16th January, P.Jaya: Aaron Kong ended a two-year title drought to emerge as the National Men's champion while Sin Li Jane had to work hard to secure the Ladies' crown of the 34th Malaysian National Bowlng Championship.

Aaron Kong, who advanced into as No. 6 seed, made to mistakes in winning the first match against No. 2 seed and defending champion, Muhd Syafiq Ridhwan, 204-163 as the latter had two bad splits.

The second match was as tense as the first with Syafiq struggling to find his line encountering another two splits to go down to Kong, 182-202 in the second match. Kong looked more secure when he chalked up a double but a split in the sixth frame put the Penangnite under a bit of pressure.

Fortunately, Kong struck out in his final frame to emerge as the 2010 National champion ending a two year title drought. The champion's last title came when he won the Youth Masters gold medal at the 2008 World Youth Championship in Orlando, USA.

"This is a very crucial win for me especially after not winning anything in the last two years," said the delighted 24-year-old Aaron Kong.

"I didn't do well in the Interstate Championship and only won the Team silver medal. And I thought I had the wrong ball. Then I went back to Bukit Jalil to bring one of the balls I hade kept away there.

"I had my qualifying round yesterday with the ball and it worked wonderfully. So I used the same ball throughout the finals and it's just great. This is a very important year for us with the World Men's Championship and the Asian Games.

"Everyone in the elite squad will be vying for a spot in the team so a victory now will give me more confidence in tournaments leading to the two important tournaments. For sure, I'll be gunning for that spot.

Kong cruised to a 2-0 victory over fellow-Penangnite and No. 1 seed, Adrian Ang (216-186, 239-227) to have a crack at the title while Muhd Syafiq edged No. 5 seed, Kelvin Keong, 2-1 in the other semi.

The champion also had an easy passage into the semifinals after he beat No. 3 seed, Zulmazran Zulkifli, 2-0 in the earlier quarterfinals. Kong won RM7,000 "Ang-Pow" for the coming Chinese New Year while Syafiq took home RM3,500.

Adrian Ang topped the earlier 10-game finals with a total of 2336 followed by Muhd Syafiq Ridhwan and Zulmazran Zulkifli third with 2309 and 2209 respectively.

In the Ladies' division, national elite rookie, Sin Li Jane had to work hard to secure her first national crown when she forced challenger and No. 6 seed, Fatin Syazliana into the third deciding match.

Li Jane had lost the first match, 218-246 but bounced back with victory over Fatin, 229-207 in the second match to draw level at one-all. Li Jane started off with a turkey to put Fatin on her back foot.

While the 18-year-old Perak youth made no mistake, it was Fatin who had a split in the sixth frame and just could not repeat the form she showed earlier in the quarterfinals and semifinals going down, 175-215 to Li Jane.

"I had to concentrate on my SPM exams before the MILO Junior All-Stars last year hence I only had two weeks of practice before the championship and I didn't do too good," confessed the newly-crowned champion.

"After the exams, the Penang Pesta Open was a good tournament for me to get more practice and as a results, I bowled much better. This is my second biggest win since the MILO Junior All-Stars crown in 2008."

Li Jane also had to work hard in the semifinals after being stretched into the third match again by No. 5 seed, Wendy Chai but won 2-1 (236-203, 214-222 and 237-189) to advance into the finals.

Runner-up Fatin Syazliana was also stretched to three matches but managed to eliminate No. 1 seed, Sharon Koh of Kuala Lumpur, 2-1 (173-168, 207-260 and 224-213) in the other semi to reach the finals.

Li Jane had an easier quarterfinal round defeating No. 7 seed, Zatil Iman, 2-0 while Fatin took three matches to beat No. 3 seed, Nur Syakirah Yeoh of Johor, 2-1 in the quarterfinals. Li Jane won RM3,000 while Fatin took home RM1,500.

Zandra Aziela of Selangor shot the tournament's fourth perfect game to win the Day 7 high game award of a Canon digital camera during the earlier finals. Sharon Koh topped the round with 2265 ahead of Sin Li Jane and Nur Syakirah Yeoh second and third with 2256 and 2201.

Photos by Terence Yaw using Canon EOS 450D.

16th January, P.Jaya: Hee Kar Yen of Kuala Lumpur and Aris Ardilla of Sarawak took convincing victories in the 34th Malaysian National Bowling Championship after emerging as Youth Girl's and Youth Boy's champions on Saturday morning.

Interstate Singles co-bronze medalist and Team gold medalist, Hee Kar Yen emerged as the national youth champion after finishing strongly in her last game to end the second block of 6 games Youth Girl's Masters finals with a 12-game total of 2632.

The KL youth, who is also a member of the Malaysian national youth, had trailed Negeri Sembilan's Puteri Nadia in second by 41 pins after the first block on Friday night, surged into the lead after the eighth game.

Hee was begining to stretch her lead until she shot a low 181 in the penultimate game to hand the lead to Negeri Sembilan's Hurul Ainul to trail by 20 pins going into the final game. The determined KL youth fired a superb game of 247 to snatch the victory.

Hurul's last game of 199 costed her the title and had to settle for second spot with 2604 total followed by another Negeri Sembilan youth, Adlin Nadhirah finishing third with 2555.

First block leader, Puteri Nadia finishing fourth with 2492 followed by national youth, Jacqueline Jenelee Sijore rounding up the top 5 with 2451. "Winning the national youth title is a dream come true," said the national youth, Hee Kar Yen, who is bound for Kuwait next week to represent the country at the 15th Asian Youth Championship.

"To represent my country in the Asian Youth is also a dream come true. I'm so happy that MTBC has given me this opportunity and with this victory, it has given extra confidence to do well.

Meanwhile, another Asian Youth Championship-bound, Aris Ardilla of Sarawak proved a handful for the rest of the field as he took a comfortable victory to emerge as the National Youth Boys champion.

Aris, who shot a perfect game during last month's Milo International Junior All-Stars to win RM50,000, totaled 2675 to finish 131 pins ahead his nearest opponent. Aris had lines of 224, 226, 227, 222, 237 and 246 in the first block and 254, 215, 213, 203, 218 and 190 in the second block today.

Mohd Haziq of Johor, who led after the third game but trailed the champion throughout, settled for second with 2570. Another Sarawakian and national youth, Chong Jun Foo tied with Johor's Chan Wei Siang on 2499 to finish joint-third.

This morning also saw the finals of the Men's and Ladies' Graded finals being staged. 15-year-old Muhammad Aizuddin of Selangor and KL's Nur Umirah Bte Abdul Raduan claimed the Men's and Ladies titles with 2157 and 2130 pinfalls respectively.

Negeri Sembilan's Noor Afizal Azizan who was leading before the final game, slipped to second with 2143 with ex-national, Azidi Ameran finishing third with 2113. Youth Girl's Graded champion, Natasha Roslan of Selangor finished second with 2038 and Yap Wi Yin third with 2000.

The Men and Ladies Open will contest their 8-games Masters finals later where the top 8 men and top 8 ladies will advance into the elimination rounds to decide this year's national champions.

Photos by Terence Yaw using Canon EOS 450D.

15th January, P.Jaya: The star of the 23rd Malaysian Interstate Championship, Nur Diana Hussin, who won three gold medals, shot the first perfect game of the 34th Malaysian National Championship and won a Canon Legria FS200 Camcorder.

Having automatically qualified for the Youth Girl's Open Masters finals as the Interstate All-Events champion, Nur Diana Hussin took to the lanes as a warm-up practice before Friday's finals.

Nur Diana opened her 4-game qualifying round with 239 and 238 and then fired the magical 300 in the third game. Overwhelmed by her achievement, she was slightly unsettled to end with 191 for a total of 968.

Although the Kuala Lumpur lass topped the standings with her new scoreline, she will have to give away her spot as she has already made the finals automatically.

"I'm totally shocked to have fired the 300. It's my first 300 since I

started bowling four years ago," said a delighted Nur Diana, who won a Canon Legria FS200 Camcorder, courtesy of Canon Marketing (M) Sdn Bhd.

Nur Diana today will have for company in the race for the title, her fellow national youth teammates from last year, KL's Hee Kar Yen, Sarawak's Jacqueline Jenelee and Dayang Khairuniza, Perlis' Hurul Ainul Abd Razak and Negri Sembilan's Adlin Nadhirah.

She will also face competition from KL's Radin Nur Najwa Arifah, who is currently leading in the qualifiers with her 911, as Nur Diana is an automatic qualifier.

Meanwhile, some changes were taking place in the final day qualifying rounds as bowlers jostled for a spot in the finals. National elite squad member, Aaron Kong has made good headway posting 992 to move up to fifth in the Men's Open table.

Asian Indoor Games bronze medalist and elite squad rookie, Sin Li Jane of Perak and Team Gold medalist, Wendy Chai of KL both notched up 917 and 883 repectively to improve their earlier scores.

Mohd Azlan B Norani of Perak pipped Syed Muhammad Hafiz by 2 pins with 982 to take over the lead in the Boy's Open standings. Singles bronze medalist, Daniel Tan of Sarawak came out of the reserves pool to make the finals with 970.

The Youth Open finals will be held this evening while the Men's and Ladies' Graded finals will be held tomorrow morning. The Men's and Ladies' Open will be staged in the afternoon.

Photos by Terence Yaw using Canon EOS 450D.

15th January, P.Jaya: Several lead changed hands including Fatin Syazliana taking over the Ladies' Open division as the qualifying round of the 34th Malaysian National Bowling Championship moved into its final day on Friday at Sunway Mega Lanes.

National backup squad member, Fatin Syazliana who was fourth after her earlier attempt of 879, notched up an improved 987 to take over the lead from two-time national champion, Sharon Koh of Kuala Lumpur.

Fatin, who bagged her first international after she emerged the Women's Open Masters champion of the Philippines Open last year, followed it up with a creditable performance in the 3rd Asian Indoor Games winning the team bronze medal.

A good showing in the national championship could influence the national selection committee to promote her in the elite ranks and a chance to be in this year's Asian Championship and Asian Games.

Sharon, who won the Team gold and All-Events silver in the Interstate Championship which ended on Wednesday, would not mind being relegated into second spot as the finals is more important as the 22-year-old is aiming to take the title for the third time.

Zandra Aziela, who showed a glimps of her old sparkle, will be one of the strong contenders for the title after winning the Singles and Doubles gold medals and finishing third in the table.

No major changes was seen over the Men's Open standings except backup squad member, Kang Bo Long has moved up to second after a superb 998. Ex-national youth, Adrian Charles Dragon as also made grounds up into third with 992.

Two other lead changes came from the Youth Girl's Open division where KL's Radin Nur Najwa went atop the table with 911 ahead of two fellow KL teammates, Hee Kar Yen of KL and Yumi Marina second and third on 894 and 892.

Mohd Azlan Bin Norani of SMKGR, Perak led the Boy's Open table with 982 from overnight leader, Syimir Abd Razak, who slid into second with 973. Sarawak's Bong Kihow surged up into a comfortable third with 951.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Haziq of KL snatched the Milo Boy's Graded in the last two games of the 10-game finals this morning with 2090. Daniel Tan of Sarawak, who took over the lead from Haziq after the fourth game, settled for second with 2068.

Selangor's Nurain Fatin Bte Abdul Rasid denied two Sarawak girls to take the Milo Youth Girl's Graded crown with 1964. Nurafidza Amran and Dayana Aida of Sarawak settled for second and third with 1955 and 1879.

Nurfadeena Aznel of Kedah edged first-half leader, Jackelyn Ng of Sarawak by 5 pins to take fourth spot as Ng slipped down to fifth with 1850 after a poor second half of the 10-game finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw using Canon EOS 450D.

14th January, P.Jaya: National Elite squad member, Muhd Nur Aiman is eyeing for the national title after an impressive qualifying effort as the 34th Malaysian National Bowling Championship resumed at Sunway Mega Lanes on Thursday.

For two consecutive years since becoming a national squad member, Muhd Nur Aiman failed to make the top 8 elimination rounds of the Men's Open Masters finals for a chance to do well. The 22-year-old southpaw completed his services for Johor with only a bronze medal in the team event.

But the disappointment will not deter Aiman as he is beaming with confidence after chalking up a 4-game qualifying effort of 964 to take the top spot of the Men's Open Masters qualifying table.

His joy was short-lived though as Mat Salleh Jalani of Ole-Ole Superbowl, Shah Alam shot a superb 1006 to take over the lead. Aiman is still happy with second position and hope that he will fire all cylinders come Saturday.

Zulmazran Zulkifli, who posted 939 and was third in the table, will relinguish the spot as he had earned an automatic spot in the finals after emerging as the Men's All-Events champion of the Interstate Championship.

Meanwhile, defending champion Siti Safiyah Amirah look the one to beat in the Women's Open division. The national elite squad member won two gold and 2 silver medals in the just concluded Interstate Championship.

Although she had earned an automatic spot in the finals by winning the Women's All-Events gold, she would not need it as she is the defending champion. An extra spot in the table will now be available.

Team Gold medalist, Sharon Koh continued to lead the standings with 977 followed by Singles and Doubles gold medalist, Zandra Aziela in second with 918. Asian Indoor Games bronze medalist, Fatin Syazliana finished third with 879.

National elite squad member, Zatil Iman will be hoping to carry forward the form she displayed when she won the Penang Pesta Open title just last month with a good showing in the Saturday finals.

The southpaw posted 870 during her qualifying rounds before the start of the Interstate championship. She will have two days before the finals and she has the potential to improve her score.

The Milo Youth Boy's and Youth Girl's Graded finals will be staged on Friday, 15 January at 9.00am while the Milo Youth Boy's and Youth Girl's Open finals will be held on the same day at 8.00pm.

Photos by Terence Yaw using Canon EOS 450D.

11th January, P.Jaya: Mohammad Ozzer Othaman of Sabah and Ole-Ole Superbowl's Mat Salleh Jalani became the first two bowlers to surpass the 1,000-mark in their Youth Boy's and Men's Open Masters qualifying of the 34th Malaysian National Bowling Championship.

Mohammad Ozzer chalked up an awesome 1073 for an incredible average of 268.25 over his four-game qualifying effort to move into the lead of the Youth Boy's Open Masters table.

National Youth, Syimir Abdul Razak of Kuala Lumpur led the standings briefly with 973 only to see Mohammad Ozzer better his score in the following squad and had to settle for second spot.

Sabahan and overnight leader, Tan Chien Nan slipped down to third with 920 followed by Jonathan Ding of Sarawak and national youth, Mohd Haziq of Johor completing the top 5 with scores of 918 and 911 respectively.

Women's Singles bronze medalist and national youth, Hee Kar Yen of Kuala Lumpur topped the Youth Girl's standings with 841 ahead of another national youth, Jacqueline J Sijore of Sarawak and Negeri Sembilan's Lim Hsu Zen second and third.

Meanwhile, national elite Muhd Nur Aiman, who posted a superb 964 at the 4.00pm squad on Sunday for the lead, had to settle for second spot after Ole-Ole Superbowl's Mat Salleh Jalani became the second bowler to hit pass the 1,000-mark.

Mat Salleh chalked up 279, 232, 278 and 217 for a sizzling total of 1006 to move to the lead of the Men's Open Masters standings. Interstate Men's Singles champion, Zulmazran Zulkifli took third spot with 939.

Two-time national champion, Sharon Koh continued to lead the Ladies' Open division with 977 as Interstate Women's Singles gold medalist, Zandra Aziela slot into second spot with 918.

National Backup squad member, Fatin Syazliana of Penang finished third with 879 followed by newly-crowned Penang Pesta Open champion, Zatil Iman in fourth with 870.

While the Interstate championship will continue for the next two days, qualifying rounds will still continue in the evenings until January 14. The Masters finals will be contested on January 15 and 16.

Photos by Terence Yaw using Canon EOS 450D.

10th January, P.Jaya: Three-time Junior Circuit Girl's Graded champion, Natasha Mohamad Roslan took a convincing victory in the Girl's division to win the Peter Yap's Memorial Cup while Jason Syow took the Boy's title on Sunday evening.

14-year-old Natasha Mohamad Roslan of Selangor, set a cracking pace with an opening game of 244 to take a 53 pins lead over Siti Nurzulaika of Kuala Lumpur in second. The SMK USJ 12 Form 2 student stretched her lead to 83 pins after another superb 211 in the second game.

Despite a 180 in the third game, the leader was able to remain in front with 63 pins cushion. She eventually cruised to a comfortable and convincing victory with 203 in her final game. Her total of 838 gave Natasha a impressive 209.50 average.

The champion also emerged as overall champion in both the division and thereby claiming the Peter Yap's Memorial Cup challenge trophy. Nut Dayana Bte Zuhdi of Kuala Lumpur stormed home with 222 to snatch second spot with 745.

Third place went to Nur Amirah Auni from Pulau Pinang with 742 while Nurain Izzati of Selangor and Siti Nurzulaika of SMKGR, Perak completed the top 5 who earned a MILO hamper each.

The Boy's division was a more closely fought contest with Abang Afiq Syazani setting the early pace with 210 followed by Mohamad Farhan of Perak in second, just 2 pins adrift.

But the duo soon slid down the field after both suffered low games in the second as Ahmad Daim Mirza of Selangor took over the running closely followed by MIBC's Jason Syow of Melaka, 2 pins behind.

Ahmad Daim continued his lead after the third game with Jason still in second, a further 4 pins away. A poor game from Ahmad Diam in the fourth saw the youngster dropped to fourth as Jason fired a scintilating 241 to snatch victory.

The 14-year-old Melaka High School student totaled 813 to win the

Boy's title, 41 pins ahead of Ahmad Fawwaz Farhan of Sarawak in second with 772. Muhammad Hafiq Fikri of Selangor finished third with 753.

Ahmad Daim settled for fourth spot with 744 followed by Muhammad Qayyum of Negeri Sembilan rounding up the top 5 to earn a MILO hamper each. Mr Maradona Chok, honarary secretary of Sabah Tenpin Bowling Association and Vice President of MTBC gave away the prizes.

Photos by Terence Yaw using Canon EOS 450D.

10th January, P.Jaya: Two-time national champion and national elite squad member, Sharon Koh of Kuala Lumpur will be hoping to regain the women's title she last won in 2008 after taking an early lead in the Women's Open qualifying table of the 34th Malaysian National Championships.

Sharon Koh, who turned 23 this year, was first crowned the national women champion when she was 18 in 2005. After the success, she was then ropped into the national squad but was only in the backup squad.

Koh had her best year in 2008 when she won the World Youth Masters gold medal in Berlin and on her return, she kept her form to cap off the year by winning the national title for the second time.

But last year, she missed the cut for the Top 8 elimination round by 19 pins and had her hope of winning the title for the third time dashed. But Koh is more determined this year after she fired 977 over the four-game qualifying round to take top spot.

Last year's Philippine Open champion and Koh's teammate in the bronze-medal winning team at the 3rd Asian Indoor Games in Ho Chi Minh City, took second spot with 879 while ex-national youth, Trish Khoo Wei Ling was third with 712.

In the men's division, 1993 national champion and ex-national, Azidi Ameran chalked up an sizzling 954 to lead the men's table. Azidi, who is now a national youth coach will be hoping to return to the winning podium after his inspired effort.

National elite squad member and Selangor Classic first runnerup, Aaron Kong of Penang finished second with 924 followed by national youth, Mohammad Zaim of Sabah third with 902.

Tan Chien Nan, representing Sabah Youth team in the Interstate Championship, posted 920 to take the lead in the Youth Boy's Open table. Jonathan Ding of Sarawak and national youth, Mohd Haziq of Johor second and third.

The official opening ceremony of the 34th Malaysian National and 23rd Interstate Bowling Championships will be held this evening at the Sunway Mega Lanes graced by YB Dato' Razali Haji Ibrahim, Deputy Minister of Youth & Sports.

The championship major sponsor is Canon Marketing (M) Sdn Bhd with co-sponsors, Nestle Products (Milo) Sdn Bhd, Century Logistics Holdings Berhad, Sunway Mega Lanes, Eco Brown and Mesuma Sports.

Photos by Terence Yaw using Canon EOS 450D.