2nd October, Anyang, Korea: Hong Kong national bowlers bettered their previous games when Wu Siu Hong picked up silver medal of the Men's Masters finals at the concluding 17th Asian Games Incheon 2014 on Thursday.
Wu, who led the first block of the Masters finals yesterday winning 5 matches and drawing one, advanced into the stepladder finals in second position despite beating topseed, Park Jong Woo of Korea in the position round and 16th match with 4 wins and on a total of 3465.
Park, who was eighth overnight, leapfrog into top spot winning 6 matches to add to his 5 he won in the first block for a total of 3491, just 26 pins ahead of Wu.
Shaker Al Hassan of UAE, who defeated compatriot, Hussain Al Suwaidi in the position round by 1 pin, clinched the third and final stepladder spot with 3410. Singles bronze medalist, Du Jianchao missed the cut by 1 pin on a total of 3410.
Wu Siu Hong adding a silver medal for Hong Kong
In the first stepladder match, Wu tied with Shaker on 183 after the Hong Kong national downed 9 pins in his bonus frame forcing a 9 and 10 frame tie breaker. Wu edged the Emirati 35-27 to advance to the title match.
UAE had a one-two after the sixth match when Shaker managed to regain the lead followed by Hussain, 28 pins behind. Wu won his seventh match with 234 and closed out the block with another win to finished in the lead with 1764.
Hussain finished second with 1754, 10 pins adrift from 3 wins only. Du totaled 1725 from six wins for third spot while pace-setter, Shaker and Masatoki tied fourth place with 1715 to complete the top 5.
The two Koreans, who was expected to be fair well, managed only sixth and seventh positions. A second Hong Kong finalist, Michael Mak finished eighth position despite winning half of his matches.
The men will resume with their second block of 8 matches on long oil pattern. The top 3 will advance to the stepladder finals. In the title match, Park was on a roll easily defeating Wu 225-187 to build up a gap of 38 pins.
Masters medalists, Wu, Park and Shaker
Wu made a late charge with a double in the first two frames of the second match and then another double in the seventh and eighth frames.
Wu needed to strike out in the ninth and tenth frames to snatch victory but a stubborn pin 10 stood firmly when he delivered a seemingly perfect pocket shot. Although Wu beat Park, 214-182, his two games total of 401 was 5 pins short of Park's 407 which meant Wu had to settle for the silver medal.
Park earned his third gold medal of the competition after winning the Team and All Events gold medals two days ago. Wu's team-mate, Michael Mak finished fifth in the second block with 3380, just 30 pins from making the cut for the stepladder finals.
Korea emerged as overall champion with a medal haul of 7 gold, 1 silver and 6 bronze medals. Japan had 2 gold from the Men's Doubles and Trios. Singapore won the Women's Team gold while Thailand and Chinese Taipei were the other countries to win the remaining two gold medals.
Hong Kong, who won the Team bronze medal at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, repeated the feat by winning the bronze again here. 103 men and 74 women from 19 countries took part in the bowling competition of this year's games. The next Asian Games will be hosted by Indonesia in 2018.
Photos by Terence Yaw in Anyang, Korea.
1st October, Anyang, Korea: Team bronze medalist, Wu Siu Hong of Hong Kong led the first block of the Masters finals of the 17th Asian Games Incheon 2014 ahead of Hussain Al Suwaidi of UAE in second and Du Jianchao of China third.
2014 PBA-WBT Bahrain champion, Shaker Ali Al Hassan got off the block with a stunning 257 to beat team-mate, Hussain Al Suwaidi in the opening first of eight round-robin matchplay finals by just 4 pins.
The Emirati southpaw won his second match with 214 to extend his lead to 26 pins as Singles bronze medalist, Du Jianchao moved into second position while Trios gold medalist, Yoshinao Masatoki of Japan took third spot.
Despite not winning his third match, Shaker was able to hold on to the lead but only by 9 pins as two gold medalist, Park Jong Woo of Korea picked up his pace to take over second position and Masatoki holding third.
Wu Siu Hong leading the Men's Masters first block
Masatoki held the lead at the halfway mark, 11 pins ahead of Shaker but handed the lead to the Park after the fifth match while Shaker recovered to take up second spot.
UAE had a one-two after the sixth match when Shaker managed to regain the lead followed by Hussain, 28 pins behind. Wu won his seventh match with 234 and closed out the block with another win to finished in the lead with 1764.
Hussain finished second with 1754, 10 pins adrift from 3 wins only. Du totaled 1725 from six wins for third spot while pace-setter, Shaker and Masatoki tied fourth place with 1715 to complete the top 5.
The two Koreans, who was expected to be fair well, managed only sixth and seventh positions. A second Hong Kong finalist, Michael Mak finished eighth position despite winning half of his matches.
The men will resume with their second block of 8 matches on long oil pattern. The top 3 will advance to the stepladder finals.
Photos by Terence Yaw in Anyang, Korea.
Top 3 finishers, Hussain, Wu Siu Hong and Du Jianchao
30th September, Anyang, Korea: Hong Kong men team repeated their feat at the last Asian Games after picking up the 5-player Team bronze medal at the 17th Asian Games Incheon 2014 as Korea won the gold and Malaysia clinched the silver.
Park Jong Woo, Choi Bok Eum, Kim Kyung Min, Shin Seung Hyeonm Hong Hae Sol (alternating for Kang Hee Won) extended their lead over their nearest rival from 79 pins to 157 pins with an opening game of 1058.
Hong Kong, who took over second spot at the start of the second block from Indonesia, had UAE hot on their heels, 50 pins adrift. The Koreans were well clear of the field after shooting 1027 in the fifth game to stretch their lead further to a massive 258 pins.
Malaysia shot a big game of 1060 in the fifth to leapfrog into second position, 34 pins ahead of Hong Kong slipping down to third.
Hong Kong taking home a well-earned bronze medal
Meanwhile, Singles gold medalist, Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand, who had a 54 pins lead over Indonesia's Ryan Lalisang before the start of the second block, stumbled to a 180 and 176 in the fourth and fifth games to hand the lead to Park Jong Woo, who rolled 228 and 233.
Lalisang also felled out of contention after struggling with 169 and 197. This sixth Korean Kang Hee Won, who was forced to bowl in the make up team, fired 226 and 222 to moved up to third.
As Korea cruised to a comfortable victory with 6228 total despite ending with 987, Malaysia registered another big game of 1010 to clinch the silver medal with 5986, 242 pins adrift.
2010 Guangzhou Asian Games Team bronze medalist hung on to third with 5900 to retain the bronze medal. China and UAE missed the podium tieing fourth position with 5896.
Park ended the team with 180 for a total of 1307 to win the All Events gold medal with 5047. Yannaphon settled for the silver with 5015 after managing 1252 in the Team event while Kang ended with a big game of 245 for a 1319 Team total to snatch the bronze medal with 4999.
Lalisang missed the podium in fourth with 4986 after only posted 1208 in his Team event. Trios silver medalist, Zulmazran Zulkifli, who was third going into the final game of the Team event, rounded out the top 5 with 4980.
Korea winning their first gold in the Team event
Two Koreans, one Thai, two Indonesians, two Japanese, two Emiratis, two Malaysians and one each from Hong Kong and China finished in the top 16 of the All Events standing allowing Sithiphol Kunaksorn of Thailand and Michael Mak of Hong Kong to make the cut.
Photos by Terence Yaw in Anyang, Korea.
29th September, Anyang, Korea: 29th September, Anyang, Korea: 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games Team bronze medalist, Hong Kong set their sights on winning their first medal at the 17th Asian Games Incheon 2014 after finishing third in the first block of the 5-player Team event.
Singles gold medaist, Yannaphon Larpapharat led his team to a stunning 1139 in their opening game on long oil pattern and establishing a 70 pin lead over Korea. UAE followed in third with Indonesia and Hong Kong fourth and fifth.
The Thais could not maintain their pace after a lowly 894 in their next game and slipping down quickly as Park Jong Woo, Choi Bok Eum, Shin Seung Hyeon, Kim Kyung Min and Kang Hee Won took over the running.
UAE inched up into second position with Indonesia following in a close third while Hong Kong made some progress to go ahead of Thailand.
Hong Kong finishing third in the first block
Korea ended with 1052 for a total of 3156 to lead the first block. Indonesia's Ryan Lalisang, Billy Muhammad Islam, Diwan Rezaldy, Yeri Ramadona and Hardy Rachmadian took second position with 3077, 79 pins adrift.
Wicky Yeung, Rickle Kam, Eric Tseng, Wu Siu Hong and achorman Michael Mak shot 1021 in their third game to take up third with 3055, a just 22 pins from the Indonesians. UAE and Thailand competed the top 5 with 3029 and 3022 respectively.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong women are not in contention as they only have four players and are bowling to complete their All Events (24 games). Singapore women outshone local favourites and host, Korea to lead at the halfway mark with 3144.
Korea settled for second with 3049, 95 pins adrift while Chinese Taipei finished third with 2995. China and Indonesia completed the top 5 with 2972 and 2931 respectively.
Yannaphon's 702 in the Team first block propelled the Thai into the lead of the All Events with 4465 after 21 games. Lalisang remained in second with 4410, 55 pins away and Park Jong Woo in third with 4406.
Hong Kong women bowling for their All Events scores
Overnight leader, Wu Siu Hong slipped down to fourth with 4377 followed by Kim Kyung Min of Korea rounded out the top 5. The women will resume their second block over the short oil pattern tomorrow morning followed by the men in the afternoon which will determine the champions of the prestigious 5-player Team event.
The top 16 men and top 16 women from the All Events standings (with a maximum of two qualifiers from each NOC) will advance to the Round-robin Masters finals played over two blocks of 8 games on October 1 and 2.
Photos by Terence Yaw in Anyang, Korea.
22nd September, Anyang, Korea: Hong Kong team went through their paces during the two days of official practice to get ready for the challenges of the 17th Asian Games Incheon 2014 at Anyang Hogye Gymnasium Bowling Center.
103 men and 74 women, less 12 men from Bahrain and India, who pulled out in the last minute, took to the lanes at Anyang Hogye Gymnasium Bowling Center testing the short (36 feet) and long (46 feet) oil patterns put out by Mr John Janawicz, the technical official for the games.
While the competition will get underway in earnest, many teams are happy with the conditions and facilities put up by the organizing committee. Adequate space are provided for the storage of bowling equipment as well as space provided for the players to rest in between squads and events.
"The games village is located in a very condusive area with access to many shops and I must congratulate the organizing committee in providing us with such facilities," said Hong Kong head coach, Mr Bill Hoffman.
The Hong Kong team of four women and six men
"The conditions at Anyang Hogye Gymnasium Bowling Center has been so well maintained and our bowlers are comfortable with it. We'll be disappointed if we do not come away with a medal."
Korea dominated the last Asian Games in Guangzhou in 2010, sweeping 8 out of 12 gold medals. Malaysia finished second with 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze medal. Singapore was third with 1 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze medal. Philippines was the only other nation to win a gold.
Hong Kong came home with the bronze medal in the Team of 5 event and will be hoping to better that performance. The team also captured the Team silver medal at the 2013 East Asian Games in Tianjin with Wu Siu Hong winning the only gold in the Masters.
The 18 countries will face stiff challenges against the mighty Koreans. Triple gold medalist at the last games, Choi Bok-Eum and Hang Hae-Sol will led four debutants, Kang Hee-Won, Kim Kyung-Min, Park Jong-Woo and Shin Seung-Hyeon in their men's team.
Six gold medalist at 2013 East Asian Games Tianjin and 2013 World Championships gold medalist, Son Yun-Hee and Jeon Eun-Hee will also lead four debutants, Jung Da-Wun, Kim Jin-Sun, Lee Na-Young and Lee Yeong-Seung in their women's team.
Competition kicks off with the Men's Singles divided into 2 squads on September 23 over the long oil pattern while the Women's Singles, also divided into 2 squads, will be held on September 24.
The Doubles event will be contested over two days for the men (September 25) and the women (September 26), the Trios event over two blocks of 3 games each on September 27 and 28. The Team of 5 will be held over two blocks of 3 games on September 29 and 30.
The top 16 men and top 16 women (only two from each NOC maximum) will qualify for the Round-Robin Masters finals over two blocks of 8 games each on October 1 and 2. The top 3 men and top 3 women will advance to the stepladder finals.
Photos by Terence Yaw in Anyang, Korea.
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