8th June, K.Terengganu: Ex-national youth, Cheong Pui Yee of Federal Territory and reigning national champion, Fahmi Bahri triumped in the Girl's and Boy's Masters to bag the final two gold medals of the SUKMA XII 2008.

Cheong Pui Yee dropped out of the national youth programme two years ago because she felt that she was not good enough. Then, a wrist injury ruled her out of competitions for six months last year.

And yesterday, she pulled off the biggest surprise of the SUKMA bowling competition when she won the prestigious Girl's Masters title at the Diman Superbowl, beating favourite Tengku Emanina Laily Tengku Zahri of Kedah by just two pins.

Pui Yee amassed a 16-game score of 3525 to hand Federal Territory their first individual gold of the competition. And national youth bowler Emanina was reduced to tears after scoring a poor 170 in the final game. Perak's Syaidatul Afifah Badrul Hamidi took the bronze with a score of 3408.

"It was quite scary for me bowling side by side with Emanina in the final game. But my teams coaches' and friends were very supportive. They gave me the boost to keep up the fight," said the 17-year-old, whose previous best achievement was winning one of the SportExcel national junior circuit tournament in 2005.

"I never imagined that I'll be returning home with the Masters gold medal. This is my first SUKMA and it has turned out to be one for me to remember for a very long time."

In the Boy's Masters, Fahmi Bahri of Johor finally came good after several close calls, winning the gold medal with a score of 3487. The champion had trailed Pahang's Rodson Tong Juinn Chuan and Kedah's Tengku Ariff Mahmood in the first block.

Rodson settled for the silver medal with 3398 followed by Tengku Ariff in third with 3392 to win the bronze medal. Pahang's Jonhathan Chan missed the podium in fourth position after totalling 3365.

Selangor emerged as the overall champions with a haul of 3-2-0. Federal Territory, Kedah, Johor and Sarawak won two gold medals each while Pahang and Sabah one each. National youth coach Foong Tak Meng was happy that the medals were better distributed more evenly among the states.

"The competitions used to be dominated by bowlers from a few state. But we now see winners coming from different states. I'm happy that all the states are giving emphasis on development," he said.

Photos by Ms Tay Li Neo.

7th June, K.Terengganu: Kedah won their second gold medal when Singles gold medalist, Noor Amirah led her teammates, Nurul Fatin Azman, Tg. Aimi Laily and Tg. Emanina topped the Team of 4 events as Sabah captured their first of the SUKMA XII Games on Saturday.

The team event started with controversial withdrawal by Sarawak team from the team event which meant a bitter disappointment for Jacqueline Sijore Jenelee, Dayang Khairuniza Dhiyana and Nurafidza Mohd Amran not having a chance to win a medal.

"Audrey's parents pulled her out of the competition, citing that we had been unfair in not selecting her for the trios event. With only three bowlers left, we could not compete in the team event. I have reported the matter to the state sports council officials," said the team manager, Robert Lu.

Kedah, who led in the first block on Friday, took their second gold medal of the competition after Noor Amirah, Nurul Fatin Azman and the Tengku Zahri siblings, Tengku Aimi Laily and Tengku Emanina totaled 4548.

Last year's champion, Perak settled for the silver medal. Nazrinnah Mohd Kamil, Nor Atteya Zainla Abidin, Nursyamimi Supardi and Syaidatul Afifah Badrul Hamidi totaled 4519 while Federal Terrirtories' Cheong Pui Yee, Hee Kar Yen, Nur Diana Hussin and Radin Nur Najwa managed 4491 for the bronze.

But there was a high for Sarawak even though they did not win anything in the girl's and boy's team event when Mohd Syafiq Sazeli chalked up the first-ever perfect game at Diman Superbowl yesterday.

Syafiq, who turn 13 on Tuesday, struck the magical 300 in the second game in the second game to help his team finish fourth in the first block. But his team, who also comprise of Aris Ardilla Santosh, Bong Kihow and Chong Jun Foo ended up in seventh after the second block.

"I was slightly nervous. But I stayed focused. This is a great start for me," said the southpaw. "I know I made the right decision to take up bowling. I just love the sport. My main goal is to become a world champion one day," added the youngster.

Sabah successfully defended the Boy's Team of 4 to win their first gold medal. Clement Loh, Mohd Zaim Zul Fadhlie, Mohd Ozzer Othman and Tan Chien Nan amassed a team total of 4920.

Johor's Afiq Rifqi Lahat Dadok, Fahmi Bahri, Khairul Diaz Din and Syed Mohd Hafiz took the silver medal with 4855 while first block leader, Kedah fizzled out in the second block to settle for the bronze medal with 4819.

Johor had plenty to celebrate when Khairul Diaz brought home their first gold medal in the Boy's All Events. Khairul totaled a 6269 from the 30-game five events. Selangor's Ahmad Amiruddin finished second with 6196 to take the silver while Aris Ardila won the bronze with 6125.

Selangor's Siti Nurharini edged two gold medalist, Jacqueline Jenelee Sijore of Sarawak by 9 pins to clinch the gold medal in the Girl's All Events with 5965. Jacqueline settled for the silver with 5956 while a further 20 pins came, Perak's Syaidatul Afifah with 5936 taking home the bronze.

The disappointment for Jacqueline and Khairuniza, however, was compromised today by virtue of finishing second and 16th in the All-Events to qualify for the Masters finals. The top 16 girls and boys from the All Events will contest the two blocks of 8 games round-robin finals.

Photos by Ms Tay Li Neo.

6th June, K.Terengganu: SUKMA debutant, Xavian Ang partnered Tengku Mohd Yasser Arafat and Ahmad Amiruddin to win his and Selangor's second gold medal with the Boy's Trios event in the SUKMA XII 2008 at Diman Superbowl on Friday evening.

The trio bagged the gold medal with a combined total of 3684 setting a new Games record which surpassed the old mark of 3683 set by Selangor at the 2002 Sabah Games. It was Xavian's second gold at the Games, having also won the doubles with Ahamd Amiruddin.

Malacca's Kevin Tan, Mohammad Afiq Esa and Tan Siong Ling came in second with 3553 pins to win the silver medal and Federal Territories' Muhd Amirrul Afif, Syimir Abdul Razak and Singles gold medalist, Yusuf Abdul Raof finished third with 3543 for the bronze medal.

The 18-year-old Xavian, who came under the tutelage of ex-national Kenny Ang a year ago, said: "I've learnt a lot under Kenny, who has won a lot of titles. But I don't want to put undue pressure on myself. I enjoy bowling and, hopefully, in the next two years, I can be the national champion."

Kedah's Ahmad Muaz, Tengku Ariff and Tengku Afnan Mahmood, who led the first block, fizzled out to end up a disappointing seventh with 3412 and missing on winning a medal while Pahang scored 1 point by finishing fourth with 3543.

Xavian Ang's gold medal winning feat has moved him up to third in the Boy's All Events standings and is only 34 pins adrift the leader and giving the youngster a shot for another gold medal. Khairul Diaz of Johor topped the standings with 5553 followed by Ang's team-mate, Ahmad Airuddin in second with 5544.

Photos by Ms Tay Li Neo.

5th June, K.Terengganu: It took the youngest bowler in the team, Farah Izzazaya Mohd Fariq to turn on the power and lead the Girl's Trios to Pahang's first-ever bowling gold medal in the SUKMA XII 2008 at the Diman Superbowl on Thursday.

And the 16-year-old Farah and her two team-mates, Jerusha Chan and Tunku Haifaa Tunku Osman also went on to create history for Pahang when their combined score of 3623 pins broke the old record of 3572 set by Penang eight years ago.

What made their victory sweeter was that they had beaten the fancied teams like Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Johor to achieve success. Selangor came in second with 3572 pins while the Federal Territories took the bronze with 3530.

"This is a memorable day for the team. Pahang have never won a gold medal in the Sukma bowling competition," said the tearful Farah after the win.

"And today we ended that long wait by setting a new Games record," said Farah, who first competed in the Sukma at the tender age of 12 in Negri Sembilan. "I've finally won a gold medal in my third Sukma. This is really unbelievable."

Tunku Haifaa, the only national youth bowler in the team, said: "This is an amazing day for us. We were able to beat teams with national youth and back-up bowlers. We were the underdogs but today (yesterday), it was our day."

Jerusha, who won a bronze with her brother Jonathan in the mixed doubles a day ago, was quick to acknowledge the contributions of a host of people, including the bowlers' parents and coaches Dennis Chew, B. H. Lee, Mohd Fariq.

Pahang coach Dennis, who only took over this year, was happy that the team finally ended their long drought.

Photos by Ms Tay Li Neo.

4th June, K.Terengganu: Aris Ardilla and Doubles gold medalist, Jacqueline Jenelee Sijore teamed up to bag the Mixed Doubles Gold medal of the SUKMA XII 2008 with 2542 at Diman Superbowl to deny Johor their first victory.

Johor needed Fahmi Bahri to score a perfect game and Nur Syakirah Yeoh to knock down eight pins in the last frame of the mixed doubles event to win their first gold medal in the Sukma bowling competition.

The reigning national champion Fahmi almost pulled it off but failed to connect his tenth consecutive strike while national back-up bowler Syakirah was left in tears after managing only seven pins. Despite the great comeback, they could only finish fourth on 2519.

It was the second gold for Sarawak and Jacqueline in the competition. She had on the previous day partnered Dayang Khairuniza Dhiyana to win the women’s doubles. Federal Territories' Radin Nur Najwa-Yusuf Abdul Raof took the silver on 2538 while Pahang Jerusha Chan and Johnathan Chan won the bronze on 2521.

The miss was a blow to 20-year-old Fahmi. "I was on the brink of scoring my first perfect game in an official tournament but I failed. It is really disappointing. We could have won the gold if I had a perfect game and Syakirah had eight pins,' he said.

"The other day, I was beaten to the singles bronze by just one pin. I'm bent on getting it right in the remaining events." Despite the poor last game, Syakirah had the consolation of breaking the Sukma six-game record in the mixed doubles. Her score of 1269 was better than the 1228 set by Sharon Chai in Penang in 2000.

Photos by Ms Tay Li Neo.

3rd June, K.Terengganu: Jacqueline Jenelee Sijore and Dayang Khairuniza Dhiyana struck gold when the duo teamed up to win Sarawak's first in the Girl's Doubles of the SUKMA XII 2008 at Diman Superbowl Tuesday evening.

Jacqueline and Khairuniza fought until the last frame and were rewarded with the gold medal with a score of 2426. They beat Perak's Nazrinnah Mohd Kamil and Nor Atteya Zainal Abidin by just three pins. It was the second gold medal for the pair in less than two months after the national schools (MSSM) championships.

"It was close in all the six games against the Perak girls. I missed a spare in the last frame but fortunately Khairuniza stepped up," said the 16-year-old Jacqueline.

"We were able to support each other in the crucial stages and that made the difference. This is my first Sukma after being the reserve in the last two editions. I'm glad that we were able to end Sarawak's wait for a gold medal after four years."

Sarawak last won gold when they were the hosts of the 2002 Games. Then, Tang Joh Six-Caroline Chien were the girls' doubles winners and Jackson Ting, who is now the coach, was a winner in the boys' singles and doubles.

After returning empty-handed from the Kedah Games, the 17-year-old Khairuniza is happy to get her act right. "I had a poor outing at the last Sukma. In fact, I did not do well in the singles event yesterday. I'm glad that both Jacqueline and I gave better performances today," she said yesterday.

"We hope to continue with our good showing and try to win more medals for Sarawak in the mixed doubles tomorrow."

Negeri Sembilan's Adlin Nadhirah and Nur Hidayah, who finished third in the same squad, clinched the bronze medal with 2356 ahead of the national bowling pair of Nur Syakirah Yeoh-Wan Nur Atiqqa of Johor in fourth.

In the Boy's Doubles, Selangor nailed their first gold in the competition through Ahmad Amiruddin Ridha Allah and Xavian Ang Xian Wen with a score of 2541. The duo had set the benchmark for the second squad after a record-breaking performance in the first squad.

Ahmad broke the 2004 record set by Lukman Jasril's high game of 256 with 268 and with Xavian smashed the 2002 one game total of 490 with 515. The pair also set a new record of 2541 to erase the 2539 set by Aaron Kong and Eric Ang in 2004.

Despite another record-breaking 6-game total by Khairul Diaz of Johor with 1368, his partner, Syed Mohd Hafiz only managed 1166 to give the pair a team total of 2534 to settle for the silver medal, just 7 pins off the champion.

Pahang's Mohd Saman Mohd Shuib and national youth, Rodson Tong Juinn Chuan claimed the bronze medal with 2519. Adrian Charles Dragon and Singles silver medalist, Khoo Beng Khai missed the podium with a fourth place finish on 2467.

Photos by Ms Tay Li Neo.

2nd June, K.Terengganu: Federal Territories' Yusuf Abdul Raof pulled off a major surprise in the SUKMA XII at Diman Superbowl in the Sultan Mizal Zainal Abidin Stadium to win the Boy's Singles gold medal on Monday afternoon.

The 16-year-old was also surprised himself on learning about his victory when he walked away into the cramped centre after performing afternoon prayers. He had bowled in the morning Squad C to post a 6-game total of 1269.

But the majority of the national youth bowlers, including Penang's Adrian Charles Dragon and reigning national champion, Fahmi Bahri, were all in the afternoon's Squad D. And none of the fancied bowlers managed to beat Yusuf's score.

Fahmi had the best chance to knock Yusuf off the top. He needed a 216 in the final game to take the gold medal but shot a poor 179 and failed to get among the medals. Penang's Khoo Beng Khai took the silver with 1237 while Sabahan, Tan Chien Nan claimed the bronze medal with 1234.

"I came here with a hope of winning a medal but taking gold is certainly a big surprise," said the debutant from Kuala Lumpur. "All the strong bowlers were in the second squad and I really felt that they would do better than me.

"This is a good start for the KL boys' team. We came here with an intention of winning a medal in every event. Hopefully, we can keep up the momentum," added Yusuf.

Fahmi Bahri missed the podium finishing fourth with 1233 while Yusuf's teammates, Mohd Amirrul Afif, Mohd Aziem Azemi and Syimir Abdul Razak came in 10th, 13th and 34th positions respectively in the singles.

The Girl's Doubles Squad A will commence later this evening while the Girl's Squad B, Boy's Squad C and D will resume tomorrow, June 3.

Photos by Ms Tay Li Neo.

1st June, K.Terengganu: Noor Amirah Bte Mohammad sprang a surprise victory in the opening Girl's Singles event to capture Kedah's first gold medal in the SUKMA XII underway at Diman Superbowl on Sunday.

Bowling in Squad B, Noor Amirah set a blistering pace with a opening series of 265, 198 and 246 and building up a 55 pins margin over last SUKMA Games triple gold medalist and leader of Squad A, Syaidatul Afifah Bte Badrul Hamidi of Perak.

The 16-year-old Kedah lass posted 209 amd 199 in the next two games to stretch her lead to 75 pins with teammate, Tengku Emanina Laily in second. With such a comfortable margin, Noor Amirah crusied home with 173 to total 1290 for the victory.

Syaidatul Afifah settled for the silver medal with 1246 despite leading the earlier squad while Tengku Emanina gave Kedah a superb start in the bi-annual championship clinching the bronze medal with 1243.

"I was nervous towards the end and I'm glad I did not cave in under the mounting pressure," said the gritty Noor Amirah. "It certainly feels good to pull it off, especially with a strong field here.

Selangor's Ili Syazana and Perak's Nazrinnah Mohd Kamil, who finished second and third in Squad A to Noor Amirah ended up in sixth and seventh while last SUKMA Masters gold medalist could only manage 18th position.

The boys will contest their first event tomorrow morning divided into Squad C and Squad D while the girls will resume competition with their Doubles event with the first squad at 4.00pm. The second squad and the Boy's Doubles will be held on Tuesday.

Photos by Ms Tay Li Neo.