Malaysia doubles up in RI leg of ABF Tour<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Malaysia showed its might in the Indonesian stop of the Asian
\nBowling Federation (ABF) Tour on Sunday, with men's bowler Alex
\nLiew and women's bowler Lai Kin Ngoh taking the top honors.<\/p>\n
Alex, 29, edged Yang Tae Bum of South Korea 244-241 in the
\nfinal, while Lai, also 29, outplayed 17-year-old Singaporean
\nnewcomer Jasmine Yeong Nath 190-183.<\/p>\n
For their wins, Alex received US$2,000 and Lai $1,500.<\/p>\n
The Malaysian victories had seemed inevitable after the
\ncountry took five of the eight semifinal slots, and the team will
\nbe a favorite for the 23rd Southeast Asian Games in November.<\/p>\n
Alex completed back-to-back victories after taking the
\nIndonesia International Open Bowling Tenpin Championship on
\nFriday, but he did not have it all his own way.<\/p>\n
He started confidently, buoyed by a hat trick of above 230
\n(258, 259, 238) games in the previous rounds.<\/p>\n
However, his Korean opponent played fearlessly, taking the
\nlead after four frames with four consecutive strikes, while Alex
\nonly scored three strikes and one spare.<\/p>\n
The tempo of the match changed when the Malaysian wrested the
\nlead with four strikes as Yang only scored two strikes, one spare
\nand one split.<\/p>\n
Yang came back fighting with double strikes and a spare in the
\nninth and 10th frames, but the Malaysian responded with two
\nspares and one strike to win.<\/p>\n
\"It was an exciting game as Yang always put the pressure on
\nme,\" Alex said. \"Actually I didn't expect to win the ABF Tour as
\nI just won the Indonesia Open, something that rarely happens.\"<\/p>\n
On his way to the final, Alex defeated Indonesian David
\nSitorus 258-175 in the first round, Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia
\n259-187 and Ahmed Shaheen of Qatar 238-204 in the semifinal.<\/p>\n
Alex has had a fine year, winning the Qatar leg of the ABF
\nTour, Bahrain Open and Selangor Open.<\/p>\n
In the women's final, Lai and Jasmine both appeared to be
\nsuffering from nerves, with Lai attempting to win her first ABF
\nTour title and Jasmine making her first final appearance.<\/p>\n
The teenager's lack of experience told in the final frame,
\nwhen she missed the two strikes that would have given her the
\ncrown.<\/p>\n
\"I really wanted to win the title as I never won it before,\"
\nLai said. \"Jasmine did very well in her first appearance on the
\nABF Tour by advancing to the final.\"<\/p>\n
Lai defeated Cecilia Yap of the Philippines 189-172 in the
\nfirst round, followed by compatriots Wendy Chai 193-153 and
\nZandra Aziela of Malaysia 267-181.<\/p>",
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