No joy for Happy, Ryan in Aviva bowling event

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Happy Soediyono and Ryan Lalisang failed to advance to the quarterfinals at the Aviva Asian Bowling Tour grand slam at the SAFRA Resorts Bowl in Singapore on Friday, according to a press release.

Happy, the first Indonesian woman bowler to reach the grand slam, scored 2967 points to finish 10th among 16 female bowlers. Only the top eight advanced to the quarterfinals.

The Indonesian was 35 points behind eighth-placed Alice Tay of Singapore, who just made the cut with 3002 points.

Kim Eun-jung of South Korea was the top woman bowler in the opening round with 3311 points.

Despite her failure to advance, Happy still has reason to smile thanks to the US$860 she is going home with.

The grand slam in Singapore, the final of the seven-series Asian tenpin bowling season, offers a total of $76,000 in cash prizes.

"I strived hard to win a place in the top eight, but the results just weren't what I was looking for. I'll give myself another try in the Aviva Asian Bowling Tour in the 2004-2005 season," Happy said.

It was a disappointing performance for Happy who finished runner-up at the Indonesian tournament in Jakarta last October and had arrived in Singapore ranked fifth.

Ryan Lalisang fared even worse than Happy. The bespectacled Indonesian male bowler finished 14th out of 17 bowlers.

Ryan, who began the event ranked sixth, only managed 3562 points, far behind the eighth-place finisher Lee Sung-il, who had 3713 points.

The Malaysian Azidi Ameran topped the men's division with 4081 points.

Ryan will be returning to Indonesia with $1,100.

Maxi Gunawan, the chairman of the Indonesian Bowling Association, said he was not overly disappointed with the results, saying it was an achievement just to have qualified for the grand slam.