6th June, Singapore: Two-time national champion, Sharon Koh claimed the 42nd Singapore International Open Women's Open Masters crown by defeating challenger, Siti Safiyah Amirah in the all-Malaysian title match on Saturday evening.

Four-time national champion and PBA bowler, Shalin Zulkifli also gave Malaysia a clean sweep of the top 3 positions by claiming third spot while last year's first runner-up, Zandra Aziela finished fifth.

Malaysian women had a field day in the Women's Open Masters second block after overnight leader, Sharon Koh easily topped the field with 3772, 150 pins ahead of compatriot, Shalin Zulkifli in second. Zandra Aziela finished fourth with Siti Safiyah Amirah snatched the final sixth spot for the stepladder finals.

The Women's first stepladder match amongst fourth-seed, Zandra Aziela, fifth-seed, Jasmine Yeong-Nathan of Singapore and sixth-seed, Siti Safiyah Amirah, saw the newly-crowned World Ranking Masters clinching victory over Zandra and Jasmine, 245-230-228 to advance into the second match.

Siti Safiyah took a narrow win over second-seed, Shalin Zulkifli and third-seed and defending vchampion, Cherie Tan of Singapore, 248-222-226 to take a crack at the title with topseed, Sharon Koh.

But Siti Safiyah ran out of steam as she face her team-mate and southpaw, Sharon Koh, going down, 181-211 in the all-Malaysian title match.

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.

"I had struggled in the qualifying rounds two days ago but coach, Holloway suggested I use a different ball and I managed to make the finals," said the 21-year-old Sharon Koh, who made the 2007 and 2008 stepladder finals but failed to come off with a win.

"I bowled well in the two blocks using the same ball and I was very comfortable with it during the stepladder finals against Siti. I finally nailed the title after two near misses. With the victory, I'm hopeful of making the World Women's Championship squad."

2007 Singapore Open champion, Zatil Iman was unlucky to miss the stepladder finals finishing seventh, 53 pins off Siti Safiyah. Sin Li Jane ended up in 13th ahead of Esther Cheah 15th. The remaining Malaysian women, Wendy Chai finished 20th.

Meanwhile topseed, Shaker Al-Hassan scored a double for UAE when he defeated challenger and American PBA bowler, Sean Rash over two games. Rash edged Shaker, 192-190 in the first game to force a sudden-death second game.

But the Emirati regained his composure to romp home a comfortable win over the American, 232-150 in the decider to claim his first international title this year. Shaker, who finished third in the first block, finished in pole at the end of the second block with 3652 to advance into the stepladder finals as topseed.

"My confidence grew when I was able to qualify for the finals with a good score," said the 40-year-old Shaker and winner of two titles last year. "I had many close call this year taking a few podium finishes but not winning any. For sure I'm happy with this win."

Sean Rash ousted third-seed, Somjed Kusonpithak of Thailand and winner of the first match, Hussain Al-Suwaidi, 224-223-178 in the second match. Defending champion and sixth-seed, Hussain Al-Suwaidi took out joint fourth-seeds, Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia and overnight leader, Wu Siu Hong, 204-203-188 in the first match.

Shaker won a whopping S$25,000 and the title while Sean Rash took home S$10,000 and Somjed S$5,000. Sharon Koh took home S$5,000 with Siti and Shalin settling for S$2,500 and S$1,200 respectively.

MTBC President and Honorary Life President of WTBA, Dato Dr P.S. Nathan gave away the trophies as guest of honour while the main sponsor, Mr Lim Kok Hin of Canon Singapore gave away the mock cheques accompanied by Ms Jessie Phua, President of SBF and FIQ. Detailed scores: Women's Stepladder Finals and Men's Stepladder Finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Singapore.

5th June, Singapore: Malaysian women put in a classy performance in the Open Masters first block finals of the 42nd Singapore International Open with Sharon Koh and Shalin Zulkifli finishing 1-2 and Zatil Iman in the top 6.

Last year's stepladder finalist, Sharon Koh and Shalin Zulkifli set the lanes at Superbowl SAFRA Mount Faber on fire as the duo posted a superb 279 in the opening game to tie for the lead. A slight setback suffered by Shalin allowed Singapore's Jasmine Yeong-Nathan to take over second spot after the second game.

Sharon continued to fire 217, 265, 234, 227, 236, 215 and 209 to end the first block in the lead with a total of 1882. Shalin recovered with 255 in her third game, then suffered another 182 in the fourth before registering 279, 236, 204 and 245 to seal second spot with 1879, just 3 pins off her team-mate.

Jasmine also stormed home to clinch third spot with 1766 after two lowly games in the third and fourth. 2007 Singapore Open champion, Zatil Iman vying for a spot in the World Women's Championship, showed determination to finish fourth with 1756.

"I had a great start with 279 and was happy to tie with Shalin," said the southpaw Sharon Koh. "I had all good games except for the last game where I had two splits but fortunately I had enough strikes to end the game with 209 and the lead.

"It's a close fight between me and Shalin and whoever finish in the lead tomorrow will surely have a good chance of winning the title. I lost the first stepladder match last year and I hope I can make amends.

"A good result here will defintely increase my chances to be selected for the World Championship squad," added Sharon.

Reigning World Ranking Masters champion, Siti Safiyah Amirah was not far away to make the top 6 stepladder finals cut finishing seventh, just 2 pins from Korea's Kim Eung Jung. Singapore national champion, Geraldine Ng did well to take up fifth with 1743.

Other Malaysian women vying for the three spots in the World Championship, Zandra Aziela finished 11th with 1666 ahead of Wendy Chai in 14th with 1627 and Sin Li Jane in 18th on 1596. Defending champion, Cherie Tan only managed 13th position with 1649.

The bowlers will continue their second block finals at 12.00 noon on Saturday and the men will contest their first block earlier at 9.00am. Detailed scores: Women's Open 1stBlk.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Singapore.

5th June, Singapore: Two Malaysians, Adrian Ang and Aaron Kong did well to finish third and fifth in the Men's Open Masters first block finals of the 42nd Singapore International Open as Hong Kong's Wu Siu Hong took pole on Friday.

Wu Siu Hong and Singapore's Lionel Lim shared the lead with a superb 259 opening game, just 1 pin from Malaysia's Aaron Kong in second and Mohd Noer Said in close company. But their lead only last the first game after Aaron followed it up with 235 in the second game to take over the running.

Aaron continued relentlessly with 223 and 224 yet was overtaken by compatriot and last year's runner-up, Adrian Ang by 1 pin at the halfway mark. But Aaron bounced back with 219 and 204 in the fifth and sixth games to regain the lead, 3 pins ahead of Hong Kong's Cyrus Cheung closing in.

A strong 236 from Hong Kong's Wu Siu Hong saw the Asian champion taking over the lead with American PBA bowler, Sean Rash making his bid after a sizzling 268 in the seventh game and Adrian still in third.

But Wu prevailed to end with 233 which was good enough for him to top the field with a total of 1821. Shaker Al-Hassan of UAE stormed home to snatch second spot with 1791 while Adrian settled for third with 1784.

"I had a great start and was bowling consistently throughout the 8 games except for game 5," said the two-time Malaysian national champion, Adrian Ang. "I just made sure that I get all my shots in the pocket and hope for the best.

"I can remember very well last year's stepladder finals when I lost to Hussain and if I make the stepladder finals tomorrow, which I'm hopeful of, I'll try my hardest to come away with the victory."

Cyrus Cheung, who made the finals from last night's desperado squad, did well to finish fourth with 1765 while pace-setter, Aaron Kong fizzled off to end up in fifth with 1763. Singapore's top contender, Remy Ong stormed home for sixth position with 1748.

Apart from Adrian And Aaron, other Malaysians were all off the pace of the front runners. Mohd Noer Said tied 17th with 1674, Alex Liew 19th with 1667, Zulmazran Zulkifli 20th with 1654 and Muhd Nur Aiman 30th with 1614.

The bowlers will continue their second block finals at 9.00am on Saturday and the women will contest their first block later at 6.00pm. Detailed scores: Men's Open 1stBlk.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Singapore.

5th June, Singapore: Malaysian national youth, Aris Ardilla Santosh from Kuching settled for third position in the Youth Boy's Masters finals of the 42nd Singapore International Open as Nazrinnah Mohd Kamil missed the podium to finish fourth in the Girl's division.

Malaysia's Aris Ardilla and Asian Youth Games bound, Syimir Abd Razak set a cracking pace with 258 and 255 in the opening game to lead the field of 24 finalists. The duo continued to lead the pack with each trading the lead up the fifth game.

A superb 258 from Singapore's Ng Chiew Pang in the sixth game took the youngster to the front, 44 pins ahead of Hong Kong's Rickle Kam in second as the two Malaysians fizzled out of contention.

A weak 149 saw the lead being handed to Rickle, who shot a modest 212 as early leader, Aris bounched back to trail Ng in third. The lanky Hong Kong youth ended the 8-game finals with 235 and a total of 1789 to claim the title.

Ng recovered with 224 in his final game to settle for second with 1759 while Aris Ardilla was contented to finish third with 1734. Syimir Abd Razak of Malaysia and Singapore's Eugene Low rounded up the top 5.

Meanwhile, national youth Nazrinnah Mohd Kamil missed the podium after finishing fourth in the Youth Girl's division. Singapore girls dominated the Youth Girl's Masters finals by sweeping the top 3 positions. Singapore Sports School's Kristel Oh snatched the title from pace-setter and national youth, Gina Lim in the final game.

Kristel won the title with a total of 1596 as Gina settled for second with 1587. Teo Li Ying took third spot with 1568, just 5 pins ahead of Nazrinnah in fourth with 1563. Cheryl Cheong and Hee Kar Yen managed sixth and 10th with 1507 and 1442 respectively.

The Men's Open Masters first block finals will be staged at 1.30pm while the Women's Open Masters will take place at 5.00pm later today. Detailed scores: Youth Boy's Finals and Youth Girl's Finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Singapore.

4th June, Singapore: World Women's Championship squad will all be featured in the Women's Open Masters finals of the 42nd Singapore International Open as the final day of qualifying rounds ends Thursday evening.

Heading the team is two-time World Champion, Esther Cheah who topped the overseas table in pole with 953 posted two days ago. Four-time national champion and PBA bowler, Shalin Zulkifli, who was second yesterday, dropped to fourth with 948.

2007 Singapore Open champion, Zatil Iman, last year's runner-up, Zandra Aziela, 2008 World Ranking Masters champion, Wendy Chai, Asian Youth Games squad, Sin Li Jane and Sharon Koh were comfortably in the finals from sixth to tenth respectively.

Newly-crowned World Ranking Masters champion, Siti Safiyah notched up an improved 863 to take up third in the mixed pool while Choy Poh Lai finished tenth and in danger of missing the cut.

There were no changes in the local pool except for ex-national, Yap Seok Kim finishing third behind Daphne Tan and reigning World Cup champion, Jasmine Yeong-Nathan occupying the top 2 spots.

Four of the six elite squad men have assured their places in the finals. Muhd Nur Aiman headed the list in third on 994 followed by Adrian Ang in fifth with 986. UAE's Shaker Al-Hassan topped the field with 1012.

Reigning national champion, Syafiq Ridhwan did well to finish eighth with 973 while two-time Malaysian Open champion, Zulmazran Zulkifli took 12th spot with 959. 2007 Singapore runner-up, Daniel Lim finished 11th in the mixed pool with 925.

Southpaw, Alex Liew, Aaron Kong and Mohd Noer Said were the ones wh have yet to make the cut and they will certainly make several attempts before it ends late tonight. Detailed scores: Women's Open Qualifying and Men's Open Qualifying.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Singapore.

3rd June, Singapore: National youth and Asian Schools Masters finalist, Hurul Ainul Abu Razak shot the tournament's fourth perfect game during the youth qualifying rounds of the 42nd Singapore International Open on Wednesday afternoon.

But the 16-year-old's effort failed to land her a spot in the Youth Gril's Masters qualifying table after the Malaysian youth fizzled off. Hurul Ainul had a cracking start to her qualifying campaign with the 300 but posted 171, 145 and 167 in her next three games to total 782.

Hurul Ainul, who is in the Asian Youth Games squad, had earlier shot 819 but the score only got her in 15th position in the table.

"I guess I got too excited after the perfect game which got my timing slightly out," said the disappointed but slightly happy, Hurul Ainul. "I'd tried to stay calm and I think I tried too hard.

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.

Her team-mate, Hee Kar Yen did much better after she topped the table with 927. Another national youth, Nazrinnah Mohd Kamil posted 844 and is in 11th, just one spot off the drop zone. Malaysian youths, Dina Nurnadia, Dayang Khairulniza, Adlin Nadhirah, Nur Diana Hussin, Jacqueline Sijore and Nur Syazwani have yet to make the cut.

Meanwhile, Asian Schools Singles bronze medalist, Muhd Amirrul Afif impressed with 972 to take up third in the Youth Boy's division. Youth Masters Under-18 first runnerup, Chong Jun Foo finished fourth with 954.

Other Malaysian national youths, Rodson Tong (6th-935), Aris Ardilla (9th-925), Syimir Abd Razak (15th-893), Yusuf Abd Roaf (23rd-883) and Mohd Haziq Sahli (24th-879) have all made the cut.

Overnight leader in the Men's Open Masters table, Muhd Nur Aiman slid down to third after UAE's Shaker Al-Hassan bettered with a sizzling 1012 effort to take pole position. Thailand's Sithipol Kunaksorn, who shot the tournament's third 300, moved up to second with 998.

Second perfect gamer, Adrian Ang improved yet again with 986 to finish fifth in the table while reigning national champion, Syafiq Ridhwan settled for eighth with 973. Two-time Malaysian Open champion, Zulmazran Zulkifli also secured a spot in 12th with 959.

Backup bowler, Zaid Izlan squeezed into the finals currently in seventh in the mixed pool with Kelvin Keong dangerously close to the drop zone in 12th with 923. Those not in yet were Alex Liew, Aaron Kong and Mohd Noer Said.

The women are fairing much better with Esther Cheah remaining in pole in the women's division with 953. Shalin Zulkifli, who was second overnight with 918, dropped to third after Indonesian youngster, Shalima Zalsha took second with 958.

2007 Singapore Open champion, Zatil Iman improved to fifth with 902 ahead of Zandra Aziela sith with 899. 2008 World Ranking Masters champion, Wendy Chai finished eighth with 892 followed by Sharon Koh ninth with 878.

Asian Youth Games bound, Sin Li Jane and newly-crowned World Ranking Masters champion, Siti Safiyah Amirah were second and third in the mixed pool with 866 and 863 respectively. Tengku Emanina and Choy Poh Lai were lower down the table with 855 and 849. Detailed scores: Women's Open Qualifying and Men's Open Qualifying.

Photo by Terence Yaw in Singapore.

2nd June, Singapore: Malaysian national bowlers stole the limelight at the 42nd Singapore International Open as Muhd Nur Aiman and Esther Cheah took over the lead of the Men's and Women's Open Masters qualifying table on Tuesday.

Two-time national champion and Asian Championship Masters gold medalist, Adrian Ang was the first to make an impression when he became the second bowler to shoot a perfect game at the 2.30pm squad but his 4-game total gave hime only 887.

Ang started off with 192 and then brought together 12 consecutive strikes to register the second perfect 300. But a poor 182 and 210 in his two subsequent games gave last year's runnerup only 887.

Reigning national champion, Muhd SYafiq Ridhwan almost shot another perfect game in the same squad but was contented with 289 in his final game. Syafiq downed 194, 222 and 236 in the first three games for an effort of 941 to take up third in the overseas pool.

Undoubtedly, the day belong to Asian Championship Team gold medalist and last year's Selangor Classic champion, Muhd Nur Aiman after he scorched the lanes with 994 to top the overall standings.

Overnight leader, Naif Oqab settled for second with 986 followed by Hong Kong's Wu Siu Hong claiming third spot with an improved 962. Syafiq dropped down to seventh with Daniel Lim in 13th with 907.

Singapore national youth, Eugene Low also took over the lead in the local pool after an impressive effort of 985 dislodging Gregory Gan into second with 974 and Helmi Chew, who shot the first perfect 300, into third with 948.

Malaysian women also had a great start with Esther Cheah, who came to Singapore from her studies break in Nabraska to compete here, stormed into the lead of the overseas pool with 953.

Esther started a cracking pace with 277 then followed it up with 215, 241 and rounding it up with 220 for the lead. Overnight leader, Shalin Zulkifli dropped to second with 918. Malaysian women occupied the top 4 positions with Zandra Aziela and Choy Poh Lai third and fourth with 899 and 894.

2007 Singapore Open champion, Zatil Iman finished sixth with 864 followed newly-crowned World Ranking Masters champion, Siti Safiyah Amirah who improved with 863 to finish seventh. Backup squad members, Tengku Emanina and Sin Li Jane took ninth and tenth spots with 855 and 854.

Other Malaysian women, Wendy Chai, Syakira Yeoh and Sharon Koh managed fifth, seventh and ninth in the mixed pool and will need to improve if they wish to ensure themselves a spot in the finals.

The top 2 spots in the local pool remained unchanged with Daphne Tan and reigning World Cup champion, Jasmine Yeong-Nathan totaling 984 and 982 respectively. Teo Li Ying took over third spot with 917. Detailed scores: Women's Open Qualifying and Men's Open Qualifying.

Photo by Terence Yaw in Singapore.

31st May, Singapore: Four-time national champion, Shalin Zulkifli is hoping to end her three year title drought after she topped the Women's Open Masters overseas qualifying table of the 42nd Singapore International Open on Sunday.

Shalin Zulkifli, who became the first Malaysian women to compete in the Professional Bowlers' Association (PBA) Tour, notched up a superb 918 to take over the lead in the Women's Open Masters table.

The four-time national champion's last title was winning the 2006 Hong Kong Open and since then her other victories came from winning the Team Gold at the Doha Asian Games and 2007 SEA Games and the Doubles gold medal in the 2008 Asian Championship in Hong Kong.

Shalin showing this year so far was finishing third in the National Shampionship in January and sixth in the Canon Malaysian Open in March and will be hungry for success.

Daphne Tan and reigning World Cup champion, Jasmine Yeong-Nathan remained in the top 2 positions with 984 and 982. Asean University two gold medalist, Kristel Oh impressed to take up third with 898.

Team Malaysia will reach Singapore tomorrow and will take to the lanes for their qualifying rounds. Early bird, Alex Liew arrived a few days earlier and posted 845 for sixth spot. UAE's Naif Oqab and Shaker Al-Hassan took the top 2 spots with 986 and 893.

India's Vijay M Punjabi finished third with 849 ahead of Jay-Leon Guerrero of Guam and UAE's Mohammed Al-Marzouqi tieing in fourth spot with 845.

Singapore's national youth, Gregory Gan remained in pole position with a score of 974 with season campaigner, Andrew Lee improving to take up second spot with 947. Early leader, Jaime Liew dropped to third with 945.

With foreign bowlers from Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand arriving today and tomorrow, the the competition will intensify and forces the scores to go higher.

Qualifying continue through to June 4 and the Masters finals over two blocks of 8 games will be staged on May 5 and 6. The top 6 women and top 6 men at the end of the finals will advance into the stepladder finals. Detailed scores: Women's Open Qualifying and Men's Open Qualifying.

Photo by Terence Yaw in Singapore.

30th May, Singapore: Last year's first runnerup, Zandra Aziela of Malaysia is eyeing for the Women's crown of the 42nd Singapore International Open as she took over the lead of the overseas pool on Saturday.

Zandra Aziela, who lost to Cherie Tan of Singapore in the title match of last year's Singapore Open to finish first runnerup, notched up an improved 899 over the 766 attempt yesterday to take over the lead in the Women's Open Masters overseas qualifying table.

Since winning the 2007 Malaysian Open crown, the 23-year-old failed to win a single title which has made her place in this year's World Women's Championship squad in danger.

Zandra will need a good showing and perhaps win the women's crown come the finals on June 5th. Siti Safiyah Amirah has secured her spot in the squad after winning this year's World Ranking Masters women's title in Italy, dropped to third with 803.

Daphne Tan remained the overall leader with 984, two pins ahead of reigning World Cup champion, Jasmine Yeong-Nathan in second with 982 followed by 2008 Malaysian Open champion, Jazreel Tan third with 895.

Alex Liew is the only Malaysian male who arrived Singapore early and has made his first attempt to take up third in the overseas pool of the Men's Open Masters table with 845. UAE's Naif Oqab topped the table with 986 with India's Vijay M Punjabi second with 849.

Singapore national youth, Gregory Gan took over the lead with a superb 974 from Andrew Lee in second with 947. Overnight leader, Jaime Liew dropped to third with 945 followed by Helmi Chew fourth and Remy Ong fifth.

Singapore's Ng Chiew Pang became the first bowler to surpass the 1,000-mark when he shot s scintillating 1001 to lead the Youth Boy's standings. India's Shabbir A Dhankot snatched second spot with a superb 932 with Gragory Gan third with 927.

Qualifying continue through to June 4 and the Masters finals over two blocks of 8 games will be staged on May 5 and 6. The top 6 women and top 6 men at the end of the finals will advance into the stepladder finals. Detailed scores: Women's Open Qualifying and Men's Open Qualifying.

Photo by Terence Yaw.

29th May, Singapore: Newly-crowned World Ranking Masters champion, Siti Safiyah Amirah of Malaysia topped the Women's Open Masters overseas qualifying pool of the 42nd Singapore International Open underway at Superbowl SAFRA Mount Faber on Friday.

Siti Safiyah posted only 803 in her initial attempt to take over the lead from overnight leader, Sabeena Salem of India, who dropped to second with 788. Last year's runnerup, Zandra Aziela finished third in the table with 766.

Siti Safiyah raised a few eyebrows when she won the coveted World Ranking Masters women's crown in Naples, Italy to retain the women's crown for Malaysia after Wendy Chai won it last year.

The victory has assured Siti Safiyah a spot in the 6-member team for the World Women's Championship in Las Vegas this July. World Championship gold medalist, Esther Cheah and Shalin Zulkifli are the other two confirmed for the team.

Zandra Aziela, who needs a good results here in Singapore to join the team, finished third with 766 but will need a higher score in her subsequent attempts if she wish to make the masters finals.

Singapore's national kegler, Daphne Tan led the overall and local pool with a sizzling 984 followed by reigning World Cup champion and Singapore's Sportswomen of the Year, Jasmine Yeong-Nathan in second with 982.

Meanwhile, Alex Liew of Malaysia posted 845 to trail overall leader, Naif Oqab of UAE, who shot a superb 986 to top the Men's Open Masters round. UAE's Ahmed Ali Ahmed took third spot with 828.

Singapore's youngster, Jaime Liew upstaged some of the local favourites to lead the local pool with 945 followed by former national champion, Helmi Chew in second with 937. 2006 National champion, David Wong posted 924 to take up third spot with Paiman Dali and Benjamin Hong rounding up the top 5 with 910 and 888.

Qualifying continue through to June 4 and the Masters finals over two blocks of 8 games will be staged on May 5 and 6. The top 6 women and top 6 men at the end of the finals will advance into the stepladder finals.

Detailed scores: Women's Open Qualifying and Men's Open Qualifying.

Photo by Terence Yaw.