26th December, S.Prai: National Elite Zatil Iman of Malaysia and Youth Boy's Open Masters champion, Choi Bok Eum of Korea took convincing victories in the Ladies' and Men's Open Masters finals at the 37th Penang Pesta International Open on Boxing day.

Zatil Iman, who trailed first block leader and team-mate, Shalin Zulkifli by 82 pins, put in a scintilating performance in the 10-game rond-robin matchplay second block to win her second career international crown.

The 20-year-old won 9 out of the 10 matches and drawing one to end the block with 2440 and 190 pins bonus to add to her first block score of 2173 for an aggregate total of 4803. Zatil finished 102 pins ahead of Shalin Zulkifli, who amassed 4701 to settle for runner-up.

"I had a good start winning all my matches which made me more relaxed and comfortable," said the newly-crowned champion, Zatil Iman. "Thereafter I was just pacing myself. Of course I knew that the lanes favoured left-handers but still I had to make sure I made good shots and not make mistakes.

"I had a disappointing run at the MILO Junior All-Stars a week ago. That was probably due to the strong field and I was under some pressure to perform on home ground. But today's win more than made up for it," added Zatil, whose first title came in 2007 when she captured the Singapore Open.

Netherland's Ghislaine van der Tol, who was having a keen tussle for the lead with Shalin, failed to keep pace with the two Malaysians and had to settle for second runner-up spot with 4635.

Indonesia's Tannya Roumimper, who was fourth in the All-Stars Classic, again finished fourth with 4393 while Siti Safiyah Amirah of Malaysia, who scrapped through to the second block in 10th, made up grounds to take fifth spot with 4308.

In the men's division, Daniel Lim and Alex Liew, who trailed first block leader, Choi Bok Eum of Korea, just found the Korean a handful as Alex did well to end the finals as first runner-up.

Choi proved too good for the field as he romped home a convincing and comfortable victory to claim the Men's crown for the second time. The youngster, who also won the Youth Boy's Open title yesterday, was the champion in 2003.

The champion totaled a stunning 5445 with a second block score of 2859 plus 160 pins bonus for winning 8 matches. Alex totaled 5129 for second while another left-hander, Muhd Nur Aiman of Malaysia settled for third with 5102.

Overnight second-placed Daniel Lim finished fourth with 5047 ahead of team-mate, Adrian Ang in fifth position with 4974. Choi won RM10,000 and the trophy with Alex and Aiman taking home RM4,000 and RM2,000 respectively.

The Ladies' Open champion won RM5,000 with Shalin taking home RM2,500 and Ghislaine settling for RM1,200. YB Dato Ong Poh Eng, Vice Chairman of the Penang State Sports Council and YB Danny Law Heng Kiang, State Tourism Exco member presented the prizes.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Seberang Prai.

25th December, S.Prai: Malaysians were in a strong position to challenge for the Open Masters titles of the 37th Penang Pesta International Open after 2003 champion, Shalin Zulkifli snatched top spot in the first block while Daniel Lim and Alex finished second and third in the Men's division.

Eighteen finalists took to the lanes for the Ladies' Open Masters first block finals on Christmas day which saw 2008 MILO Junior All-Stars champion, Sin Li Jane setting the early pace with a scintilating 247.

Despite a second game of 205, newcomer to the Asian circuit, Ghislaine van der Tol of the Netherlands took over the lead followed closely by Indonesia's Tannya Roumimper and Li Jane tieing in second.

The Dutch was in awesome form reeling off 245, 236, 196, 237, 232, 227 in her next six games only to drop her pace in the ninth game with 176 and giving up the lead to Malaysia's Shalin Zulkifli.

Shalin's 267 game in the ninth gave the 2003 Penang Pesta champion a seven pin lead over Ghislaine going into the 10th and final game of the block. Ghislaine finished stronger with 235 but Shalin responded with 224 to hang on to a slender 2-pin lead with 2255.

Ghislaine settled for second with 2253 with Tannya in third a further 40 pins away with 2213. Zatil Iman, who shot the tournament's third perfect 300 during the sixth game, finished fourth with 2173 while Li Jane took fifth spot with 2149.

Newly-crowned All-Stars Classic champion, Siti Safiyah Amirah snatched the tenth and final cut-off spot to advance into the second block.

Meanwhile, Daniel Lim and Alex Liew did well and are in a strong position to mount a serious title challenge in the second block after the duo finished second and third to newly-crowned Youth Boy's Open Masters champion, Choi Bok Eum of Korea.

Daniel Lim, who led in the opening game, totaled 2358 to take second spot with team-mate, Alex Liew in third with 2341. Southpaw, Choi did most of the running to end the block in pole with 2426, 68 pins ahead of the Malaysians.

2007 Penang Pesta champion, Muhd Nur Aiman, who led for one game at the sixth game, are also in the running for the title with a fourth place finish with 2292 while Singapore's Gregory Gan rounded up the top 5.

Two local Penangnites and national elite squad members, Adrian Ang and Aaron Kong took up sixth and seventh spots may also be in the running albeit some 200 pins adrift the leading trio.

The top 12 men and top 10 ladies will contest the round-robin matchplay second block finals on Boxing day with pinfalls brought forward from today's first block to determine this year champions.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Seberang Prai.

25th December, S.Prai: Korea's top bowler, Choi Bok Eum and Michaela Oehler of Singapore Sports School celebrated Christmas day with victories in the Youth Boy's and Girl's Open Masters finals of the 37th Penang Pesta International Open at Mega Lanes Prai.

2005 Penang Pesta champion, Choi Bok Eum of Bowling Camp, Korea clinched the the Boy's Open Masters title with a total of 2340 in the 10-games finals. Choi, who trailed Pelapis Kebangsaan squad member, Johnathan Chan by 23 pins before the last two games, shot 248 and 228 to overhaul the Malaysian by 22 pins.

Johnathan, who celebrated his 18th birthday today, could have landed great birthday present but managed only 199 and 232 in his final two games to finish with 2318 for second spot. Choi's fellow compatriot, Jang Dong Chul hung on to third spot with 2200.

Melaka's Dinie Faliq Bin Mokhtar stormed home with a sizzling 269 in the final game to snatch fourth spot from another Korean youngster, Kim Sung Jun by a single pin in fifth position.

Muhamad Amin Abdul Razak of Perak, who set the early pace in his two opening games fizzled out of contention as Jang took over the running up the midway point where Johnathan led for three games but saw Choi finished much stronger.

Singapore youth captured another title when Michaela Oehler of Singapore Sports School amassed 2115 in the Girl's Open Masters finals. The 16-year-old started off the finals in great form to lead for four games.

But Korea's Jo Hyun Jung took over the lead for the next two games before the Singaporean regained the lead after the seventh game and went on to win her first-ever title. Michaela had finished first runner-up in this year's Ancol Open Youth under-16 Masters and last month's National Championship Youth under-17 Masters.

Jo settled for second with a score of 2089 while Sabah's Nabilah Kassim did well to take up third spot with 2011. Kristel Oh of Singapore and local lass, Fatin Hazwani Bte Hassan rounded up the top 5.

Pelapis Kebangsaan youth girls put in a dismal performance with Hurul Ainul and Nazrinnah Mohd Kamil being their best performer in sixth and seventh positions out of the ten girls in the finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Seberang Prai.

24th December, S.Prai: Asian Indoor Games silver medalist, Rodson Tong upstaged his senior peers with a stunning 1014 qualifying scoreline to claim the overall lead in the Men's Open Masters qualifying leaderboard on Christmas eve.

Burly Rodson Tong from Pahang and a member of the ELite backup squad which clinched the Asian Indoor Games Team silver medal, was 21st overall from his best 4-game qualifying attempt of 832 shot yesterday.

Determined to do better, the 18-year-old set the lanes on fire with lines of 278, 222, 268 and 246 to become the first bowler to surpass the 1,000-mark with 1014 and moved him up to the top of the standings.

Mohd Noer Said, who shared the lead with national Elite squad member, Aaron Kong on 966 just last night, settled for second. Elite backup squad member, Zaid Izlan and national Elite, Alex LIew completed the top five in the local pool.

Kelvin Keong, Syafiq Ridhwan and Aris Ardilla took up sixth to eighth positions. Ex-national, Vincent Lim of Singapore headed the mixed pool with 899 posted two days ago followed by Suresh Elangovan of Singapore in second with 892.

Korea's title challengers, Jang Dong Chul headed his fellow-countrymen, Kim Jong Wook and Choi Bok Eum to take up 13th to 15th overall positions.

Meanwhile, newly-crowned All-Stars Classic champion, Siti Safiyah Amirah is maintaining her fine form to carry forward to the qualifying rounds of the Ladies' Open division. The 19-year-old rolled 962 to take over the lead from Syakirah Yeoh.

Syakira got the lead late last night at the 6.00pm squad which was delayed until almost 10.oopm. Tengku Emanina Laily did well to finish third with an impressive 890 total while Shalin Zulkifli improved to fourth with 888.

Second perfect gamer, Fatin Syazliana dropped to fifth with 883 ahead of Sin Li Jane completing the top 6 local qualifiers. SBF's Daphne Tan became the first women to score above the 900-mark.

Tan shot 237, 245, 247 and 217 for a total of 941 to head the mixed pool and take the overall lead of the Ladies' division. Indonesia Open champion, Tannya Roumimper, who finished fourth in the All-Stars Classic, took up second behind Tan with 926.

Early leader in the local pool, Zatil Iman settled for third and 10th overall with 866 while newcomer, Ghislaine Van Der Tol and Wendy Kok of the Netherlands were 12th and 16th overall.

Qualifying will end late on Christmas eve with the Youth Open Masters finals to be staged on Christmas morning. The Open division will contest their first block finals in the afternoon where the field will be cut to top 16 to advance into Saturday's second block.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Seberang Prai.

24th December, S.Prai: Neighbour, Singapore and Malaysia shared honours as Muhammad Izzul Fahmi of Perak and Tan Yan Ling of SBF Singapore captured the Boy's and Girl's 16 and Under Masters finals titles on Thursday morning.

Muhammad Izzul Fahmi had denied Singapore a clean sweep of the two titles at stake when their girls took all the top five spots in th girl's division. The 16-year-old Form 4 student of SMK Gunong Rapat, Ipoh snatched the title in his final game after he amassed a total of 1663.

Joel Tan of Singapore Sports School had led Muhammad by 15 pins prior to the eighth and final game but only managed 203 to Muhammad's stronger finish with 234 to forge pip the Singaporean youth by 16 pins.

Tan settled for third with 1647 followed by SBF Singapore's Jevarn Li, who took third position with a total of 1604. Daniel Tan of Sarawak and Mohamad Azlan of Perak rounded up the top 5.

Meanwhile, the Singapore youths proved too good for Malaysian youths as they took all the top five positions of the 16 and under Girl's Masters finals. Asian Youth Games Doubles Gold and Team Silver medalist, Ilma Nur Jannah set the early pace with a 223 opening game.

But she soon gave up the lead after her team-mate, SBF's Tan Yan Ling surged into the lead with a strong second game of 247. Tan was on a roll knocking down 200, 224, 210, 228, 199 and 245 to romp home a convincing and comfortable victory to clai her first international title with 1769.

Tan finished a hefty 197 pins ahead of Stacy Lian, who trailed Tan all the way to finish second with 1572. Oriana Tay of SBF did well to clinch third spot with 1551 followed by Rachel Ang and Daphne Aw, both Singaporeans in fourth and fifth positions.

It looks like Singapore girls have made better progress than their neighbours and are begining to show results through the 16 and under divisions.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Seberang Prai.

23rd December, S.Prai: Elite squad member, Zatil Iman and Elite Backup squad member, Sin Li Jane took the early lead in the Ladies' Open Masters qualifying table of the 37th Penang Pesta International Open underway at Mega Lanes on Wednesday.

As of 12.30pm squad, Zatil Iman knocked down a 4-game total of 828 to lead the Ladies' Open Masters qulifying standings. Asian Indoor Games bronze medalist, Sin Li Jane did well in her first attempt to take up second behind Zatil with 790.

The 17-year-old lass, who just finished her SPM exams on Dec 16, missed the stepladder finals of the recently concluded MILO Junior All-Stars last Saturday by just 11 pins to finish fourth despite a strong final game of 255.

Although she failed to defend the title she won in 2008, Li Jane believes in striking a good balance between bowling and education.

"Getting a higher education is important to me because I believe in

educating myself. But at the same time I like bowling and would like to win more tournaments in the future," said the national elite backup squad member.

"I will try to strike a balance in both areas in the future... it's not impossible," said Li Jane, who is gunning for a place at next month's Asian Youth Championship in Kuwait after several good runs.

The Perak-born lass will also be looking to get into the Asian Championship squad in Dubai early October and the all-important Asian Games 2010 in Guangzhou mid November.

Apart from Li Jane, the women in the running for these two championships are Esther Cheah, Shalin Zulkifli, Zandra Aziela, Sharon Koh, Zatil Iman and Wendy Chai.

Li Jane has been part of the team which won the team silver medal at the 2008 Asian Championship in Hong Kong. But her biggest success was winning the Singles and Masters gold medals at the Commonwealth Championship in Belfast as well as capturing the MILO Junior All-Stars crown last year.

In the men's division, Malaysia's national bowlers will be under pressure to stop their Korean couterparts from dominating the 37th Penang Pesta this weekend.

Korea's men bowlers were in superb form during last week's MILO Junior All-Stars. The final was an all-Korean affair with youngster Kim Jong-Wook beating team-mate, Park Jong-Woo for the Boy's title.

To make matters worse, the Malaysian men bowlers failed to stamp their mark in the preceeding All-Stars Classic which ended on Monday. The only bowler to make the cut for the stepladder finals was elite backup bowler, Kang Bo Long.

For the Penang Pesta, Korea's top bowler Choi Bok-Eum, who was the 2005 Men champion, together with Jang Dong Chul and newly-crowned Junior All-Stars champion, Jong-Woo will be in the fray.

Malaysians Zulmazran Zulkifli and Sharon Koh are the defending champions in the men's and ladies' categories. The entire men's nationa elite team of Adrian Ang, Aaron Kong, Alex Liew, Daniel Lim, Muhd Nur Aiman and Zulmazran, plus several backup and youth bowlers are also in the fray.

Meanwhile, Alex Liew, who failed to make the finals in the Qatar Open and missing the Top 48 cut in the subsequent All-Stars Classic, welcomed a change of form after the southpaw rolled 883 to top the men's qualifying standings.

His team-mate, Daniel Lim finished second with 837 followed by Asian Indoor Games silver medalist, Rodson Tong third with 832. Qualifying will run for the next two days and the finals will be staged on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Seberang Prai.

15th December, S.Prai: The country's oldest tenpin bowling tournament, the 37th edition of the immensely popular Penang Pesta International Open Bowling Championship took shape after sponsors' mock cheque presentation was held during a press conference.

YB Dato' Zainal Rahim Seman, President of the organiser, Persatuan Tenpin Bowling Pulau Pinang, officiated the ceremony and welcomed all our value-added sponsors and their supportive members of the press media.

In his welcoming address, YB Dato' Zainal Rahim Seman commended all our value-added sponsors for their continued corporate citizens' role in community support. He added that the championship has always been a popular haunt for bowlers in this Asian region especially from Singapore and lately from Korea.

"This year's edition attracted entries from 13 countries with a big contingent from Korea and Singapore besides our Malaysian National teams," said Dato' Zainal.

"At a time when sponsors are hard to come by, we continue to host this ever popular International event, thanks to the continued support from our Corporate sponsors, State Sports Council of Penang and also the State Government."

A simple mock cheques presentation followed with Ms Lim Siew Hoon, Penang Area Sales representing Sports Toto Malaysia Sdn Bhd. Mr Tan Leong Theng, Director Northern Region of AmBank Group handed the cheque to Dato' Zainal.

Mr Ooi Lee Beng, Area Manager Northern Region handed Nestle Products (M) Sdn Bhd cheque to Dato' Zainal. Two other sponsors, SportUnite Sdn Bhd and Valention Creations Italy had PTBPP Deputy

President, Dr Ong Shaw Feng and Mr Ong Hock Eam representing them in the handing of their cheques.

This year's Championship is scheduled to star on December 19 and will run through Christmas Day till Boxing Day on December 26, 2009. It will be held at Mega Lanes, Prai, Penang.

Photos courtesy of PTBPP.