24th March, P.Jaya: Malaysian national bowler, Zandra Aziela and Korea's Joung Seong Joo took their maiden win after capturing the Ladies' and Men's Open Masters titles of the 30th Malaysian International Open Bowling Championship which concluded Saturday evening.

Zandra, who finished second in the Mlo Junior All Stars in December last year, made amends by winning her first-ever international title after defeating Daphne Tan of Singapore, 224-197 in the ladies' stepladder finals.

The top-seed started off the deciding match with a double strike which clearly put pressure on her opponent when she had an open frame in the second. Despite responding with three strikes, Zandra pulled away with a turkey from the sixth frame onwards to cruise to a convincing victory.

Daphne, who finished fifth in the semifinals, had earlier edged out Zandra's teammates Siti Safiyah Amirah and Zatil Iman, 203-183-192 in the second stepladder match. The Singaporean outclassed defending champion, Diandra Asbaty of USA and sixth-seed, Esther Cheah, 246-211-158 in the first match.

Zandra pocketed US$7,000 for the victory while the first runner-up took home US$3,500. Siti Safiyah earned US$1,500 for finishing third and Zatil Iman US$1,200.

In the men's division, Korean national bowler, Joung Seong Joo proved too strong for his challenger and 2006 Milo Junior All Stars champion, Jason Belmonte of Australia, 250-225 to claim his first-ever international open title.

The top-seed set a blistering pace and never gave his opponent any chance at all to settle down with six strikes in a row. The champion acheived the amazing feat using his "spare" ball but a small mistake in the seventh frame saw the ball going into the gutter.

Despite the poor shot, Joung manage to spare on his second throw and went on to cruise to a comfortable victory while the Aussie never really got into his stride. Belmonte had earlier put an end to Malaysia's hope of a place in the final when he eliminated Alex Liew and another Korean, Choi Bok Eum, 266-235-187.

Liew moved into the second match after he ousted teammate and fourth-seed, Daniel Lim and sixth-seed, Wu Siu Hong of Hong Kong, 247-179-214. Zulmazran Zulkifli, who tied with Wu in sixth position in the semifinals, lost the tie-breaker playoff, 236-258.

The Korean took home Asia's highest champion prize of US$25,000 while Jason Belmonte won US$10,000 and Choi Bok Eum US$4,000. Alex Liew, Daniel Lim and Wu Siu Hong won US$2,000, US$1,600 and US$1,400 respectively.

With not enough lady bowlers from the rest of the world (exclude Asia) in the finals, the Canon Cup 2007 will now be contested between best 3 men, 2 women of Malaysia and the best 3 men, 2 women from the rest of the world (include Asia).

And making the team for Malaysia are (line-up in this order) Daniel Lim, Zandra Aziela, Alex Liew, Siti Safiyah and Zulmazran Zulkifli while Team ROW will comprise of Choi Bok Eum, Amanda Ng, Joung Seng Joo, Daphne Tan and Jason Belmonte. The Canon Cup 2007 will commence at 12.30pm on Sunday, 25th March at Pyramid Mega Lanes and will be broadcast LIVE over Astro Supersport (Channel 80).

Photos by Terence Yaw, MTBC.

23rd March, P.Jaya: Malaysian national bowlers were on a roll as they dominated the Ladies' and Men's Open Masters first block finals of the 30th Malaysian International Open Bowling Championship at Pyramid Mega Lanes Friday afternoon.

Doha Asian Games gold medalist, Zandra Aziela hit on a hot trail to storm into the lead of the Ladies' Open Masters first block over 8 games to lead a strong field of 33 finalists by 39 pins on a total score of 1909.

Teammate and last year's runner-up set a cracking pace to take an early lead but soon fizzled out. 2006 ABF Tour Malaysian leg champion, Vanessa Fung of Hong Kong also led briefly but found the pace too hot to keep up with.

At the halfway mark, Zandra stormed into the fray with lines of 258, 213, 268 and 238 to hang on to the lead. Milo Junior All Stars and Penang Pesta champion, Siti Safiyah Amirah snatch second spot with 1870 from third-placed, Esther Cheah, who downed 1844.

Apart from Singapore's Daphne Tan finishing fourth with 1812, Malaysian ladies dominated by taking fifth to eighth positions with Zatil Iman (5th-1787), Sin Li Jane (6th-1756), Choy Poh Lai (7th-1753) and Sharon Koh (1751).

2004 Champion, Shalin Zulkifli, who trailed the field in the early stages, crawled back up the field to 12th followed by Wan Nur Atiqqa (15th), Wendy Chai (18th), Syakira Yeoh (22nd), Tang Joh Six (23rd) and Noorhanizah (24th). Defending champion and reigning World Cup champion, Diandra Asbaty of USA was midfield most of the way and ended up 10th.

In the men's division, newly-crowned Boy's Open champion, Choi Bok Eum and teammate, Joung Seong Joo of Bowling Camp Korea spoilt Malaysia's day by finishing in between Malaysia's Daniel Lim and defending champion, Alex Liew.

Lim ended the first block in the lead with 1889, just 28 pins ahead of Choi in second with 1861. Alex and Joung tied for third spot with identical scores of 1848. Early pace-setter and Milo Junior All Stars champion, Jason Belmonte dropped to fifth with 1844.

Kim Jin Han (KOR-1818), Zulmazran Zulkifli (MAS-1790), Saeed Al-Hajri (QAT-1778) and Yousef Al-Jaber (QAT-1775) and Wu Siu Hong (HKG-1771) rounded up the top 10 from sixth to tenth respectively.

Other Malaysians in the finals were Jonathan Lim (11th), Aaron Kong (14th), Adrian Ang (15th), Azidi Ameran (18th), Zaid Izlan (19th), Tengku Afnan Mahmood (20th), Mohd Noer Said (21st), Mustafa Yassin (23rd), Syafiq Ridhwan (28th), Isaac Russell (30th) and Muhd Nur Aiman (38th).

The men and ladies will bowl another 8 games in the second block tomorrow (Saturday, 24th March) and at the end of which the top 6 men and top 6 ladies will make the cut for the stepladder grand finals.

The best 3 men and best 2 ladies from Malaysia will also make up Team Malaysia to challenge the best 3 men and best 2 ladies from the rest of the world in a special Canon Cup to be held on Sunday, at 12.30pm in a head-to-head matchplay format.

Photos by Terence Yaw, MTBC

23rd March, P.Jaya: Sarawak youths stole the limelight in the Milo Youth Masters finals of the 30th Malaysian International Open Bowling Championship while Korea's Choi Bok Eum captured the Boy's Open crown.

Jacqueline Sijore of Sukan Teras Sarawak, captured her fist-ever international title when she amassed 2253 pinfalls over the 10-game Girl's Open Masters played this morning. Jacqueline, who has been bowling for 5 years, also won the Ladies' Graded Masters crown last year.

"I finished third last year in the Girl's Open finals so I'm very happy to win this year," said the 15-year-old SMK Batu Bintang student. Winning 4 gold medals in the MSSM Championship in Johor last week has given me the confidence this morning.

Singapore's Daphne Tan and Geraldine Ng had to settle for second and third spots after trailing the champion almost throughout the finals. Tan scored 2171, 82 pins adrift while Geraldine ended the finals with 2169.

In the Boy's division, Asian Youth 4 gold medalist, Choi Bok Eum of Bowling Camp Korea, was simply too good for the field when he romped home a comfortable winner with 2279, 211 pins ahead of his nearest rival.

"I've been winning a lot of medals in official championships but not a major international open title yet," said Choi through his coach, James Kim. "I hope that winning the youth title will give me the confidence to do well in the Men's Open finals later.

Bong Kihow of Sarawak, who made the finals from a toss of a coin. Bong tied with Afiq Rifqi on 849 in the qualifying table but when one of the finalists failed to check in on time, he was given the chance to play in the finals after winning the toss.

The Sarawakian knocked down 2068 to finish second ahead of 2005 Milo Junior All Stars champion, Ben Hung Kun Yi of Chinese Taipei in third sot with 2055. Pahang's Rodson Tong and Hong Kong's Eris Tseng completed the top 5 with 2048 and 2030 respectively.

This year's Peter Yap Memorial Cup champion, Nazrin Wagiman stole the limelight for Sarawak when he captured the Boy's Under-16 Masters title with 2052. Yusuf Abdul Raof of Kuala Lumpur took second with 2030 and Ahmad Amiruddin third with 1981.

2006 Penang Pesta Under-16 champion, Hee Kar Yen added another title to her collection after winning the Under-16 girls crown with 1924. Kuala Lumpur's Radin Nur Najwa and Nur Umirah Abdul Raduan finished second and third with 1906 and 1894.

Photos by Terence Yaw, MTBC

21st March, P.Jaya: Singapore national bowlers, Derek Chan and Evelyn Chan grabbed the lead of the Men's and Ladies' Open Masters qualifying table of the 30th Malaysian International Open Bowling Championship Tuesday evening.

Derek, who won last year's Malaysian Open Youth Masters title, started his third attempt moderately with 212 and 238 but fired all cylinders thereafter when he brought home two massive games of 268 and 279 to grab the overall lead in the Men's Open Masters with 997.

"It took me two attempts before I could find a good line to bowl for better scoring," said the delighted 21-year-old national bowler. "Pyramid Mega Lanes is a good hunting ground for me - who knows, I might get lucky again this year.

While Derek stole the limelight, his teammate Carl De Vries also made the finals by knocking down 960 just a few hours earlier. De Vries knocked down lines of 212, 246, 279 and 223 to take up seventh in the table.

Doha Asian Games and Asian Championship Singles gold medalist, Ryan Lalisang of Jaya Ancol Bowl, Jakarta dropped one spot to second with 992 while 2006 Thailand Open champion, Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand was third with 975.

Last year's first runner-up, Zaid Izlan of Malaysia contnued to lead the local pool with 994 ahead of teammate, Mohd Noer Said in second with 988 and 2004 champion, Daniel Lim third with 969.

In the ladies' division, 2004 Singapore Open champion, Evelyn Chan gave Singapore a good day when she chalked up lines of 172, 236, 247 and 244 for a 4-game total of 899. Her score put her second overall and the lead in the overseas pool.

Liza Del Rosario of the Philippines was pushed one rung down to second with 895 with Asian Championship Doubles gold medalist, Tannya Roumimper of Medan, Indonesia third with 894. Asian Championship two gold medalist, Putty Armein finished fourth with 894.

Meanwhile, Singapore youths also grabbed top spots in the Boy's and Girl's Open Masters qualifying table. Stanley Ong posted 885 to topple Hong Kong's Eric Tseng into second and Geraldine Ng posted 912 a day earlier for the girl's lead.

Pahang Open champion, Zatil Iman maintained her overall lead in the ladies' division with 1002 with her teammate, Shalin Zulkifli of Malaysia second with 968 and Esther Cheah third with 953.

Qualifying ends tomorrow with the last squad for the youths at 6.00pm and the last squad for the adults at 10.30pm. Bowlers who failed to make the cut could still do so by taking part in the Desperado squad at 12.00 midnight.

Photos by Terence Yaw, MTBC

20th March, P.Jaya: Foreign bowlers were begining to make an impact in the on-going 30th Malaysian International Open Bowling Championship at Pyramid Mega Lanes, Sunway Lagoon Resort with 3 days left for qualifying.

Leading the ladies' charge was 2005 ABF Tour Hong Kong leg champion, Liza Del Rosario of the Philippines. Del Rosario posted 895 in her 4-game qualifying round to take the lead in the Ladies' Open Masters overseas qualifying pool. The Filipna downed 178, 255, 243 and 219 for an average of 223.

Asian Campionship two gold medalist, Putty Armein of Jaya Ancol Bowl, Jakarta, trailed Rosario by 6 pins on a score of 889. The 25-year-old bowling queen from Indonesia also won the Singles silver medal at last year's Doha Asian Games.

Meanwhile, National backup squad member, Zatil Iman improved on her earlier score to grab the overall lead with a scintillating 1002 total. The Pahang Open champion chalked up lines of 258, 229, 258 and 257 to

become the only bowler so far to surpass the 1,000-mark in the 4-game qualifying series of the championship.

All the seven women members of the National Elite squad are safely in the finals. 2004 Malaysian Open champion, Shalin Zulkifli (2nd-960), Esther Cheah (3rd-953), Sharon Koh (4th-941), Siti Safiyah Amirah (5th-937), Zandra Aziela (7th-904), CHoy Poh Lai (8th-901) and Wendy Chai (10th-896).

Also making the finals are National backup squad members, Sin Li Jane (6th-926), Syakira Yeoh (9th-899) while in the mixed pool are Noorhanizah Abu Bakar (1st-858) and Wan Nur Atiqqa (2nd-842).

Asian Championship and Doha Asian Games Singles gold medalist, Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia, stormed into the lead of the Men's Open Masters overseas pool with an impressive 992. The 26-year-old posted lines of 241, 256, 227 and 268 to two Koreans, Kim Ko Woon and Han Jae-Ho of Bowling Camp in second and third with 971 and 964 respectively.

The overall lead in the Men's Open division is still National backup squad member, Zaid Izlan on a score of 994. Zaid, who is the younger brother of Elite squad member, Zandra Aziela, finished first runner-up in last year's championship and will be hoping to go one better.

Newly-promoted into the Elite squad and Penang Pesta Open champion, Mohd Noer Said maintained second in the local pool with 988 while 2004 champion, Daniel Lim took third spot with 969.

All members of the Elite and backup squad are in the finals as of today (Tuesday, 20th March). Youngster, Syaheraza Fajrin (964) led the pack ahead of Adrian Ang (960), Aaron Kong (959), Syafiq Ridhwan (944), Zulmazran Zulkifli (929), Isaac Russell (919), Muhd Nur Aiman (904) and Jonathan Lim (900).

Qualifying continues through to the 22nd March which will see scores becoming higher as the participants scramble to make the cut. The top 39 men and top 33 ladies will bowl 8 games in the first block on Friday, 23rd at 12.30pm and another 8 games in the second block on Saturday, 24th.

The top 6 men and top 6 ladies at the end of the two blocks will proceed to the stepladder grand finals at 12.30pm which will be telecast LIVE on Astro Supersport.

Photo by Terence Yaw, MTBC.

16th March, P.Jaya: The Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress today announced the hosting of the Canon Cup 2007 - a 5 person team comprising of the best of Asia versus the best of the Rest of the World on the 25th March, 2007 at Pyramid Megalanes, Sunway Lagoon Resort.

The special one-day event is being held in conjunction with the Visit Malaysia Year 2007 and Malaysia’s celebration of 50 years of nationhood with the Canon being the title sponsor.

The best 3 male, 2 female Asian finishers in the preceding 30th Malaysian International Open Bowling Championship will form the Asian team to challenge the best 3 male, 2 female in a head-to-head one-game matchplay style LIVE on Astro Supersport.

Because the special event is being hosted in Malaysia, a minimum of one male and one female must be Malaysian but each team shall not consist of more than two bowlers from one country. In the event that there are less than five bowlers from the Rest of the World being represented in this cup, the challenge shall be changed to Malaysia versus the Rest of the World (bowlers from Asia, Europe and Americas).

The team that wins by a margin of 5 - 0, the winning team shall take home a prize of US$12,500 and the loosing team, US$2,500. If the margin is 4 - 1, the winning team shall win US$10,000 while the loosing team, US$5,000. If the margin is 3 - 2, then the prize shall be US$8,000 to the winning team and US$7,000 to the loosing team.

The line up of the teams shall be alternating between the male and the female bowlers of each team starting with the male, followed by the female, then the male and so on.

"This cup is the first-ever being hosted and being held in Asia and it promises to be a clash of the world’s best bowlers," said Mr Sidney Tung, secretary general of MTBC. "Undoubtedly, an exciting event such as this should be accorded with a title sponsor and we are indeed fortunate to have Canon as our title sponsor," added Mr Tung.

Mr Tung also announced: "And not missing the opportunity with possible world-class field, Astro has again come forward to sponsor the LIVE telecast of the event on Astro Supersport at 12.30pm for 2 hours. The program will also be broadcast to an estimated 40 million viewers worldwide through Astro’s program partnership exchange program.

"We are extremely happy to be given this unique opportunity to become the title sponsor of such an exciting and prestigious event," said Mr Richard Yeow, Senior Director of Canon Marketing at the press conference.

"Being a sponsor of the Malaysian National Team for the past 4 years, Canon is indeed proud to be associated as a partner to MTBC under the dynamic and capable leadership of its president, Dato’ Dr P.S. Nathan. And we are confident that the country will continue to attain greater successes in many years to come.

At the press conference, Canon also presented Canon Powershot Digital cameras to the Malaysian National Elite squad, who have won a total of 27 international titles in 2006. Mr Richard Yeow presented the cameras to Aaron Kong, Adrian Ang, Alex Liew, Azidi Ameran (retired), Ben Heng, Daniel Lim and Zulmazran Zulkifli for the men. Choy Poh Lai, Esther Cheah, Shalin Zulkifli, Sharon Koh, Siti Safiyah Amirah, Wendy Chai and Zandra Aziela also received the Canon digital cameras.

Zaid Izlan, Jonathan Lim and Zatil Iman received digital cameras for their successes in the Asian Youth Championship. The Canon Cup will be held on the 25th March, 2007 starting at 12.30pm. Apart from the LIVE telecast on Astro Supersport, live results will also be featured at our website.

Photo by Terence Yaw, MTBC.

15th March, P.Jaya: National Backup squad member and Pahang Open champion, Zatil Iman impressed on her second attempt to move up to third in the Ladies' Open Masters qualifying table of the on-going 30th Malaysian International Open Bowling Championship.

Zatil Iman, who won three gold medals at the 1st Asian University Bowling Championship held in Manila three days ago, stormed into the Ladies' Open Masters table with an impressive 4-game total of 943.

The 18-year-old and a member of the national team since 2004, made progress when she was called up to represent Malaysia in the Asian Youth Championship in Perth early last year. She came home with a gold medal in the Team event.

She almost made the World Youth team but lost to Sharon Koh in a roll-off. But Zatil never gave up and continued to train hard and the extra work she put in paid off when she captured the Pahang Open Masters title in November.

Meanwhile, National Elite squad members, Shalin Zulkifli and Esther Cheah maintain their top 2 position in the table with 960 and 953 posted yesterday and Monday respectively. 14-year-old Sin Lin Jane improved to take up seventh with 897 ahead of Syakira Yeoh, who also improved with 878.

National Backup squad member, Zaid Izlan remained top of the Men's Open Masters leaderboard with 994 posted yesterday ahead of Mohd Noer Said in second with 988. Two-time National champion Adrian Ang finished third with 960.

Just one pin adrift came Aaron Kong with a score of 959. The Doha Asian Games Trios gold medalist had lines of 247, 242, 235 and 235 to make the cut for the finals.

"I was struggling a bit in the past two days and I believe that something wasn't quite right with my timing," said the 20-year-old Penangnite. "Then I made a slight change to my rythmn today and it seem to work better.

2005 Singapore Open champion and season campaigner, Jack Wong of Singapore took to the lanes to manage a 799 scoreline to head the overseas pool. Kim Ko-Won of Korea could post 698 to take up second spot.

Qualifying continues through to the 22nd March and the scores would be much higher as the majority of the overseas bowlers will arrive this weekend. The Masters finals will be held on the 23rd and 24th March.

Photo by Terence Yaw, MTBC.

14th March, P.Jaya: The battle for the lead in the Men's and Ladies' Open Masters qualifying table of the 30th Malaysian International Open Bowling Championship continued as Zaid Izlan and Shalin Zulkifli took over the lead on Wednesday afternoon.

Zaid Izlan, who lost to Alex Liew in last year's Malaysian Open, took to the lanes this afternoon for his first attempt and impressed with a 4-game total of 994. The 19-year-old Bukit Jalil Sports School and member of the National Backup squad posted lines 278, 215, 276 and 225 to grab the lead of the Men's Open Masters table.

Newly-promoted into the National Elite squad, Mohd Noer Said was in great form after returning from the 1st Asian University Championship in Manila to take up second spot with 988. Reigning National Champion, Adrian Ang improved on his 876 score yesterday to finish third with 960.

National Backup squad member, Syafiq Ridhwan also moved up from 11th to fourth with 944 ahead of overnight leader, Daniel Lim, dropping to fifth with 937. Zulmazran Zulkifli and Isaac Russell finished sixth and seventh positions with 929 and 919 respectively.

Shalin Zulkifli, four-time national champion and winner of the Malaysian Open in 1996 and 2004, staked her claim and hope of capturing the title for the third time with a superb 960 to take over the lead from overnight leader and Olympian of the Year, Esther Cheah.

Shalin chalked up lines of 256, 247, 247 and 210 in her first attempt this afternoon. Esther, who stole the limelight by becoming the first-ever female athlete to win two gold and three silver medals in a single Asian Games, settled for second with 953.

Newly-promoted into the National Elite after a fine performances in the World Youth Championship and the Doha Asian Games, Sharon Koh dropped one rung to third with 941. 2005 Malaysian Open Champion, Siti Safiyah Amirah improved from 902 overnight to 937 but remained in fourth.

Qualifying continues through to the 22nd March and the scores would be much higher as the majority of the overseas bowlers will arrive this weekend. The Masters finals will be held on the 23rd and 24th March.

Photo by Terence Yaw, MTBC.

13th March, P.Jaya: National Elite squad members vied for top spot in the the Open Masters qualifying table as the 30th Malaysian International Open Bowling Championship got underway at Pyramid Mega Lanes Tuesday afternoon.

With the championship starting only two days ago, the Malaysian national bowlers were the first to take on to the lanes for their qualifying rounds. Winner of two ABF Tour titles last year, Zulmazran Zulkifli took an early lead with a score of 929 posted yesterday.

But the lead was short-lived as 2004 Malaysian Open champion and Doha Asian Games Trios gold medalist, Daniel Lim scorched the lanes with a 4-game score of 937 on lines of 233, 234, 224 and 246.

"Since the National championship in January, we'll been training extremely hard over the past months and getting use to the lanes here," said the two-time national champion. "We've been bowling mostly on synthetic so we needed some time to get use to the wood lanes here at Pyramid. So I guess oue hard work are beginning to pay off.

National backup squad member, Syahereza Fajrin did well to take up third spot with 907 behind Zulmazran, who dropped to second. SUKMA Games Trios gold medalist, Muhd Nur Aiman took fourth position with 903 with reigning and two-time national champion, Adrian Ang fifth with 876.

In the ladies division, newly-crowned national champion and star of the Doha Asian Games, Esther Cheah appeared to be unstopable after topping the qualifying table with a superb 953 posted this morning.

Newly-promoted into the National Elite squad and Doha Asian Games team gold medalist, Sharon Koh staked her claim to post a score of 941 in her first attempt yesterday. Koh had lines of 203, 221, 263 and 244 to claim second spot.

Another newly-promoted into the lite squad and winner of back-to-back Milo Junior All Stars and Penang Pesta chapionships, Siti Safiyah Amirah improved from 846 bowled last night to 902 for third spot.

Meanwhile, Mohd Noer Said and Zatil Iman just returned from Manila competing in the 1st Asian University Championship where Zatil won three gold medals in the Singles, Team and Masters. Mohd Noer, however could only come home with 2 silver and a bronze medals.

Qualifying continue till 22nd March with the majority of the overseas bowlers arriving from 18th March onwards to give the national bowlers stiffer competition. The Masters finals will be held on the 23rd and 24th March with the stepladder finals being broadcast LIVE over Astro Supersport at 12.30pm on Sunday, 24th March.

Photos by Terence Yaw, MTBC.

10th March, P.Jaya: The Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress today announced the hosting of the 30th Malaysian International Open Bowling Championship scheduled from the 11th to 24th March, 2007 at Pyramid Megalanes, Sunway Lagoon Resort will have world-class bowlers competing.

Reigning AMF World Cup champion, Osku Palerma of Finland has accepted our invitation to compete in this year's championship. Palerma, the 28-year-old Finn who won the coveted 42nd AMF Bowling World Cup in November in Caracas, will be making his first-ever appearance in the Malaysian International Open.

Joining him will be the all-time spectator favourite, Tim Mack of the USA, the 2003 World Championship Gold medalist and former member of Team USA. Norway's Tore Torgersson, who won the World Tenpin Masters three times, has also confirmed his participation.

Reigning World Tenpin Masters champion, Diandra Asbaty of USA heads the list of women world champions competing in this year's championship. Asbaty, who was voted World Bowling Writers' Association Bowler of the Year 2006, will be defending the women's title

she took last year. She will be competing in the championship for the third consecutive year.

World champions from the Asian region are also well represented. Australia's Jason Belmonte, who recently won the Mini Eliminator in the US and the Milo Junior All Stars last year, will head the Asia's challenge. 2006 Men's World Championship Masters Gold medalist, Biboy Rivera will lead a strong contingent from the Philippines.

Rivera will be joined by 2003 AMF World Cup champion, C.J. Suarez and 2003 World Championship Women's Trios gold medalist, Liza del Rosario (2003 Malaysian Open champion), Cecilia Yap and Liza Clutario.

Triple Gold medalist of the Busan Asian Games and two gold medalists at the 2006 Men's World Championship, Remy Ong will lead a large contingent from Singapore joined by World Ranking Masters 2002 Champion, Jennifer Tan.

Other notable stars are 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 and 2005 Women's World Championship 3 gold medalists, Wang Yu Ling will also be vying for honors here.

And finally, our Malaysia charge will be led by our bowling queen and 2004 champion, Shalin Zulkifli, who won five international titles in 2006 and the Team gold medal at the Doha Asian Games. She is joined by Wendy, who won the ABF Tour Tournament of Champion for the second time.

Undoubtedly, the strongest and hottest Malaysian women is none other than Esther Cheah. The 20-year-old shot into the limelight by capturing the 2005 Women's World Championship Singles Gold medal. She established her credentials by becoming the first-ever Malaysian to capture two gold and 3 silver medals in a single Asian Games in Doha, Qatar last year.

She will be joined by another rising star, Sharon Koh, who won the World Youth Masters gold medal and the Team gold medal at the Doha Asian Games. Also hoping to re-capture the women's title she won at the age of 14, Siti Safiyah Amirah will be a strong contender especially after capturing back-to-back titles with the Milo International Junior All Stars and the Penang Pesta International in December last year.

The men of course will be headed by the recent ABF Tour TOC champion and Men's defending champion, Alex Liew. Liew will be hoping to do well ahead of the World Tenpin Masters 2007 for which he has been invited to for the second year in succession. 2004 Men's champion and 2005 ABF Tour TOC Champion, Daniel Lim will also be on hand to put in a strong challenge for Malaysia.

Azidi Ameran, who recently retired from the Malaysian National lite squad, will also try to retake the Malaysian Open title he won in 2003. Zulmazran Zulkifli, who won two ABF Tour titles last year, will hoping to capture the Men's title which has eluded him since being a national squad member. Two young challengers, Aaron Kong, who won the Trios gold medal at the Doha Asian Games and Adrian Ang, two time National Champion, will add weight to Malaysia's claim on the Men's crown.

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.

"Despite the problems of sanctioning faced by MTBC in the past few months, we'll have no doubt that the participation in this year's championship will surpass all previous years," said Mr Sidney Tung, co-organising chairman and secretary general at the press conference held at the SUnway Convention Centre..

Mr Tung added that MTBC had been hosting the Malaysian International Open for the past 29 years and it was a refreshing coincident that this year's championship also coincided with the VISIT MALAYSIA YEAR 2007 and the country's celebrations of 50 years of nationhood..

"And to celebrate this festivity, MTBC is putting up a whooping US Dollars 100,000 in prize money - making this championship the richest-ever in this region and Asia. The top prize of US$25,000 (approximately RM87,500) will also be the richest champion's purse in the history of tenpin bowling competition in Asia. Compared to last year's championship, only a total of RM158,000 was offered with the highest champion's purse of only RM20,000," Mr Tung announced..

The tournament's Co-Main sponsors are Canon Marketing (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and Sunway City Berhad. Our co-Sponsors are Nestle (MILO) Products - sponsor of the MILO International Youth Masters, Mesuma Sdn Bhd - National Team and official attire, and Pyramid Megalanes - official venue.

Qualifying for the local bowlers in the 30th Malaysian International Open commences on the 11th March and finishes on the 17th March while from 18th March onwards, the squads will be reserved for overseas bowlers and will end 22nd March. The Masters finals will be held on the 23rd and 24th March. However, MTBC will not be hosting the ABF Tour Malaysia leg this year.

The Stepladder Grand Finals on the 24th March, will be telecast LIVE on Astro Supersport commencing 12.30pm and the same program will be repeated at the same channel at a later date.

Photo by Terence Yaw/MTBC.