31st May, Singapore: Malaysia's Zandra Aziela and Adrian Ang Hsien Loong were denied victories when second-seed, Zandra lost to Singapore's Cherie Tan and top-seed Adrian went down to UAE's Hussain Al-Suwaidi in their title match of the 41st Singapore International Open on Saturday evening.

Zandra Aziela, who finished as first runnerup in the Canon 31st Malaysian International Open, again played bridesmaid when she went down to topseed, Cherie Tan of Singapore, 179-224 in the deciding match.

The Malaysian national bowler had taken the first match, 211-179 to force the Singaporean youngster to a sudden-death decider and was denied yet another victory. The 22-year-old ended Singapore's Shayna Ng fine run when she ousted Ng and third-seed, Wang Yu-Ling of Chinese Taipei, 224-201-179 in the second stepladder match.

Ng, who was fifth-seed, knocked out fourth-seed, Sharon Koh of Malaysia and 2006 World Ranking Masters champion, Diandra Asbaty of USA, 210-175-187 to move up the ladder for the match with Zandra and Wang Yu-Ling.

Zandra finished second in the second block earlier with a 16-game total of 3293 to Cherie Tan while Sharon finished fourth with 3260 to advance to the stepladder finals. Defending champion, Zatil Iman missed the cut in eighth with 3229, just 8 pins off American, Diandra Asbaty.

"The title was there for me to win and I just didn't take it," said Zandra, who also finished second in the Malaysian Open in March. "It was fine in the first game but I made a lot of bad shots.

Esther Cheah, Siti Safiyah Amirah, Choy Poh Lai, Wendy Chai and Christyn Chew ended in 10th, 13th, 14th, 18th and 27th positions.

Meanwhile, overnight leader, Adrian Ang Hsien Loong suffered the same fate as Zandra when the topseed, lost to UAE's Hussain Al-Suwaidi in the deciding match, 200-236. Hussain went on for a strikefest taking the first match, 279 against Ang's 195.

"I lost to a better bowler, who could adapt to the lane conditions much more quicker than I," said the 19-year-old first runnerup. "Holloway and I decided what I need to do but I just couldn't execute the right shots.

The champion had earlier edged fellow compatriot, Shaker Al-Hassan and Singapore's Remy Ong, 244-243-189 to reach the finals. Shaker had a chance to take the victory in the second match when he only needed a 7-pin count in the final frame but shot 6 pins and failed to spare.

Shaker won the first match by ousting Qatar's Bandar Al-Shafi and sixth-seed, Annop Arromsaranon, 224-209-193 before another sizzling performance in his run into the finals. Hussain took home S$25,000 for his first major international opne title while Adrian settled for S$10,000. Remy Ong finished third to win S$5,000. Cherie Tan won S$5,000 as the women's champion while Zandra took home S$2,500.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

30th May, Singapore: Last year's second runnerup, Cherie Tan Shi Hua of Singapore snatched pole in the Women's Open first block Masters of the 41st Singapore International Open by just 1 pin ahead of defending champion, Zatil Iman of Malaysia.

This year's Canon 31st Malaysian Open champion, Jazreel Tan set the pace with a 232 and 213 opening two games with Malaysia's Choy Poh Lai second and 26 pins adrift. But two poor games from Jazreel saw the 19-year-old youngster dropping out of contention while defending champion, Zatil Iman surged to the front at the halfway mark with Cherie Tan just 6 pins behind.

A 203 and 214 from Cherie gave the Singaporean the lead but only 1 single pin ahead of teammate, Shayna Ng in second and the rest closely bunched up. World Bowlers Writers' Bowler of the Year, Diandra Asbaty looked set to end the block in pole but allowed Cherie to snatch the lead with a final game of 213.

Cherie ended the 8-game block with 1670, just 1 pin ahead of a recovering Zatil Iman in second with 1669 while 2005 Singapore Open champion, Hung Shu-Chun stormed home to clinch third spot with 1666.

"I was bowling well in the first half but when we moved to the left part of the centre, it was a lot oilier," said the surprised leader, Cherie. "Luckily I changed my equipment for the last two games and was able to maintain my score.

"My scores weren't very high today and I think I've to hit more higher games if I want to remain in front and a bigger gap than just 1 pin. Diandra Asbaty dropped to fourth with 1656 followed by Shayna Ng of Singapore and Liza del Rosario of the Philippines fifth and sixth positions.

Sharon Koh, Choy Poh Lai and Zandra Aziela finished eighth to tenth but were only less than 50 pins from the leader. Siti Safiyah Amirah and Wendy Chai were 15th and 18th.

The women will continue their second block at 1.00am on Saturday, May 31 and the top 6 at the end of another 8 games will advance to the stepladder finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

30th May, Singapore: Malaysian youth, Kang Bo Long and Chinese Taipei's Wang Ting-Wen triumphed in the Boy's and Girl's Youth Masters of the 41st Singapore International Open on Friday morning to deny Singapore youths a home victory.

Twenty-four youths took to the lanes at Superbowl Safra Mount Faber in the first masters finals of the day which saw Travis Tay setting a blistering pace with an opening game of 278 for a 37 pin lead ahead of fellow compatriot, Ng Tiac Pin.

But the lead did not last as Ng had two back-to-back 241 and 244 games to snatch the front running by 3 pins. Ng kept up his hot pace to reel in 210 and 203 in the third and fourth and stretching the lead to 56 pins after the fourth game.

Malaysian national youth rookie, Kang Bo Long then shot 198 and a massive game of 288 in the fifth and sixth games to take over the lead followed by top qualifier, Eugene Low trailing in second.

With a 40 pin cushion, the 22-year-old proshop supervisor at Diaman Bowl in Johor Bahru kept a consistent pace to end the 10-game final with 2120 to land his first youth title on his first international outing in Malaysian colours.

Kang, who won last year's Pahang International Open in the men's division finished 38 pins to deny Singapore a home victory. Eugene Low settled for second with 2082 while another Malaysian, Muhammad Fazrin Khairul Faizi storming home to snatch third spot with 2075.

Pace-setter, Ng Tiac Pin fizzled out to take fourth spot with 2063 followed by Thailand Open champion, Ernie Cheng Hsing-Chao of Chinese Taipei fifth on 2057.

Meanwhile, 2006 Asian Schools Masters gold medalist, Wang Ting-Wen cruised to a comfortable victory in the Youth Girl's Masters denying again a Singapore home victory when the Taiwanese totaled 2104.

Wang had taken an early lead but shared the lead with Singapore's Denise Chan after the second game. The duo traded the lead for the next two games but it was the Taiwanese spinner who was more consistent throughtout to end the finals 106 pins ahead of Denise.

Denise settled for second with 1998 followed by last year's Youth Girl's champion, Gina Lim third on 1968. Geraldine Ng and Ong She-Na finished with less than 10 pins seperating the top 5 with 1967 and 1956 respectively.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

30th May, Singapore: Two-time national champion, Adrian Ang Hsien Loong of Malaysia claimed pole position in the Men's Open first block Masters in the 41st Singapore International Open at Superbowl Safra Mount Faber on Friday.

Adrian Ang was in sizzling form when he literally lead from start to finish in the 8-game masters finals for a total of 1846 and averaging an awesome 230. Two massive games of 265 and 279 in the second and fifth game allowed the 19-year-old youngster to end the block 93 pins ahead of his nearest rival.

The Malaysian had lines of 223, 265, 206, 235, 279, 223, 211 and 204 to lead a field of 42 finalists. UAE's Hussain Al-Suwaidi did well to finish second with 1753 while Singapore's strong title contender and last year's second runnerup, Remy Ong in third with 1728.

"I was more confident after I hit a 265 in the second game especially in this strong field," said the 19-year-old Adrian Ang. "I kept telling myself to make sure I make good shots as the lanes are quite tough here and has very little room for mistakes.

"And after I shot another high game of 279, I was more relaxed. I know finishing pole is good but it is more important to finish for the stepladder finals," added the two-time national champion.

Eight other Malaysian men in the finals finished midfield with Aaron Kong in 14th, Alex Liew 15th and Syafiq Ridhwan 18th. World Ranking Masters first runnerup, Zulmazran Zulkifli started poorly but recovered to take up 19th.

Zaid Izlan, Daniel Lim, Muhd Nur Aiman and Mohd Noer Said could only manage 27th, 28th, 35th and 38th respectively. The men will continue their second block at 9.00am on Saturday, May 31 where the top 6 would advance to the stepladder finals.

The men will continue their second block at 9.00am on Saturday, May 31 where the top 6 would advance to the stepladder finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

29th May, Singapore: Malaysians will be well represented in the Men's and Women's Open Masters finals of the 41st Singapore International Open at Superbowl Safra Mount Faber with nine men and eight women.

Heading the list in the Men's Open division was Malaysian Open champion and World Ranking Masters runnerup, Zulmazran Zulkifli, who took up second spot in the overseas pool with 967. Zulmazran was joined by two-time national champion, Adrian Ang in third with 954.

Alex Liew and last year's Singapore Open runnerup, Daniel Lim finished sixth and seventh in the table with 943 and 940 while Zaid Izlan and Mohd Noer Said took up ninth and tenth positions with 923 and 919.

Last year's Pesta Penang Open champion, Muhd Nur Aiman and 2007 PBAP Classic champion, Syafiq Ridhwan made up the seventh and eighth Malaysians to qualify for the finals third and fourth in the mixed pool.

Aaron Kong, who was fourth in the reserves pool, managed to squeeze in during the one-game desperado squad with 202 to join his fellow teammates. Chinese Taipei's Wang Tien-Fun and Thailand's Phoemphun Yakasem were the other two to make the cut in the desperado squad with 214 and 212. Missing the finals were Jonathan Lim and Kelvin Keong.

Malaysia's challenge in the women's open division will come from Zatil Iman, who qualified automatically as defending champion. Zandra Aziela, who was leading the table since Day 2 lost pole position to Chinese Taipei's Hsieh Chia-Li on the final day of qualifying.

Last year's runnerup. Sharon Koh, Esther Cheah, Siti Safiyah and Choy Poh Lai made the finals in sixth, seventh and ninth positions respectively while newly-crowned World Ranking Masters champion, Wendy Chai finished second in the mixed pool and making the cut as well.

Christyn Chew was unlucky to miss the cut as first reserve together with Norhanizah Abu Bakar and Sin Li Jane. But Christyn may have a chance to play in the finals as last placed qualifier, Rena Teng will not be competing.

The men and women open finalists will contest the 8-game first block finals tomorrow at 1.00pm and will continue their second block on Saturday. The top 6 from each division will advance to the stepladder grand finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

27th May, Singapore: Newly-crowned Canon 31st Malaysian International Open champion, Zulmazran Zulkifli and last year's runnerup, Daniel Lim turned on a sizzling show to snatch second and third spot in the Men's Open Masters qualifyint tbale of the 41st Singapore International Open.

Team Malaysia had arrived Singapore only on Monday and had a chance to test out the lanes with the trios and doubles events. But when they took to the lanes at Superbowl Safra Mount Faber this afternoon, then men literally set the lanes on fire.

Last year's runnerup, Daniel Lim was the first to stamp his mark with a opening game of 269 but was off the pace slightly in the second with 202. The 31-year-old three-time national champion then shot a lower 192 in his third game putting a slight pressure to score high in his final game in order to stand a chance of a spot in the finals.

Lim brought home 6 consecutive strikes but missed the head pin in the seventh frame knocking down 7 pins. He managed to spare that frame but then struck home to end the game with 277. The final high game gave the Malaysian a total of 940 and take up second in the overseas pool.

Then it was Zulmazran Zulkifli turn in the next squad. The Malaysian Open champion opened with a 234 in the first game and then followed it up with 249. But the 25-year-old blazed the lanes with a 270 and a 153 over but a 214 in his final game fell short of the leader, Abdulla Al-Qattan of Qatar by just 1 pin. Zulmazran settled for second with 967 as Abdulla topped the table with 968.

"I was only able to knock down 395 in the Trios but was better in the doubles when I shot 455," said Daniel Lim. "The lanes are especially long and I must admit, I'm not really very good on long oil. So I can't really complain because somehow I managed to bowl well.

"Of course I was disappointed last year to lose the final match but I've gotten over it. I hope I can do well in the finals and my immediate aim is to make the stepladder finals again.

Sinai Open first runnerup, Mansour Al-Awami who gave Qatar a 1-2 finish just before the Malaysians made their attempts, dropped to fourth with 881 with Finland's Tom Hahl dounding up the top 5 with 878.

2007 PBAP Classic champion, Syafiq Ridhwan and Mohd Noer Said just

landed 12th and 13th spots with 836 and 828 but will need to improve to assure themselves a place in the finals. Aaron Kong, Alex Liew, Kelvin Keong, Adrian Ang, Zaid Izlan, Syahereza Fajrin and Jonathan Lim have yet to make their mark.

Singapore youngster, Eugene Low remained firmly in pole on 946 with veteran and 2005 Singapore Open champion, Jack Wong and Remy Ong second and third with 938 and 935 respectively.

Meanwhile, Malaysia's Zandra Aziela also continued to top women's overall qualifying table with another sizzling 902 two days ago. Zandra made her attempts earlier than her teammates as she had to return to take her college exams this week. Last year's runnerup, Sharon Koh also made her presence felt with a 896 first attempt to slot into second behind Zandra.

Choy Poh Lai dropped to fourth on an improved 852 but has more or less confirmed her place in the finals. Siti Safiyah Amirah and Sin Li Jane finished eighth and tenth with 799 and 767 respectively.

Newly-crowned Malaysian Open champion, Jazreel Tan snatched pole from overnight leader, Valerie Teo with a superb 891 in her eighth attempt. Jazreel will be hoping to regain the women's crown since Evelyn Chan won in 2003.

Photo by Terence Yaw.

25th May, Singapore: Malaysian Open runnerup, Zandra Aziela shot a sizzling 4-game total of 902 to take over the lead of the Women's Open Masters qualifying table in the 41st Singapore International Open on Sunday.

Zandra, the 22-year-old national elite squad member who lost to Singaporean Jazreel Tan in the Canon 31st Malaysian Open in March, will be hoping to make amends by nailing the women's crown. Zandra shot 902 to take over the overall lead as well as the overseas pool.

Fellow teammate, Sharon Koh, who lost to compatriot, Zatil Iman in last year's final, posted 896 to give Malaysia a 1-2 finish. Another Malaysian, Choy Poh Lai improved from her first attempt to finish third with 790.

Asian Youth champion, Valerie Teo continued to lead Singapore's charge with 885 and topping the local pool. 2002 World Ranking Masters champion, Jennifer Tan finished second with 883 followed by Ong She-Na in third with 876.

Meanwhile, Singapore's national youth member, Eugene Low put in a superb performance to grab the lead in the men's open division wth 946 posted several days ago. Seasoned campaigner and 2005 champion, Jack Wong was second with 938.

2006 World Men's Championship two gold medalist, Remy Ong, who also finished third last year, took up third with 935 as 2006 Singapore Open champion, Lee Yu-Wen and newcomer, Ho Yeen Kee rounded up the top 5 with 932 and 922 respectively.

Qualifying continues through to Thursday May 29 and the Masters Finals will be held on May 30 and 31.

Photo courtesy of Singapore Bowling.