Singapore off to a blazing start - Singapore Bowling Federation

Singapore off to a blazing start

10th July, Jakarta: Singapore got off to a blazing start at the 14th Asian School Tenpin Bowling Championships underway at Ancol Bowling Center with Javier Tan and Joey Yeo topping the opening squad of the Boy’s and Girl’s Singles. Javier Tan of Singapore on his third appearance at the Asian School, took off with a sizzling 230 to lead the trio of Choi Hyun-Wook of Korea, Adam Svensson of Australia and team-mate, Joel Tan tieing with 223.

Qatar’s Jassim Al Muraikhi took over the lead briefly after the second game but faded off as last year’s Masters gold medalist, Abdulla Ahmed of Kuwait moved into the lead widway through the 6-game singles.

But it was the consistency showned by Javier Tan after rolling 207, 214, 226, 225 and 257 that gave the Singapore youngster the lead with 1359. His compatriot, Joel Tan fired 279 in the fifth and 240 in the sixth to leapfrog into second spot with 1333.

“I started off well which put me in a high spirit,” said the 17-year-old Javier and a member of the Singapore national youth team. “Thereafter, I just kept my focus and took each game one at a time.

“This is my third Asian School championship for which I only had one Team bronze so I’m hopeful that my score is good enough to win me at least a medal. It doesn’s matter if it is not a gold, at least a medal is a good start.”

Korea’s Hwang Jun-Hurk also posted big games of 265 and 234 in his fourth and fifth games and hung on to third with 1282 despite a lowly 187 in the final game.

Pace-setter, Abdulla ended in fourth position with 1262 and Hong Kong’s Ashley Hiu rounded out the top 5 with 1241.

Singapore could not have asked for a better start when Jeoy Yeo Ruoqi snatched pole position with 1281 from front-runner, Nao Kato of Japan, who led for the first four games with lines of 246, 220, 234 and 178 but slipped down to third after 154 and 188 in her last two games.

“I was in last year’s Asian School girls team but we did not make the trip due to some unforseen circumstances,” said the 15-year-old Joey. “This time, I will make the most of it and win as many medals as I can.

“The lanes are not easy but challenging and I had to make quick adjustments in order to get my ball into the pocket. I also made sure I made all my spares which is important.”

Philippines’ Madeline Mae Llamas clinched second position with 1251 after a strong game of 226 in the last while Kato totaled 1220 for third.

Korea’s Shin Hye-Ji finished fourth with 1219 while a second Singaporean, Kristin Quah completed the top 5 with 1197.

88 boys and 48 girls from 14 countries are participating in this year’s championships. The second squad of 44 boys and 24 girls will contest their Singles later and the top 3 in the boy’s and top 3 in the girl’s division will be declared the winners after two squads scores are combined.

Detailed scores: Boy’s Singles Squad A | Girl’s Singles Squad A | Photo Album.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Jakarta.