining youth boys in the second squad posed no threat to the top 3 leaders in the first squad. Newly-crowned Peter Yap's Memorial Cup Boy's champion and Squad A leader, Jason Syow walked away with the gold medal.

Syow, who almost chalked up the championship's first perfect game when he rolled 299 in the third game, totaled an impressive 1352 for a 13-year-old to win the Boy's Singles gold medal. Ozzer Othaman of Sabah and Daniel Tan of Sarawak took the silver and bronze medals with 1345 and 1305 respectively.

Sarawak's Nazrin Wagiman, who led the second squad had a chance to topple the leader but shot a poor 147 in his fifth game to end his six games with 1265 and took fifth spot.

Photos by Terence Yaw using Caon EOS 450D.

11th January, P.Jaya: National youth, Nur Diana Hussin won the first gold medal of the 23rd Malaysian Interstate Bowling Championship for WP-Kuala Lumpur after leading from start to finish while WP-KL's Hanan Fateha and Sarawak's Jackelyn Ng shared the silver.

National youth, Nur Diana Hussin got off to a superb start after knocking down 247 in her opening game to team-mate, Radin Nur Najwa by 13 pins and Nur Umirah Raduan by 22 pins in a field of 52 youth girls from fourteen states.

Nur Diana kept a decent margin over her team-mates as Kuala Lumpur girls dominated proceedings in the next two games by occupying the top 3 places. The 18-year-old leader managed to stretch her lead pass the halfway mark to 54 pins and cruised to victory with 1263 pinfalls.

Hanan Fateha finished with 1239 as Sarawak's Jackelyn Ng stromed home with 212 and 224 in her last two games to tie with Hanan for the silver medal. Nur Umirah Raduan and Radin Nur Najwa finished fourth and fifth placing with 1206 and 1205.

Meanwhile, newly-crowned Peter Yap's Memorial Cup Boy's champion, Jason Syow of Melaka topped the first squad of the Boy's Singles with an impressive 1352. Syow, who trailed pace-setter, Daniel Tan of Sarawak by 26 pins mid-way through the 6-games event.

Sabah's Ozzer Othaman stormed home with 245 and 256 in his last two games to snatch second spot with 1345 as Daniel Tan slipped down to third with 1305. Muhammad Amirul took fourth spot with 1279.

The second squad will take to the lanes for their Singles together with the women's division and the combined scores of both the squads will determine the winners. The men will end the first day with their Singles in the evening.

Photos by Terence Yaw using Canon EOS 450D.

10th January, P.Jaya: Fourteen states will be vying for glory when the 23rd Malaysian Interstate Bowling Championship when officials attended the Team Managers' Meeting at Sunway Mega Lanes on Sunday.

Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Pulau Pinang, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, Terengganu and Wilayah Persekutuan are fielding a full team comprising of four men, four women, four youth boys and four youth girls. Perlis will field just the four men and four women.

The officials attended the team managers' meeting at Sunway Mega Lanes to confirm their players and will draw lanes for the three events which will kick off on Monday with the Singles, Doubles on Tuesday and the Team of Four on Wednesday.

"Tenpin Bowling is the only sport in Malaysia that has held the National Interstate Championships for the 23rd consecutive year," said Mr Sidney Tung, Executive Director and secretary general of Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress during his welcoming address.

"No other sports in Malaysia can match this feat and we are extremely proud of this fact. I'm also glad to see that Perlis, despite not having a bowling center in their state can still field a team."

Defending champion, Selangor state will be hoping to continue their domination in the championship especially with six members of the national elite squad representing them. They are reigning national champion, Siti Safiyah Amirah, Zatil Iman and Zandra Aziela and national youth, Dina Nurnadia in the women's division.

Alex Liew, Daniel Lim and Zulmazran Zulkifli of the men's national elite squad is joined by backup squad member and Asian Indoor Games team silver medalist, Kelvin Keong. The state likely to threaten Selangor's stronghold will definitely be Kuala Lumpur.

Kuala Lumpur, who finished only four points off the champion, will have elite squad members, Wendy Chai and Sharon Koh together with national youth, Hee Kar Yen and ex-national youth, Cheryl Cheong.

On the men's side, reigning national champion, Muhd Syafiq Ridhwan will lead national youths, Syimir Abdul Razak, Yusuf Abdul Raof and Kua Jian Wen to give Selangor a run for their money.

At the same time, the 34th Malaysian National Championship, which started yesterday will end the qualifying rounds on January 17 and the Masters finals on January 18. The All-Events champion from the Men, Women, Youth Boys and Youth Girls will gain automatic qualification for the National Championship Masters finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw using Canon EOS 450D.