28th December, S.Prai: Malaysian national backup squad member, Muhd Nur Aiman broke the ice to claim his maiden victory in the Men's Open Masters title of the 35th Penang Pesta International Open while Korea's Kang Hye Eun won the Ladies' crown.

With 99 pins margin from yesterday's first block of 10 games, defending champion Mohd Noer Said maintained his lead from the start right up to the 12th game with Korea's Choi Bok Eum and teammates, Muhd Nur Aiman and Aaron Kong trading second spot amongst themselves.

Mohd Noer's margin had dropped to as low as 46 pins after four games but managed to stretch to 121 pins at the halfway mark. As the lanes became drier, it was the 19-year-old southpaw who took advantage of the conditions to draw close to Mohd Noer and narrowing the gap to just 30 pins at the 12th game.

Aiman won all the last four games on lines of 234, 248, 222 and 246 which allowed the Malaysian to draw away from the field ending a grueilling 16-game round-robin matchplay with 6077, winning 11 matches for his maiden victory.

Aaron Kong edged Mohd Noer to claim second spot with 5954 as the defending champion settled for third place with 5893. Choi Bok Eum missed the podium ending in fourth spot with 5880 followed by Singapore's Mark Wong rounding up the top 5 in fifth spot with 5875.

Newly-crowned Junior All Stars champion, Adrian Ang ended in eighth with 5799 followed by Eric Ang in tenth with 5767, Syahereza Fajrin 11th with 5691, Syafiq Ridhwan 12th with 5606 and Jonathan Lim 13th with 5593.

Korean ladies swept all the top 3 podium positions as first block leader, Kang Hye Eun clinched the Ladies' Open Masters crown with 4975 despite winning only half of the 12 matches yet with a comfortable margin of 107 pins.

The champion had lost the lead in the fourth game but regained it for the next three games. Kang again surrendered her lead in the eighth and ninth games but fought back to earn a well deserved victory.

Kim Yeau Jin pipped compatriot, Jeon Gui Ae by 13 pins to claim second spot with 4868 as Jeon settled for third position with 4855. Defending champion, Siti Safiyah Amirah was Malaysia's best finisher, missing the podium to end in fourth place with 4820.

Sharon Koh took sixth spot with 4635 ahead of SEA Games triple gold medalist, Zatil Iman in seventh with 4625 and Syakira Yeoh ninth with 4601. Asian Ranked No. 1, Kim Eun Jung ended a dismal 12th spot.

Photos by Cheah Ban Cheng, PTBPP.

27th December, S.Prai: Defending champion, Mohd Noer Said displayed sheer determination to retain the Men's title of the 35th Penang Pesta International Open as the national elite squad member prevented a Korean domination in the Open Masters finals.

Newly-crowned Junior All Stars champion, Adrian Ang of the Malaysian national Elite squad set a cracking pace at the start of the Men's Open 10-game first block Masters finals with 257, 10 pins ahead of Singapore's Jin Lau and national backup squad member, Zaid Izlan tieing in second with 247.

A strong 266 in the second game from Daegu's Jang Hong Kyu saw the Korean surging into the lead with defending champion, Mohd Noer Said of the Malaysian national Elite squad just 2 pins adrift in second.

Jang put in consistent lines to stay ahead of the pack stretching his lead from 20 pins after the third game to as much as 65 pins after the sixth game but was reduced to 48 by another Korean, Jung Jae Hooh from Kwung Buk.

Two strong games of 256 and 247 from Mohd Noer in the seventh and eighth games allowed the Malaysian to close the gape to 9 pins as Jang continued to lead the field. As Jang suffered a 185 in the ninth game, Noer took the opportunity to take over the lead by 6 pins going into the final game.

Despite Jang putting in a late challenge with 226 in his final game, a 214 from Noer was sufficient to claim pole at the end of the first block with a total of 2299. Jang settled for second with 2292 while Youth Boy's Open champion, Eric Ang stromed home to snatch third spot with 2267.

The Korean ladies continued their domination where they left off in last week's Junior All Stars championship. Kang Hye Eun led from start to finish with a superb 2181 total, 88 pins clear of her nearest rival.

Jeon Gui Ae, who trailed Kang in the last four games, settled for second with 2193 followed by her compatriot, Kim Yeon Jin in third with 2144. SEA Games gold medalist, Sharon Koh was Malaysia's best finisher in fourth with 2133.

National backup squad member, Syakira Yeoh did well to take up fifth spot with 2117 ahead of defending champion, Siti Safiyah Amirah in sixth spot with 2091. Three more Koreans, Son Yun Hee, Yun Hee Yeo and Kwon Hye Mi rounded up the top 9.

The top 16 men and top 12 ladies will proceed to tomorrow's round-robin matchplay second block finals to detemine this year's champion.

Photos by Cheah Ban Cheng, PTBPP.

27th December, S.Prai: Malaysian youths ruled in the Youth Open Masters finals of the 35th Penang Pesta International Open as Johor's Kang Bo Long and Eric Ang Soon Wei shared the Boy's Open title while national youth, Dayang Khairuniza claimed the Girl's crown.

At the start of the Boy's Open Masters finals, national youth Equine Lam surprised the field by taking an early lead with 268 but just two pins ahead of second perfect gamer, Rodson Tong. Second game saw another home-based national youth, Adrian Charles Dragon grabbing the lead from Equine.

While Rodson and Adrian battled it out at the third game, Eric Ang surged into the lead after registering more consistent lines than his opponents. At the halfway mark, Rodson led but only by 1 pin from Eric.

As the field bunched up closely, it came down to just two contenders as Kang Bo Long of Johor and Eric Ang traded the lead with very little separating the two. In the end, it turned out to be a fitting finish as Kang and Eric tied with 2232 after the 10-game finals.

Singapore's Mark Wong put in a late run to snatch third spot with 2191 from pace-setter, Rodson Tong ending in fourth with 2180. Another Singapore youth, Gregory Gan made up the top 5 with 2168.

Malaysian national youth, Dayang Khairuniza claimed the Girl's Open crown with a total of 2169 with Singapore's Tan Yan Ling settling for second after leading up to the seventh game. Tan amassed 2140, just 8 pins ahead of first perfect gamer, Kwon Hye Mi of Bell, Korea in third.

Seong Nam's Kim Se Min of Korea, who trailed Tan most of the way, faded off to end in fourth with 2116 with another Malaysian national youth, Jacqueline J Sijore in fifth spot with 2081.

The Ladies' and Men's Open first block Masters finals will be contested after the lane maintenance when the top 16 men and top 12 ladies will make the cut for tomorrow's second block round-robin matchplay roll-off.

Photos by Cheah Ban Cheng, PTBPP.

25th December, S.Prai: National youth, Rodson Tong gave himself a nice Christmas gift when he shot the second perfect game of the 35th Penang Pesta International Open en-route to qualifying for the Men's Open Masters finals.

Rodson Tong, who had already made the Masters finals in the Youth Boys division with a superb 929, followed it up with another scintillating performance starting off with the championship's second perfect 300 in his Men's Open Masters qualifying attempt.

Tong, who did not settle down after his first-ever prefect game, shot a poor 160 in his second game. But the the 18-year-old got his composure back to round off with 189 and 223 for a total of 872 to earn himself a place in the finals.

An impressive performance by Yousef Akbar of Saudi Arabia esclated himself into top spot of the Men's Open table with 1027 on lines of 248, 244, 267 and 268. Early leader and ex-national, Eric Ang dropped to second with 1000 but remained top of the local pool.

National backup squad member, Isaac Russell Paul also improved to take up second followed by national veteran, Alex Liew third with 963 and 960 respectively. Singapore's Jin Lau and Kyung Buk's Kim Byung Suk of Korea finished second and third in the overseas pool with 998 and 974.

Korean bowlers dominated the ladies' division by occupying the top 5 positions with Asian Ranked No. 1, Kim Eun Jung leading with 946 posted earlier. Newcomer, Yun Hee Yeo took second spot with 938 followed by 18-year-old first perfect gamer, Kwon Hye Mi third with 928.

National backup squad member and Asian Indoor Games Team silver medalist, Sin Li Jane improved her score to take up pole in the local pool with 890 dislodging teammate, Syakira Yeoh to second with 852. SEA Games gold medalist, Sharon Koh was third with 847.

In the Youth Boy's Open division, national youth, Johnathan Chan topped the table with a superb 1000 ahead of Seong Name's Lee Jae Hoon of Korea and Singapore's Gregory Gan second and third with 951 and 950 respectively.

The lead in the Youth Girl's division went to Seong Nam's Park Byoung Ran of Korea with 911 followed by Penang's Diyana Zuhaili and national youth, Dayang Khairuniza second and third with 865 and 863.

The Youth Under-16 finals will be staged tomorrow morning whilst qualifying will end late this evening. The Youth Open, Ladies' and Men's Open and Graded Masters finals will commence on December 27.

Photos by Cheah Ban Cheng, PTBPP.

24th December, S.Prai: Ex-national, Eric Ang Soon Wei of Penang, stole the limelight at the 35th Penang Pesta International Open underway at Mega Lanes Prai as he stormed into the lead of the Men's Open Masters qualifying table on Christmas Eve.

Just back from his academic pursuit in New Zealand, the 21-year-old ex-national fired lines of 243, 236, 278 and 243 for an inspirational 1000 total to top the Men's Open Masters qualifying leaderboard.

PBAP Bevida-Storm International Classic champion, Muhd Syafiq Ridhwan of the national backup squad, gave a good account of himself with 941 to take up second spot followed by teammate, Jonathan Lim in third with 933.

Another national backup squad member, Syahereza Fajrin posted 920 to finish fourth ahead of national Elite squad member, Aaron Kong of Penang in fifth spot with 912. Asian Schools Singles gold medalist, Zaid Izlan made up the top 6 with 853.

Singapore's youngsters, Jin Lau and Benjamin Lim took the top 2 spots in the overseas pool with superb 998 and 962 with Saudi Arabia's Yousef Akbar in third spot with 903.

In the Ladies' Open division, current Asian Ranked No. 1, Kim Eun Jung of Korea, who is studying in Penang, put up a polished display to lead the table with 946 on lines of 247, 255, 266 and 178.

Championship debutant, Kwon Hye Mi captivated the crowd's attention when the 18-year-old became the first bowler to score the perfect 300. After a jittery start with 169, Kwon followed it up with 12 consecutive strikes in the second game for the perfect game.

Kwon ended with 246 and 213 for a 928 total to take up second spot while Korea's Kim Yang Hee finished third with 859 in the overseas pool. National backup squad member, Syakirah Yeoh of Malaysia, topped the local pool with 852 on lines of 190, 222, 216 and 224.

SEA Games two gold medalist and national Elite squad member, Sharon Koh finished second with 847 followed by Asian Indoor Games Team silver medalist, Sin Li Jane third with 821. Qualifying continues until December 26 and the Masters finals will be staged on December 27 and 28.

Photos by Cheah Ban Cheng, PTBPP.