2nd November, Macau: The gold medal has eluded Malaysia again as the 2nd Asian Indoor Games came to an end when Zatil Iman, Sin Li Jane, Trish Khoo and Norhanizah Abu Bakar crashed out in the semifinal to settle for a bronze medal.

Having fought their way into second spot in the second block of the team of 4 events on Thursday and making the semifinals as second-seed, the Malaysia went down to third-seed, China, 720-793 to settle for the bronze medal again.

Chen Dongdong, Wu Suqin, Zhang Yuhong and Yng Suling also failed to upstage the mighty Korean women after the Chinese quartet were outclassed, 833-957 in the finals. Choi Jin A, Gang Hye Eun, Gye Min Young and Kim Yeau Jin reached the finals after defeating Japan, 842-764 in the semifinal match earlier.

Like the Malaysians, fourth-seed Hakura Matsuda, Kumi Tsuzawa, Kanako Ishimine and Ayano Katai of Japan, settled for the bronze medal as loosing semifinalists.

Having just squeezed into the semifinals in fourth-place at the end of the team of 4 second block yesterday, the Korean quartet of Choi Bok Eum, Kim Hyun Suk, Kim Kwang Wook and Park Min Su ousted top-seed, Japan, 830-766 to earn their semifinal spot.

Second-seed, Qatar comprising of Mubarak Al-Muraikhi, Fahid Al-Emadi, Abdulla Al-Qattan and Saeed Al-Hajri booked their finals after narrowly edging Thailand 783-777 for a showdown with the Koreans in the other semifinal match.

The unlucky team of Tomoyuki Sasaki, Masaru Ito, Daiki Ikeda and Masaaki Takemoto of Japan together with the other loosing semifinalists of Surasak Manuwong, Phoemphun Yakasem, Somjed Kusonpithak and Yannaphon Larpapharat both settled for a bronze medal each.

The champion again proved a formidable force when they met the Qataris in the final by simply demolishing their opponent to their second gold and Korea's fifth in the championship.

Korea ended the championship as a runaway leader in the medal tally with 5 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze medal with the men contributing 2 gold medals and the women 3 gold medals. UAE was the only other country to win a gold in the Singles event to finish second. Detailed scores: Women's Team Finals and Men's Team Finals

Photos by B.C. Cheah, MTBC.

1st November, Macau: Whilst the Malaysian women shone in the second block of the team of 4 event in the 2nd Asian Indoor Games to qualify for the semifinals, the men fell to a wayside as they only managed a 12th-place finish.

Malaysia, who was third in the first block, put in another scintillating performance to better themselves and earned a spot in the semifinals as second-seed. Zatil Iman, Sin Li Jane, Trish Khoo and Norhanizah Abu Bakar posted 2439 in the second 3-game series for a total of 4887.

The mighty Korean women comprising of Choi Jin A, Gang Hye Eun, Gye Min Young and Kim Yeau Jin stretched their overnight lead of 123 pins over China, to 397 over Malaysia with a superb 5284 total.

China's Chen Dongdong, Wu Suqin, Zhang Yuhong and Yang Suling, who won two bronze medals as loosing semifinalists in the Doubles event yesterday, amassed 4841 to settle for third spot. Japan's Hakura Matsuda, Kumi Tsuzawa, Kanako Ishimine and Ayano Katai hung on to fourth place to claim the last semifinal spot with 4718.

Crucially, the Malaysian women do not have to face the mighty Koreans in the semi as they will be matched against third-seed China while Japan will have a daunting task of overcoming the Koreans in the other semifinal match.

It was a disappointing campaign for the Malaysian men as they crashed out with a 12th place finish in the second block. Despite putting in a spirited performance in this block having fought their way back from 15th to 6th before the last game, a disasterous 669 in the crucial game saw them thumbling down to 12th.

Japan's Tomoyuki Sasaki, Masaru Ito, Daiki Ikeda and Masaaki Takemoto remained firmly in pole for the semifinals with a 5378 total with Qatar's Mubarak Al-Muraikhi, Fahid Al-Emadi, Abdulla Al-Qattan and Saeed Al-Hajri snatching second spot with 5156.

Surasak Manuwong, Phoemphun, Samjed Kusonpithak and Yannaphon Larpapharat settled for third with 5078. The Korean men, however, had to work harder than their female counterparts crawling up from seventh overnight to snatch the fourth and final spot in the semifinals with 5017.

They will have a daunting task of facing the top-seed, Japan in the semi while Qatar will meet Thailand in the other semi for a spot in the finals to battle for the last gold medal. Kuwait, who was fourth in the first block, missed out on the cut to finish fifth 4956. Detailed scores: Women's Team 2ndBlk and Men's Team 2ndBlk

Photos by B.C. Cheah, MTBC.

31st October, Macau: It was mixed fortunes for Malaysia as the women did well to finish third in the first block while the men could only manage 15th in the Team of 4 event of the 2nd Asian Indoor Games on Day 5.

As usual, the women lived up to their expectations to trail the favourites, Korea and China in third at the end of the first block of the Team of 4 event at COTAI International Sports Complex Wednesday afternoon.

Singles silver medalist, Zatil Iman was outstanding with 254, 246 and 213 for a 713 series to lead teammates, Sin Li Jane, Trish Khoo Wei Ling and Norhanizan Abu Bakar for a third place finish on a total of 2448. Jane downed 605 with Trish posting 573 and Norhanizah 557.

Korea's Choi Jin A, Gang Hye Eun, Gye Min Young and Kim Yeau Jin again dominated the event with a total of 2588 ahead of arch rival, China in second. Chen Dongdong, Wu Suqin, Zhang Yuhong and Yang Suling posted 829, 871 and 765 for a total of 2465 to trail the leader by 123 pins.

Japan finished fourth with 2388 with a comfortable 66 pins margin ahead of Hong Kong. The women will continue their second block of 3 games with only the top 4 teams making the knockout semifinals.

Meanwhile, Malaysia's Zaid Izlan, Syahereza Fajrin, Jonathan Lim Chin Lung and Muhd Nur Aiman put up a laskluster performance to end the first block in 15th place and 237 pins adrift fourth-place Kuwait.

The quartet would have to produce a remarkable turnaround in tomorrow's second block to stand any chance of making the cut for the knockout stage.

Japan's Tomoyuki Sasaki, Masaru Ito, Daiki Ikeda and anchored by Masaaki Takemoto topped the Men's Team of 4 first block of 3 games with a superb 2736 to lead Thailand by a comfortable 164 pins.

Thailand's Surasak Manuwong, Phoemphun Yakasem, Somjed Kusonpithak and Yannaphon Larpapharat stormed home strongly to snatch second spot with 2572 from Qatar, who was second before the final game.

Qatar settled for third with with 2533, 39 pins adrift the Thais. Kuwait finished fourth with 2527 a further 6 pins away. The men will complete their second block in the morning while the women will start in the afternoon. Detailed scores: Women's Team 1stBlk and Men's Team 1stBlk.

Photos by B.C. Cheah, MTBC.

30th October, Macau: Despite a spirited display by Singles silver medalist, Zatil Iman and Norhanizah Abu Bakar to finish fifth and making the quarterfinals of the Women's Doubles event in the 2nd Asian Indoor Games, the Malaysian again failed to make the next stage.

The Malaysian pair of Zatil Iman and Norhanizah Abu Bakar had a steady start of their Doubles event and was trailing the mighty Korean pair of Gang Hye Eun and Gye Ming Young by just 3 pins at the halfway mark of the 6-game series.

Whilst Korea and China fought out the lead over the next two games, Malaysia could not keep pace with the leaders to end the block in fifth but crucially making the cut for the knockout quarterfinals. Zatil scored 1316 and Norhanizah posted 1139 for a 2455 total.

Surprisingly, the other Korean pair of Choi Jin A and Kim Yeau Jin who snatched pole position with 2556 after a strong finish ahead of China's Chen Dongdong and Wu Suqin in second with 2516. Gang and Gye settled for third with 2496.

Zatil and Norhanizah were beaten by fouth-seed Zhang Yuhong and Yang Suling, 395-472 ending another disappointing day for the Malaysians. Zhang and Yang then lost to top-seed, Choi and Kim 413-443 in the first semifinal. The other pair of Sin Li Jane and Trish Khoo did well to finish 11th with 2339, just 29 pins off eighth-placed Macau.

Third-seed, Gang Hye Eun and Gye Ming Young also ousted the other Chinese pair of Chen Dongdong and Wu Suqin, 424-341 in the other semi to make it an all-Korean final. The two Chinese pairs settled for a bronze medal each.

With the top-seed looking the stronger pair, it was third-seed Gang and Gye who upset their teammates to clinch the gold medal, 391-381. The Koreans ending with an outstanding performance by dominating the Doubles with a 1-2 finish.

The victory put the Koreans firmly in the lead of the overall medal tally with 3 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze medal with UAE still in second with 1 gold and 1 bronze. Thailand and Malaysia maintained joint-third with 1 silver each.

The team of 4 will commence with the women contesting the first block of 3 games tomorrow morning while the men will bowl their first block in the afternoon. The second block will be played on 1st November. The top 4 at the end of the two blocks will make the cut for the knockout semifinals. Detailed scores: Women's Doubles Finals and and Women's Doubles Combined.

Photos by B.C. Cheah, MTBC.

29th October, Macau: Malaysian men missed another opportunity to win a medal after being knocked out in the quarterfinals of the Men's Doubles at the 2nd Asian Indoor Games despite the pair of Syahereza Fajrin and Muhd Nur Aiman qualifying in fourth.

The first doubles pair of Zaid Izlan and Jonathan Lim Chin Lung ended the Men's Doubles Squad A in a dismal 12th position but Syahereza Fajrin and Muhd Nur Aiman of Malaysia started off superbly to trail early leader UAE by 18 pins as Squad B took to the lanes in the afternoon.

Dropping to third after the second game, Malaysia fought back to claim pole at the halfway mark leading Korea and UAE tieing in second, 18 pins adrift. But the Malaysian was no match for the mighty Koreans as Choi Bok Eum and Park Min Su romped home a comfortable leader with 2718.

Syahereza Fajrin and Muhd Nur Aiman finished third with 2631 behind the strong finishing Qataris in second with 2647. The duo ended up fourth overall with the two squads combined and was lined up against fifth-seed, UAE in the quarterfinals.

Malaysia's progress was ended abruptly as the pair went down to Singles gold medalist, Nayef Eqab Alabadla and Shaker Al-Hassan of UAE, 403-437 in their quarterfinal encounter. Syahereza posted 182 while Aiman knocked down 217.

Korea clinched their second gold medal when Choi Bok Eum and Park Min Su upstaged top-seed, Somjed Kusonpithak and Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand, 521-416 in the final match. The champion reached the finals edging UAE, 386-369 and Saudi Arabia, 437-406 in the quarterfinals.

Thailand knocked out Japan's Daiki Ikeda and Masaaki Takemoto, 483-373 in the semi and scrapped through to the semifinals by narrowly beating Chinese Taipei's pair of Cheng Hsing Chao and Hsiao Chun Ho, 389-384 in the first round. Both Japan and UAE settled for a bronze medal each.

After two events, Korea leads the medal tally with 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze medal with UAE in second with 1 gold and 1 bronze medal. Malaysia and Thailand shared third spot with 1 silver each. Detailed scores: Men's Doubles Finals and Men's Doubles Combined.

Photos by B.C. Cheah, MTBC.

28th October, Macau: Newly-crowned Singapore Open champion, Zatil Iman was denied Malaysia's first gold when she lost to third-seed, Choi Jin A of Korea, 191-214 in the Women's Singles finals of the 2nd Asian Indoor Games on Sunday evening.

Ever improving Zatil Iman displayed great composure to go through her first few hurdles as she despatched seventh-seed, Saowapha Kunaksorn of Thailand, 217-148 in the quarterfinals to earn her spot in the semifinal. Another superb performance by the Malaysian as she knocked out China's Yang Suling, 214-172 in the first semifinal match assuring herself at least a silver medal.

But her fine run was put to an end as she lost the deciding title match to Korea's Choi Jin A, 191-214 in the finals. In the earlier 6-game singles over the short oil condition, a keen tussle between Zatil and Choi had seen both bowlers trading lead until the final two games as Choi's teammate, Gye Min Young snatched pole with 1349.

Zatil kept her momentum to finish second with 1332 assuring herself a

spot in the top 8 quarterfinal knockout stage ahead of Choi third on 1286. China's Yang Suling took the eighth and final spot in the quarterfinals despite finishing ninth as the third Korean, Kim Yeau Jin had to give up her place by rule.

The champion was equally impressive on her way to the finals beating Filipina, Apple Posadas, 217-212 in the quarterfinals and almost socring the championship's first perfect game when she outclassed Hakura Matsuda of Japan, 298-156 in the semi. Yang Suling and Hakura Matsuda took home a bronze medal each.

Malaysia's Norhanizah Abu Bakar missed the cut for the quarterfinals finishing 10th, just 2 pins from the ninth-placed Yang Suling. Sin Li Jane and Trish Khoo Wei Ling also fared well in 17th and 22nd in a field of 36 bowlers.

The Men will contest the Doubles event on Monday, 29th October divided into two squads while the women will resume competition with the doubles on Tuesday, 30th October.

Photos by B.C. Cheah, MTBC.

27th October, Macau: Malaysia's hope for a medal in the Men's Singles ended when Muhd Nur Aiman was knocked out in the quarterfinals as UAE bowler, Nayef Eqab Alabadla denied Korea a gold in the 2nd Asian Indoor Games after emerging the champion.

After the completion of the Men's Singles Squad B, Muhd Nur Aiman, who finished third in Squad A, finished sixth overall to qualify for the knockout quarterfinal stage matched against third-seed, Khaled Al-Dubyyan of Kuwait.

Nur Aiman got off to an explosive start reeling off four consecutive strikes and a spare in the fifth frame but an unlucky 4-10 split in the eighth frame by the Malaysian gave the Kuwaiti an opportunity to close the gap.

As both bowlers battled it over, it was the Khaled who strung together five strikes in a row to end the match 235 as Nur Aiman finished 215 ending further progress for the Malaysian. But Khaled's fine performance was ended by second-seed and Squad A leader, Kim Hyun Suk in the semi.

Kim defeated Khaled 258-227 to set up a match with UAE's Nayef Eqab, who knocked out top-seed, Choi Bok Eun, 195-191. Kim had earlier ousted Japan's Tomoyuki Sasaki, 247-203 in the quarterfinals while his teammate, Choi defeated Hassan Al-Shaikh of Saudi Arabia, 242-168 in the other quarterfinal match.

Hassan had made the top 8 quarterfinals from a rule which limited only two players from each country into the knockout stage. Nayef also made the semi after disposing off teammate, Hussain Al-Suwaidi, 246-190 in the all-UAE quarterfinal.

In the final title match, Nayef got off to a fabulous start with a double strike while the Kim suffered a split and just could not get into his strides. Another double strike toward the end by the Nayef sealed a comfortable victory over the Korean, 211-172 to claim the gold medal.

Jonathan Lim gave a satisfactory account of himself with 1271 total to finish on 19th placing, Zaid Izlan ended in 31st on 1231 and Syahereza Fajrin was placed 44th with 1167 total.

Kim was unlucky to come off with the silver whilst the loosing semifinalists, Choi and Khaled took the bronze medals without a palyoff. The women will kick off their campaign in the singles with just one squad at 1.30pm local time and the top 8 would make the knockout stages to determine the winners. Detailed scores: Men's Singles Finals.

Photos by B.C. Cheah, MTBC.

27th October, Macau: Muhammad Nur Aiman of Malaysia put up a remarkable performance to position himself third at the opening event of the Men's Singles Squad A of 2nd Asian Indoor Games underway at COTAI International Sports Complex.

UAE's Shaker Al-Hassan set the early pace with a 279 opener to lead Korea's Kim Kwang Wook by 14 pins and Hong Kong's Wu Siu Hong, 3 pins further in third. Shaker lost the lead to trail Kim by 10 pins after the second game but regained the lead at the halfway mark to head the pack with 8 pins from Malaysia's Muhd Nur Aiman.

Shaker continued to top the field but the Malaysian closed the gap to just 2 pins after the fourth game while another Korean, Kim Hyun Suk closing in onto the leading duo. A superb 278 by Hyun Suk saw him stretching the lead to 31 pins with the final game to play.

A 237 in the Kim's final game was sufficient to see the Korean topping Squad A with a total of 1428 as UAE's Hussain Al-Suwaidi stormed home to snatch second with a 269. Nur Aiman settled for third with a total of 1373, just 2 pins from Hussain's 1375.

Pace-setter, Shaker Al-Hassan dropped to fourth with 1347 while another early leader, Kim Kwang Wook finished fifth with 1317. Macau's Cheng Peng Cheng was the sixth and final bowler to surpass the 1,300-mark in the 6 game singles event.

Malaysia's Zaid Izlan also put up a commendable performance with 234, 200, 198, 191, 216, and 192 for a 1231 total for 15th spot. Malaysia's two other men, Syahereza Fajrin and Jonathan Lim are lined up for Squad B.

The top 8 ranked bowlers from the combined squads shall proceed to the quarterfinals knockout stage scheduled later this afternoon, where a 1-game matchplay will decide the the top 4 semifinalists. The winners of the semifinals will meet to decide the gold and silver medal winners while the loosing semifinalists will be awarded two bronze medals. Detailed scores: Men's Singles Squad A

Photos by B.C. Cheah, MTBC.

25th October, Macau: The Malaysian Team Pelapis Kebangsaan are ready to shoulder the responsbility and challenge at the 2nd Macau Asian Indoor Games Bowling Championship when the competition begins this Saturday.

The team arrived at Macau safely on Tuesday 23rd October and since their arrival, the team went through their daily morning physical workout. They also had the opportunity to test out the short oil and long oil conditions during the past two days during official practices.

After the practice this morning, the coaches, Foong Tak Meng and Ben Heng were satisfied with the bowlers' adaption to the lanes condition and believed that the National Backup Squad would be ready to shoulder the responsibility in their pursuits of sports excellence for the country.

Later in the afternoon, the bowlers attended the Flag Raising ceremony at Macau Tower Square with the Chief-de-Mission and the whole Malaysian contingent.

The line up for the team's first event, which would be the singles, will see Muhd Nur Aiman and Zaid Izlan in Squad 1 at 9.00am on Saturday 27th October while Syahereza Fajrin and Jonathan Lim Chin Lung will take to the lanes at the 1.00pm squad.

The top 8 finishers after two squads are combined, will proceed to the quarterfinals where the winners of the head-to-head matches will go on to meet in the semifinals. The semifinals winners will then meet for their title match while the loosers will play for the bronze medal.

Sin Li Jane, Trish Khoo Wei Ling, Norhanizah Abu Bakar and newly-crowned Singapore Open champion, Zatil Iman are all scheduled at the 1.00pm Squad for their Singles event. Similarly, the top 8 will make the cut for the quarterfinals, semifinals and final matches thereafter.

Photos by B.C. Cheah, MTBC.