1st April, P.Jaya: Top-seeds, Alex Liew of Malaysia and Diandra Asbaty of USA claimed the Men's and Ladies' Open Masters titles of 29th Malaysian International Open Bowling Championship which concluded at Pyramid Mega Lanes Saturday evening.

Liew, the Asian-ranked No. 1 and winner of five international titles in 2005, overcomed his less-experienced opponent and compatriot, Zaid Izlan 198-166 in the men's final stepladder match to score his first-ever Malaysian Open title.

"I've been playing in the Malaysian Open for five times. I consider today's victory as the best ever. I didn't expect to win the championship title today. This win will keep me going. I've been working hard on ball equipments to suit different lane conditions," said the 30-year-old champion.

The win was even sweeter for Liew as his wife, Belinda Kang and his 3-year-old daughter, Licia were in the stands to cheer and witness the triumph. It's a good beginning for me this year. I was feeling very

confident when i took my first strike. I would like to thank my coaches Chris Batson and Hollaway Cheah for helping me with my game."

First runner-up and member of the National Gemilang 2010 squad, Zaid Izlan had earlier blazed the lanes to defeat third-seed, Hussain Al-Suwaidi of UAE and winner of the first match, Lim Fung Jong of Malaysia, 290-207-152 to set up an all-Malaysian final.

In the men's first match, ex-national and fifth-seed had knocked out fourth-seed, Zulmazran Zulkifli and sixth-seed, Sayed Ibrahim of UAE, 210-172-185. Sayed remained in sixth position and Zulmazran dropped one rung to fifth. Hussian ended up third with Lim in fourth place.

In the ladies' division, third-seed, Choy Poh Lai almost gave Malaysia a double celebration but had to succumb to the 2004 World Ranking Masters champion, Diandra Asbaty of the USA after loosing the ladies' final stepladder match, 172-202.

Both the finalist did not start off well with an open frame each in the second. However, Diandra was able to settle down quicker than the Malaysian as she struggled to find her line on a fresh pair of lanes.

A change of bowling ball towards the final quarter of the match was a bit too late as the champion cruised to a comfortable win. "Malaysia is very kind to me and is my favourite country. My first success here was winning the Masters Gold medal during the 2003 World Championship. Now with this title, I can get a chance to come back again next year," said the Diandra.

The runner-up had earlier earned a crack at the title after she easily ousted second-seed, Kim Eun-Jung of Korea and winner of the first match, Luckana Panya of Thailand, 244-206-173. Panya took the first match defeating fourth-seed, Zara Glover of England and fifth-seed, Zandra Aziela of Malaysia, 194-180-182.

Alex Liew won for himself the top prize of RM20,000 while Diandra Asbaty took home RM10,000 for her effort. The top 16 men and top 16 ladies made the cut for the ABF Tour Malaysia leg which will be held tomorrow (2nd April) commencing at 1.30pm at Pyramid Mega Lanes.

Photos by Y.S. Liew, MTBC.

31st March, P.Jaya: Malaysian sensation, Siti Safiyah Amirah looked set to retain the Ladies' Open Masters title after leading the first block of the 29th Malaysian International Open while UAE's Saeed Ibrahim topped the men's division scoring the tournament's first perfect game.

The 15-year-old, who created history last year by becoming the youngest-ever Malaysian to capture the ladies' title, set a blistering pace with back-to-back 265 and 264 to take a comfortable lead in the 8-game first block finals this morning.

Despite starting off poorly, Diandra Asbaty of USA, put up a late challenge to finish second, 35 pins adrift at the end of the block. Siti totaled 1765 to Diandra's 1730. 2003 World Championship Masters Bronze medalist and Selangor Open champion, Lee Eun-Ock did well to take up third spot with 1720, just 10 pins further away.

"After building up a comfortable lead with two high games, I was able to relax a bit and maintain a good pace," said the Asian Youth and SEA Games Gold medalist. "I'll probably need to work harder tomorrow (Saturday) if I want to finish in the top 6 stepladder finals.

Other Malaysian national bowlers were Zandra Aziela (6th-1706), Choy Poh Lai (7th-1702), Wendy Chai (10th-1651), Sharon Koh (12th-1644), Syakirah Yeoh (16th-1631), Esther Cheah (24th-1519) and Zatil Iman (37th-1422).

UAE's Saeed Ibrahim scored the tournament's first perfect game en-route to topping the men's division with a superb 1806, 25 pins ahead of his nearest opponent. Four-time World Cup champion and World Bowler of the Century, Paeng Nepomuceno of the Philippines, kept in close contact with the leader to finish second on 1781.

"Winning the Canon photo printer is nice but socring the first perfect game of the tournament made me happier," said the 38-year-old businessman from Dubai, who has 14 perfect games to his credit. "I hope I can maintain the same pace in the second block for a place in the stepladder finals.

Malaysian National rookie, Isaac Russell Paul was the best Malaysian performer finishing third with 1760. The good performance will certainly give the 18-year-old a shot of being selected for the World Youth in Germany this July.

Asian Ranked No. 1, Alex Liew of Malaysia is also in the hunt for a spot in the stepladder finals with a fourth place finish on 1745 followed by Commonwealth Youth Games Gold medalist, Zaid Izlan in fifth with 1725.

Other Malaysian nationals with a chance to making the top 6 were Mohd Noer (8th-1711), Zulmazran Zulkifli (11th-1700), Adrian Ang (14th-1696), Aaron Kong (17th-1680), Daniel Lim (19th-1669), Azidi Ameran (19th-1661), Eric Ang (23rd-1618), Ben Heng (28th-1607) and Jonathan Lim (42nd-1504).

The ladies finalists will bowl another 8 games in the second block tomorrow (Saturday) at 9.30am while the men will commence their block at 1.00pm. The stepladder will commence at approximately 4.00pm.

Photos by Y.S. Liew, MTBC.

31st March, P.Jaya: Singapore youths dominated the opening Masters event this morning by capturing the MILO International Youth Boy's Open Masters and finishing 1-2 in the Girl's Open division of the 29th Malaysian International Open.

2004 Singapore National champion and Manila SEA Games Masters Silver medalist, Jazreel Tan set the lanes ablaze to romp home a comfortable winner on 2172, 68 pins ahead of teammate, Geraldine Ng in second with 2084.

Malaysian National youth, Nazrinnah Abdul Kamil of Perak, set the early pace but was soon overtaken by ex-national, Voon Kim Ling from the third game. A strong game in the fourth by Jazreel, saw the champion building up a lead of 19 pins.

"When I scored high games in the sixth and seventh game and knew I had a comfortable lead, I was able to keep a good momentum," said the two-time Singapore Open youth champion. "Although I'm disappointed not to make the Ladies' Open finals, I'm happy knowing that I have acheived the target I set out before this championship.

In the boy's open division, Singapore celebrated a good outing here with a fine win by Derek Chan. The 20-year-old tok the victory with 2210 pinfalls over the 10-game finals, 49 pins ahead of his nearest opponent, Jonathan Lim Chee Weng of Selangor in second with 2207.

"I got hook into the game after following my parents to the bowling centre when they compete in their weekly leagues," said Chan, who won the Natinal Age Group Under-22 Masters finals. "My whole family bowl and being the youngest, I naturally followed them.

Malaysian National youth member, Adrian Charles Dragon, who was leading at one stage, fizzled out to settle for third spot with 2140 while reigning Malaysian National Youth champion and Asian Schools bound, Noor Afizal Azizan and runei's Bahzi Damit round out the top 5 in fourth and fifth spots.

The Ladies' Open Masters first block of 8 games will commence shortly while the Men's Open Masters finals will be held at 4.00pm. Both the ladies and men will continue their second block on Saturday, 1st April from 9.30am.

Photos by Terence Yaw, MTBC.

30th March, P.Jaya: World Championship Gold medalist, Zara Glover and four-time World Cup champion, Paeng Nepomuceno will be featured in the finals of the Ladies' and Men's Open Masters finals in the 29th Malaysian International Open as Korean, Choi Won-Young snatched the lead surpassing the 1,000-mark.

Glover, from Poole in England, has appeared in the championship for the third time after winning two Gold medals in the 2003 World Championship held here at Pyramid Mega Lanes, eventually scored 884 in her fourth attempt.

"I was feeling a bit tired after the long flight from England, so I could really concentrate on the game," said the 24-year-old Englishwomen. "I drilled a new ball and tried it out in my third attempt and found it to be more suitable to the conditions. I'm glad it worked.

Glover finished, just 6 pins ahead of 2004 World Ranking Masters champion, Diandra Asbaty of USA, who made the finals yesterday with 878 in only her second attempt. Kim Ae-Young of Korea remained top of the overseas pool with 908.

Meanwhile, four-time World Cup champion, Paeng Nepomuceno of the Philippines also made the finals scoring 962 at the 2.30pm squad. "I felt more comfortable and wasn't tiring after a few squads made the difference in making the finals," said the 50-year-old Filipino, who has been bowling for more than 35 years.

But the day belonged to Choi Won-Young from Korea who became the first bowler to surpass the 1,000-mark after he posted 1015 with lines of 244, 257, 268 and 246. Choi snatched the lead from overnight joint-leaders, Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand and Hussain Al-Suwaidi of UAE on 993.

Malaysia's strongest challenger is newly-crowned ABF Tour TOC champion, Daniel Lim, who lead the local pool with 977. Commonwealth Youth Games Gold medalist, Zaid Izlan is second with 975 followed by ex-national F J Lim in third with 961.

The top 41 men with the defending champion, Wu Siu Hong of Hong Kong plus three qualifiers from the desperado squad and the top 36 ladies with defending champion, Siti Safiyah Amirah of Malaysia plus three qualifiers from the desperado squad, will contest the Masters finals on Friday.

Photos by Terence Yaw, MTBC

29th March, P.Jaya: Hussain Al-Suwaidi of UAE, who missed the Canon camera after scoring 278, stormed back to post 993 to share top spot of the Men's Open Masters overseas pool qualifying table of the 29th Malaysian International Open.

Hussain had scored 923 two days ago and continued to slide down the table to eighth before posting 223, 278, 236 and 256 to share top spot in the overseas pool with Thailand's Yannaphon Larpapharat. The leader had twice missed the high game award on both ocassions with a score of 278.

Ex-international, Norman Law of Hong Kong recorded an identical high game of 289 with Malaysian National youth, Fahmi Bahri from Johor for the final Canon PowerShot A410 digital camera. Since the camera cannot be split nor shared, Canon Marketing was kind enough to sponsor an additional camera.

Law's effort also earned him a spot in the finals with a score of 980 for third position. In the local front, Daniel Lim dislodged teammate, Zaid Izlan into second place after scoring 997 for the overall lead.

There is no changes in the local pool of the ladies' open division with Siti Khadijah Osman, Choy Poh Lai and Zandra Aziela firmly in the top three positions. The top three positions in the overseas pool also remained unchanged with Kim Ae-Young of Korea, Joey Yip of Hong Kong and Kim Eun-Jung of Korea.

2004 World Ranking Masters champion, Diandra Asbaty of USA, who just arrived yesterday, immediately took to the lanes to post 878 and a place in the finals. Asbaty posted lines of 205, 188, 247 and 238 to take up fifth position.

Women's World Championship triple Gold medalist, Wang Yu Ling of Chinese Taipei struggled in her first few attempts and only managed 858 and is last in the mixed pool. Qualifying ends Thursday night and the Masters finals will be contested on 31st March and 1st April.

Photos by Terence Yaw, MTBC

28th March, P.Jaya: National youth, Fahmi Bahri of Johor bagged the final Canon PowerShot A410 digital camera when he scored 289 in his qualifying round of the 29th Malaysian International Open Bowling Championship Tuesday evening.

Despite scoring the highest game of the day, the 17-year-old failed to improve on his earlier score of 878. Fahni posted lines of 186, 289, 181 and 173 for a total of 829. National Junior Circuit GP Finals champion and national youth, Khairul Hafidz of Kedah continued to top the table with 969.

Newcomer, Bahzi Damit of Brunei topped the overseas pool with 954 with ABF Tour Hong Kong leg champion, Michael Tseng of Hong Kong in second with 861 while Chinese Taipei's Hung Kun-Yi finished third with 860.

Malaysia's Ili Syazana, Voon Kim Ling and Christyn Chew took the top three spots in the girl's open division with 858, 847 and 841 respectively while Australia's Samantha Fisher topped the overseas pool with 809.

Meanwhile, the fifth Canon digital camera was won by 2004 Philippines Open champion, Joonee Gatchalian of the Philippines after he scored 280 as highest game on Monday night. Gatchalian claimed the camera en-route to posting 956 to move into second spot in the Men's Open overseas qualifying table.

Thailand's Yannaphon Larpapharat maintained pole position with 993 scored two days ago with UAE's Saeed Obaid in third position with 948. Manila SEA Games Singles Gold medalist, Ryan Lalisang and compatriot, Hengky S from Bandung completed the top five.

There were no changes in the ladies open division with Malaysia's Siti Khadijah Osman hanging on to the top spot with 928 followed by Choy Poh Lai and Zandra Aziela in second and third positions on 923 and 894 respectively.

Photos by Terence Yaw, MTBC

27th March, P.Jaya: ABF Tour Thailand leg champion, Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand claimed pole position and the Canon PowerShot A410 digital camera in the 29th Malaysian International Open Bowling Championship at Pyramid Mega Lanes.

The 2002 World Youth Singles and All Events Gold medalist scorched the lanes to post 993 to claim the overall pole position in the Men's Open Masters qualifying leaderboard. Yannaphon recorded lines of 227, 289, 269 and 208, just 7 pins short of the 1,000 mark.

"I didn't know that I had won the camera after I finished my qualifying," said the 23-year-old university student from Bangkok. "I was only concentrating to making the finals and I'm glad I did. Yannaphon had beaten the 278 set by both UAE's Hussain Al-Suwaidi and Korea's Kim Ko-Won in the earlier squads.

Kim and Hussain ended up in fourth and sixth in the table with 932 and 923 respectively. Second went to Saeed Obaid of UAE with 948 followed by Manila SEA Games Singles Gold medalist, Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia

third with 942. In the local pool, youngster, Zaid Izlan maintained his lead with 975 ahead of reigning ABF Tour TOC champion, Daniel Lim in second with 966 and Lim Fung Jung third with 961.

Meanwhile, 2004 ABF Tour Singapore champion, Kim Eun-Jung of Korea scored a superb 899 to take up third position behind compatriot, Kim Ae-Young on 908 in the lead. The 33-year-old government servant from Kyungki City improved her earlier score of 858 to move up from fifth.

Hong Kong's Joey Yip snatached second spot with an impressive score of 907. The Hong Kong National team member posted lines of 176, 236, 237 and 258 to average 226.75. In the local front, Siti Khadijah Osman continued to lead with 928 followed by Manila SEA Games Gold medalist, Choy Poh Lai in second with 923.

Asian Youth Gold medalist, Zandra Aziela improved stayed in third place with 894 pushing down four-time Natinal champion, Shalin Zulkifli of Selangor to fourth on 890. Asian Youth Gold medalists, Zatil Iman and

Esther Cheah rounded the top 5 in furth and fifth spots with 880 and 866 respectively.

Photos by Terence Yaw, MTBC

26th March, P.Jaya: Qualifying for a place in the Masters finals of the on-going 29th Malaysian International Open Bowling Championship intensify as the the overseas bowlers arrive at Pyramid Mega Lanes Sunday afternoon.

Making an immdieate impact was Hussian Al-Suwaidi of the United Arab Emirates posting a 4-game total of 923 to take up second spot. Hussain's line was 215, 236, 203 and 278 with his final game standing a good cahnce to bag the Canon PoserShot A410 digital camera as highest game of the day award.

Leading the overseas pool was Korea's Kim Ko Won, who chalked up 932 for the lead. 2005 Thailand International Open champion, Sitiphol Kunaksorn of Thailand impressed with a score of 912 in only his first attempt since arriving late last night.

National bowler, Zaid Izlan maintained his pole position in the local pool with 975 scored three days ago. Newly-crowned ABF Tour TOC champion, Daniel Lim took second spot, just 9 pins adrift with 966 while Asian Youth Gold medalist, Jonathan Lim finished third on 960.

Korea's Kim Ae-Young grabbed top spot in the overseas pool of the ladies' division with a score of 868 after posting lines of 257, 190, 235 and 226. Compatriot, Kim Eun-Jung took second spot with 830 followed by 2005 Selangor Open Champion, Lee Eun-Ock third on 825.

There were no changes in the local pool with 2004 Malaysian Open runner-up, Siti Khadijah Osman leading the pack with 928 followed by Manila SEA Games Gold Team medalist, Choy Poh Lai in second with 923. Four-time National Champion, Shalin Zulkifli was third with 890.

The scores will get higher by the day as more and more overseas bowlers converge at Pyramid Mega Lanes in the next few days. Qualifying will end 30th March and the Masters finals will held on the 31st March and 1st April.

Photos by Terence Yaw, MTBC

25th March, P.Jaya: ABF Tour TOC Champion, Daniel Lim and Manila SEA Games Gold medalist, Choy Poh Lai stole the limelight on day 5 of the on-going 29th Malaysian International Open Bowling Championship at Pyramid Mega Lanes Saturday.

Lim, who was the 2004 Malaysian Open champion, was in tenth position before blazing the lanes to post 966 and moved into second spot in the Men's Open Masters qualifying table. The 29-year-old chalked up lines of 237, 268, 233 and 228 for an average of 241.5.

"I started off the first two days of qualifying poorly and couldn't find my rythmn," said Lim. "I had a good rest yesterday and when I reach the bowling center, I had a good feeling that I'll be able to qualify.

Leading the pack was still National bowler, Zaid Izlan B Ibrahim Hakimi from Kajang, who totaled 975 on Thursday. Asian Youth Gold medalist, Jonathan Lim dropped to third but safely in the finals with 960 while reigning National Champion, Adrian Ang and teammate, Mohd Noer Said from Sabah were joint fourth on 949.

Meanwhile, SEA Games Gold medalist, Choy Poh Lai also stole the limelight with an outstanding score of 923 to move up from seventh to second. The 25-year-old, who have yet to win a major title, posted lines of 244, 232, 232 and 215. Just 3 pins ahead Choy was current leader, Siti Khadijah Osman of Selangor with 928.

Four-time National Champion and ex-national, Shalin Zulkifli droped one rung to third with 890 while World Championship and Manila SEA Games Gold medalist, Esther Cheah settled for fourth with 866.

2005 ABF Tour TOC champion, Wendy Chai completed the top 5 in fifth with a score of 855. Kang Hyun-Jin of Korea took over the lead in the overseas pool with a score of 868 with compatriot, Kim Eun-Jung in second with 830. Selangor Open champion, Lee Eun-Ock dropped to third with 825.

Qualifying ends 30th March and the finals will be held on the 31st March and 1st April. The top 16 Asian men and women will make the cut for the ABF Tour - Canon Malaysia leg on the 2nd April.

Photo by Terence Yaw, MTBC.

24th March, P.Jaya: SEA Games two Gold medalist, Aaron Kong displayed his determination to stamp his mark in the on-going 29th Malaysian International Open Bowling Championship after posting an impressive 938 to assure himself a place in the finals.

SEA Games two Gold medalist, Aaron Kong displayed his determination to stamp his mark in the on-going 29th Malaysian International Open Bowling Championship after posting an impressive 938 to assure himself a place in the finals.

Kong, who turned on his best performance last year by winning the Trios and Team Gold medal in the SEA Games, bowled consistenly with lines of 236, 235, 231 and 236 for a total of 938 to take up sixth in the Men;s Open Masters qualifying leaderboard.

"When I found the line in my fourth squad last night, I had three good games but a poor 151 in the final game pull down my chance of a qualifying spot," said the 19-year-old Penangnite. "So when I took to the lanes this morning, I was confident that I can do well.

"Of course I would like to finish in the top 3 in the finals but my goal this year besides doing well in the World Youth in Germany and Men's World Championship in Korea, is to also be in the top 3 in the Asian Ranking.

Asian Youth Gols medalist, Jonathan Lim also did well to notched up 960 to occupy second spot, just 15 pins behind leader and teammate, Zaid Izlan, who topped the field with 975. Also improving was last year's ABF Tour alaysia leg champion, Zulmazran Zulkifli who moved up from 11th to eigtht with 930.

The first of the overseas bowlers to take on to the lanes were the Koreans, led by Bowling Camp Chief Coach, James Kim. Kim Ko-Won posted a moderate 857 to lead the overseas pool with Choi Won-Young in second with 805.

In the ladies' division, 2004 Malaysian Open runner-up, Siti Khadijah Osman continued to lead the table with 928 followed by four-time National champion, Shalin Zulkifli in second with 890. Shalin missed winning the Canon digital camera high game award with 275 after National youth Tengku Afnan posted 290 to snatch away the prize.

SEA Games and Asian Youth Gold medalist, Esther Cheah maintained third spot with 866 with 2005 ABF Tour TOC champion, Wendy Chai fourth with 855. Reigning National Champion, Sharon Koh improved from ninth to fifth with 845.

In the Youth Boy's Open division, last year's Junior Circuit GP Finals champion and national youth, Khairul Hafidz shot to the front with a superb 969 dislodging overnight leader and winner of the first Canon camera, Mohd Hilmi Zailan into second on 918. Ex-national youth Kurtwin Low finished third with 909.

Ex-national bowler, Voon Kim Ling from Penang took over the lead with 847 from overnight leader, Christyn Chew, who dropped to second with 841. Selangor Open Youth champion, Amalyn Kelana finished third with 833.

Photo by Terence Yaw, MTBC.

23rd March, P.Jaya: Four-time Malaysian National champion and ex-national, Shalin Zulkifli of Selangor, staked her claim on the women's title of the 29th Malaysian International Open Bowling Championship after posting 890 to take up second to teammate, Siti Khadijah Osman.

The former national bowler, who quit the national team after just last month, improved on her earlier 4-game qualifying score of 832 to 890 to take up second position in the leaderboard. Shalin, who will turn 28 next Tuesday, will also stand a chance to win the Canon PowerShot A410 digital camera as daily high game award when she posted a 279 in her final game. Her first three games were 211, 198 and 202.

"I was struggling a bit yesterday but since changing my ball to the Storm Banshee and adjusted my release, I was able to get better carry," said Shalin. "It's been quite a while since getting into the winning circles so I'm working hard on my game to get everything right for the finals.

Meanwhile, Siti Khadijah Osman, who was runner-up to Shalin in 2004, took over the lead with a superb 928 bowled late Wednesday evening

with lines of 242, 236, 233 and 217. "I just put more concentration on my game and it paid off," said the 22-year-old university student. "I'm determined to do well so that I get a chance to go for this year's Thailand Open next month.

SEA Games and Asian Youth Gold medalist, Esther Cheah improved over her 817 score to take up third with 866 pushing down teammate and Asian Ranked No. 1, Wendy Chai into fourth position on 855.

In the men's division, National bowler, Zaid Izlan impressed with with a 4-game score of 975 to take over the lead from joint overnight leader, Adrian Ang and Mohd Noer Said on their score of 949. National rookie and early leader, Eric Ang dropped to fourth together with Asian Ranked No. 1, Alex Liew in fifth on 941 and 928 respectively.

SEA Games Gold medalist, Ben Heng, who shot a 275 to win the second Canon digital camera, ended up in sixth position on 924. Last year's ABF Tour Malaysia leg champion, Zulmazran Zulkifli and newly-crowned ABF Tour TOC champion, Daniel Lim only made one attempt to finish ninth and tenth position and will surely improve in their subsequent attempts.

Qualifying ends 30th March and the finals will be held on the 31st March and 1st April. The top 16 Asian men and women will make the cut for the ABF Tour - Canon Malaysia leg on the 2nd April.

Photo by Terence Yaw, MTBC.

22nd March, P.Jaya: National bowler and SEA Games Gold medalist, Ben Heng bounced back with a 275 in his Masters qualifying round of the 29th Malaysian International Open Bowling Championship to win the high game award of a Canon PowerShot A410 digital camera.

After just missing the award in his first attempt on Tuesday by just 1 pin on a score of 278, the 32-year-old southpaw fought back to chalk up the highest game of the day in his subsequent masters qualifying attempt with a 275 to win the Canon camera.

"Although I didn't improve my score of 924 with this ateempt, I'm still glad to have won the camera," said Heng after knowing that there was no other bowler bettering his score. Reigning National Champion and Asian Youth Team All Events Gold medalist, Adrian Ang and teammate, Mohd Noer Said shared the lead with 949.

Early leader and National rookie, Eric Ang of Penang dropped to third on a score of 941 followed by Asian Ranked No. 1, Alex Liew in fourth spot on 928. Winner of the second Canon camera, Ben Heng ended up in fifth. Last year's first runner-up, Mustafa Yassin took sixth position with a lowly 885.

In the ladies' division, 2005 ABF Tour TOC champion and current Asian Ranked No. 1, Wendy Chai stormed into the lead with a score of 855, relegating ex-national and four-time National champion, Shalin Zulkifli into second on 832 despite improving from 806 earlier.

Asian Youth Team and SEA Games Team Gold medalist, Zandra Aziela also improved from her 772 earlier to 820 but lies in third spot. World Championship Singles Gold medalist, Esther Cheah struggled and could only post 817 for fourth position.

Mohd Helmi Zailan of Selangor, who won the first Canon digital camera with 279 yesterday maintained his pole position on 918 with his SUKMA teammate, Jonathan Lim Chee Weng grabbing second spot on 831. National youth and Junor Circuit first leg champion, Rodson Tong from Pahang improved to third with 823.

Qualifying continues through to 30th March and the Masters finals wil be held on the 31st March and 1st April. The top 16 Asian men and ladies will make the cut for the ABF Tour - Canon Malaysia leg to be held on the 2nd April.

Photo by Terence Yaw, MTBC.

21st March, P.Jaya: Mohd Hilmi Zailan of Selangor started off the 29th Malaysian International Open Bowling Championship on a great footing after he bagged the High Game Award of the Day with a Canon PowerShot A410 Digital camera.

Mohd Hilmi, a member of Selangor's SUKMA squad, was in scintilating form chalking up 279 to win the high game of the day award of the Canon PowerShot A410 digital camera worth RM699. The 17-year-old who just finisned his SPM results with 5 distinction, posted lines of 185, 279, 235 and 219 to better his earlier Masters qualifying attempt of 739.

"Everything is going great for me right now after knowing I've done well in my SPM exams," said Mohd Hilmi. "I can now concentrate on my preparations for SUKMA with a good result in the finals next Friday.

Malaysia's National Elite squad members were the early birds at the on-going Malaysian International Open. SEA Games Gold medalist, Ben Heng almost took home the high game award after he posted a high game of 278 en-route to a 4-game total of 924 to temporarily lead the Men's Open Masters qualifying table.

National Gemilang 2010 squad member, Eric Ang pipped Heng to the top of the leaderboard scoring 941 in his first attempt. Ang impressed with lines of 218, 228, 238 and 257 while Heng scored 201, 256, 278 and 189 to settle for second.

Last year's runner-up and ex-national, Mustafa Yassin of Selangor will be hoping to go one up this year after he posted 885 to take up third spot in the qualifying table. Mustafa will need to do better to secure his pleace in the finals.

In the Ladies' Open division, ex-national and four-time National Champion, Shalin Zulkifli could only manage 806 in her first attempt but has taken top spot in the qualifying table. SEA Games and Asian Youth Gold medalist, Zandra Aziela finished second with 772 ahead of 2004 first runner-up, Siti Khadijah Osman of Selangor in third with 743.

While local bowlers will be vying for a place in the finals until this weekend, the bulk of the overseas participants will be arriving this Sunday, 26th March and scores will soar thereafter. The Men's defending champion is 2005 ABF Tour TOC champion, Wu Siu Hong of Hong Kong and the Ladies' defending champion is 15-year-old, Siti Safiyah Amirah.

Photos by Terence Yaw, MTBC.

16th March, P.Jaya: The Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress today announced that the 29th Malaysian International Open Bowling Championship scheduled from the 21st March to 1st April, 2006 at Pyramid Mega Lanes, Sunway Lagoon Resort will have world-class bowlers competing.

Reigning AMF World Cup champion, Michael Schmidt of Canada has accepted our invitation to compete in this year's championship. Schmidt, the 25-year-old university student from Winnipeg, who won the coveted 42nd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup in Ljubljana, Slovenia in November 2005, will be making his first-ever appearance in the Malaysian International Open.

Joining him from Finland will be Kimmo Lethonen, who was crowned the Men's Champion in the 2005 World Ranking Masters in Florida, USA. This will be Lethonen's third visit here to Malaysia after having represented Finland in the 2003 World Championship and competed in the 2004 Malaysian International Open.

2004 World Ranking Masters champion, Diandra Asbaty of USA heads the list of women world champions competing in this year's champion-

ship. Asbaty, who won the Masters Gold medal in the 2003 World Championship here, has also participated in last two year's tournament and she is looking forward to return for her third consecutive year.

Making her first trip to Malaysia will be the two-time AMF Bowling World Cup champion, Shanon Pluhowsky of the USA. The 24-year-old from Pheonix, Arizona first won the World Cup title in Riga, Latvia in 2002 and almost successfully defended the title in 2003 but lost to Canada's Kerrie Ryan-Ciach in the finals. Pluhowsky became the first American women to capture the AMF World Cup title twice when she turned the table on Ryan-Ciach in 2004 in Singapore.

Apart from that, Pluhowsky also won in the American Zone Championship Masters title and the World Youth Masters crown in Patayya, Thailand in 2002.

World champions from the Asian region are also well represented. The list includes the 2004 Asian Ranked No. 1, Jason Belmonte of Australia, who won two Gold medals in the 2004 World Youth Championship in Guam. Belmonte was also given the honor to present the Australian Sportsman and Sportswomen award this year.

2003 AMF World Cup champion, C.J. Suarez, who scored a perfect game in the 2004 championship here will also be joined by 5th Qatar Open and triple Gold medalist of the Busan Asian Games, Remy Ong of Singapore and 2004 ABF Tour TOC champion, Wu Siu Hong from Hong Kong. Chinese Taipei's triple Gold medalist at the 18th Asian Championship in Bangkok, Wu Hao-Ming will also be vying for honors here. A strong team of the Indonesian national team will be led by 23rd SEA Games two Gold medalist and the inaugural ABF Tour Malaysia Leg champion, Ryan Lalisang.

Asian women are also well represented with Filipino, Liza Del Rosario, 2004 Singapore Open champion, a regular here for the Malaysian Open. Rosario also won the Malaysian Open title in 2003. World Ranking Masters 2002 Champion, Jennifer Tan will lead a strong team of women bowlers from Singapore to join in the competition. Tan's most recent success was capturing the ABF Tour TOC title in January 2006. 23rd SEA Games two Gold medalist, Putty Armein and Novie Phang will also be bidding for glory in this year's championship.

And finally, our Malaysia charge will be led by our rising star and defending champion, Siti Safiyah Amirah, who became the youngest-ever women to win the Malaysian International Open title at the age of 14. She is joined by Women's World Championship Singles Gold medalist, Esther Cheah and current Asian Ranked No. 1 and ABF Tour 2005 TOC champion, Wendy Chai. Chai also finished 1st runner-up in the 2005 World Ranking Masters and 2nd runner-up in the 42nd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup.

The men of course will be headed by current Asian Ranked No. 1, Alex Liew. Liew who captured a total of five international titles, became the only Malaysia to win back-to-back titles after capturing the 2005 Indonesia International Open Masters title and the ABF Tour Indonesia Leg. Joining Liew will be Malaysia's National Elite team members, newly-crowned 2006 ABF Tour TOC champion and two-time National Champion, Daniel Lim, 2005 ABF Tour Malaysia leg champion, Zulmazran Zulkifli, 2003 Malaysian International Open Masters champion, Azidi Ameran and 23rd SEA Games two Gold medalist, Ben Heng.

Our younger charge will be from 2004 Milo International Junior All Stars Champion, Adrian Ang. Ang, who became the youngest-ever male to be crowned National Champion in January, will be joined by 23rd SEA Games Trios and Team Gold medalist, Aaron Kong. Kong also bagged the Asian Youth Singles Gold medal in February this year in Perth, Australia.

With all the world champions from the American, European and Asian zones, this year's championship promises to be a classic and will bound to attract the best.

"The response received so far has been overwhelming mainly because we have been able to attract bowlers who would like to compete with the many world-class bowlers we have invited," said Mr Sidney Tung, Co-Organising Chairman, Executive Director and Secretary General of MTBC.

"Organising such a large scale tournament is undoubtedly made possible by our strong sponsors for whom we express our sincere gratitude for their support," added Mr Tung.

The tournament's Co-Main sponsors are Canon Marketing (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd - National Team Sponsor and Sunway Lagoon Resort - Official Hotel. The Official Airline is Malaysia Airlines - responsible for flying in the world-class bowlers and providing specially-priced air fare for our participants. Our Co-Sponsors are Sports-Toto Malaysia, Nestle (MILO) Products - sponsor of the MILO International Youth Masters, Mesuma Sports Sdn Bhd - National Team and official attire, and Pyramid Mega Lanes - official venue.

Last but not least, the National Sports Council's Sukan Teras Tenpin Bowling, who will be sponsoring our National Youth Squad and Youth Under-18 and Under-15 throughout the 14 states in the country.

Canon Marketing (Malaysia) will be sponsoring six High Game Awards: A Canon PowerShot A410 Digital camera worth RM699 each from 25th to 30th March. Canon is also giving away a Canon Pixma iP90 Color Photo Printer worth RM899 to the first bowler to score a perfect game during the Masters Finals on the 31st March and 1st April, 2006.

Qualifying for the local bowlers in the 29th Malaysian International Open commences on the 21st March and finishes on the 30th March while from 25th March onwards, the squads will be reserved for overseas bowlers and will end 30th March. The Masters finals will be held on the 31st March and 1st April.

At the end of the Masters finals, the top 16 Asian men and women will automatically qualify for the ABF Tour - Canon Malaysia 2006 which will be held this time in one day on the 2nd April at the same venue. The tour will be telecast LIVE on Astro Supersport (Channel 80 from 4.00 - 7.00pm).

Photo by Terence Yaw/MTBC.