Malaysia doubles up in RI leg of ABF Tour

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Malaysia showed its might in the Indonesian stop of the Asian Bowling Federation (ABF) Tour on Sunday, with men's bowler Alex Liew and women's bowler Lai Kin Ngoh taking the top honors.

Alex, 29, edged Yang Tae Bum of South Korea 244-241 in the final, while Lai, also 29, outplayed 17-year-old Singaporean newcomer Jasmine Yeong Nath 190-183.

For their wins, Alex received US$2,000 and Lai $1,500.

The Malaysian victories had seemed inevitable after the country took five of the eight semifinal slots, and the team will be a favorite for the 23rd Southeast Asian Games in November.

Alex completed back-to-back victories after taking the Indonesia International Open Bowling Tenpin Championship on Friday, but he did not have it all his own way.

He started confidently, buoyed by a hat trick of above 230 (258, 259, 238) games in the previous rounds.

However, his Korean opponent played fearlessly, taking the lead after four frames with four consecutive strikes, while Alex only scored three strikes and one spare.

The tempo of the match changed when the Malaysian wrested the lead with four strikes as Yang only scored two strikes, one spare and one split.

Yang came back fighting with double strikes and a spare in the ninth and 10th frames, but the Malaysian responded with two spares and one strike to win.

"It was an exciting game as Yang always put the pressure on me," Alex said. "Actually I didn't expect to win the ABF Tour as I just won the Indonesia Open, something that rarely happens."

On his way to the final, Alex defeated Indonesian David Sitorus 258-175 in the first round, Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia 259-187 and Ahmed Shaheen of Qatar 238-204 in the semifinal.

Alex has had a fine year, winning the Qatar leg of the ABF Tour, Bahrain Open and Selangor Open.

In the women's final, Lai and Jasmine both appeared to be suffering from nerves, with Lai attempting to win her first ABF Tour title and Jasmine making her first final appearance.

The teenager's lack of experience told in the final frame, when she missed the two strikes that would have given her the crown.

"I really wanted to win the title as I never won it before," Lai said. "Jasmine did very well in her first appearance on the ABF Tour by advancing to the final."

Lai defeated Cecilia Yap of the Philippines 189-172 in the first round, followed by compatriots Wendy Chai 193-153 and Zandra Aziela of Malaysia 267-181.