Singapore youths dominate Boy’s U12

12th December, K.Lumpur: Singapore youths dominated the Boy's Under-12 Masters qualifying table of the 11th MILO International Junior All Stars Championship by occupying the top three spots on Sunday.   Sean Gabriel Wong, eldest son of Benedict Wong and Kezia Tan, took to the sport at a tender age of 8 and has been in competition since then. Sean is competing in his third Junior All Stars championship and his best was only a second reserve in the under-12 division last year.

After winning this year's Inter-Primary Championship with 3 gold and 2 bronze medals, Sean was determined to make the finals this time round and made it he did with style. The Singaporean fired 258, 245 and 187 for a splendid total of 689.

"I'm so glad to have made the finals and I'll do my best and not let both my parents and coaches down," said Sean, who is trained by Adam Chew and has a sister, Sarah Grace Wong following his footsteps and bowls regularly.   Sean led compatriot Timothy Tham of PBC Singapore in second with 627. There are currently eight Singapore youths out of the 18 finalists in the Boy's Under-12 division to give the other opponents a stiff battle in the finals. Meanwhile, Singapore Sports School youths continue to make impact on their third day of qualifying since Friday. Marcus Leong took over the lead in the Boy's Under-15 with a superb 702.

Starting moderately with 209, Leong stepped up his pace with 246 and 247 to the delight of his team-mates and coach, Thomas Fox. This is his fourth appearance at the junior tournament and is determined to come away with at least a podium finish in the finals.

National youth champion, Muhd Jaris Goh improved his earlier attempt with 655 after a cracking opening game of 268 but slowed down with 206 and 181 hi shis last two games. Darren Ong also improved with 665 on lines of 203, 227 and 235.   Singapore Sports School's Joy Yap continued to lead her team-mates fourth in the Girl's Under-15 with 646 followed by Tracy See fifth with 644. Kwa Lay Teng and Audrey Tan improved to make the cut in seventh and eighth respectively.

Half of the 18 Girl's Under-15 qulifiers are currently from Singapore and they will certainly give their opponents strong challenges during the finals on Tuesday, December 14. The Under-12 finals will be held on Monday, December 13.

Detailed scores: Boy's U12 Qualifying | Girl's U15 Qualifying | Boy's U15 Qualifying.