13th April, Bangkok: Hong Kong national bowlers continued to lead Squad C second block of the qualifying rounds at the 45th MWA-Singha Thailand International Open with Ernest Kwok taking over the lead and Chan Shuk Han retaining top spot.
Overnight leader, James Lui had a decent start in his opening game of the second block with 213 but had his lead reduced to just two pins by team-mate, Tony Wong. Kwok got an even better start with a stunning 279 to move up into third.
Kwok added another superb game of 245 to leapfrog into the lead as Wong took over second spot when Lui suffered a disastrous 157 to slip to third. Malaysia's Afizal Azizan gained grounds for fourth with Jimmy Cheung of Hong Kong up to fifth.
The leader reeled in 190, 217 and 225 to end the block with 1156 and becoming the new squad leader with 2200. Wong settled for second with 1089 and a total of 2198. Azizan claimed third spot with 2128 followed by two lefties, Syaffique Ikhwan of Malaysia and Atchariya Cheng of Thailand rounding out the top five with 2101 and 2087 respectively.
Ernest Kwok taking over Squad C lead
Cheung took up sixth position with 2082 while Lui dropped down to a disappointing seventh with 2043. After two blocks and based on average, Kwok occupied seventh position in the overall standings to head the mixed pool.
Malaysia's Tun Hakim, Muhd Nur Aiman and Ahmad Muaz occupied the top three overseas qualifiers and will earn a bye and skip Round 2 finals. Wong finished eighth, Chueng 18th and Lui in 25th, just one spot off the cut at 26th position held by Lin Pai-Feng with 2041.
In the Women's Open division, overnight leader Chan Shuk Han of Hong Kong retained top spot in the squad after adding 1000 in the second block for a 10-game total of 1985. Pitchapa Reongsiri of Thailand finished second with 1880.
Milki Ng dropped one spot to third with 1871 after managing only 900. Nerosha Keligit of Malaysia took over the lead in the overseas pool after posting a high series of 1103 to take her 10-game total to 2170.
Overnight leader and team-mate, Sin Li Jane slipped down to second with 2115 while Singapore's Ilya Syamin, who has yet to bowl her second block, occupied third based on average. Thanchanok Vilailak took over the lead of the local pool with 1943.
Khattiya Ngoenkham and Kantaporn Singhabubpha occupied second and third positions with 1915 and 1891 respectively. Esther Cheah of Malaysia headed the mixed pool with 2004 while Chan's effort sealed her tenth position overall.
Chan Shuk Han retaining her lead in Squad C
Ng is just two spots above the cut in 22nd position occupied by Nur Amirah Auni of Malaysia with 1836. Ng will have to register a much better third series to secure a place in Round 2 finals.
Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok, Thailand.
12th April, Bangkok: Hong Kong national bowlers ruled the final squad of first block qualifying rounds at ther 45th MWA-Singha Thailand International Open with James Lui topping the Men's Open division and Chan Shuk Han taking the Women's Open.
Men's Grade A Masters first runner-up, Mahadzir Mohd Ali got off to a good start with 226 in his opening game to lead 2018 Palembang Asian Games Team silver medallist, Tong Wong of Hong Kong by three pins.
2017 Philippine Open Masters champion, Kenneth Chua of Philippines and newly-crowned 2019 H.H. Emir Cup champion, Wu Siu Hong of Hong Kong keeping pace in third and fourth. 2018 East Asian Championships Masters gold medallist, James Lui added a superb 245 in the second game to his 203 opening game to take over the running.
Wong returned a respectable 223 to remain in second as Amhadzir suffered a lowly 185 to slip out of contention. A third Hong Kong national, Jimmy Cheung moved up into third spot followed by Afizal Azizan of Malaysia in fourth.
James Lui topping Squad C in the first block
Another superb game of 239 in the third game allow Lui to extend his lead from two to 16 pins. Chueng added 228 to take over second as Wong slipped down to third. Cheung posted a splendid 246 in the fourth game to move ahead of Wong as Lui managed only 181 to slip to third.
But Lui bounced back brilliantly with 247 in the final game to seal top spot with 1115. Wong settled for second with 1109 while Cheung stumbled to a 181 final game to drop to third with 1098. A fourth Hong Kong national, Ernest Kwok stormed home to clinch fourth spot with 1044. Syaffique Ikhwan of Malaysia also finished strongly to round out the top five with 1041.
In the Women's Open division, the battle for the lead was largely between Hong Kong's Milki Ng and Thailand's Pitchapa Reongsiri having exchanged lead in the first two games. But Ng prevailed to lead after the third game as the Thai faded off.
Ng managed 186 and 191 in her last two games but could not hold on to the lead. 2017 World Championships bronze medallist and compatriot, Chan Shuk Han stormed home with 237 in the final game to snatch top spot with 985. Ng settled for second with 971.
Pitchapa recovered to claim third spot with 846 followed by her compatriot, Wasana Sakulrat and Hong Kong's Gigi Leung completing the top five with 890 and 838 respectively.
Squad A leader, Tun Hakim of Malaysia remained in the leader in the overseas pool with 1174 followed by two additional Malaysians, Ahmad Muaz and Muhd Nur Aiman in second and third with 1137 and 1134. Surasak Manuwong and Yannaphon Larpapharat also remained in first and second with 1124 and 1031.
Chan Shuk Han snatching top spot of Squad C
Napat Buspanikonkul snatched third spot with 1014 in Squad C dislodging compatriot, Sithphol Kunaksorn out of the qualifying standings. The top 3 overseas and top 3 local qualifiers will skip Round 2 finals.
There were also no changes atop the Women's Open overseas pool with Malaysians Sin Li Jane and Nerosha Keligit occupying first and second spots with 1147 and 1067 while Singaporean Ilya Syamin remained third with 1011.
Yanee Saebe remained in the lead of the local pool with 955. Pitchapa took over second spot with 946 while Kantaporn Singhabubpha dropped to third with 936. The players will resume with their second block of five games tomorrow with squads in the order of B, A, C and D.
Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok, Thailand.
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