A fruitful outing for junior gymnasts in Japan

BY ASHREENA PILLAI

PETALING JAYA: The national back-up rhythmic gymnasts pulled off an impressive four gold, three silver and two bronze haul from the recent Hibiscus Cup in Okinawa, Japan.

Competing in the junior category, each gymnast competed in two events and national champion Olivia Tai Qing Tong picked up the gold in the clubs event while Chong Lok Yi clinched the bronze.

In the ribbon event, it was an all-Malaysian affair with Lok Yi takiing the gold. Olivia finished second while Shak Yuki was placed third.

Koh Sei Yan, the other Malaysian gymnast, finished sixth and fourth in the clubs and ribbon respectively.

Also competing in Okinawa was pre-junior Amisha Sofia Azli. The 12-year-old won gold in the ball and clubs while Nur Naime Zainul Ariffin finished second in both events.

National development squad coach Lidia Legotina was pleased with the gymnasts' overall performances but rued the lack of cleaner routines.

"Some of them performed well but there were some glaring mistakes. Lok Yi did very well but Yuki made two drops (of the apparatus). Sei Yan did badly in the clubs but had a good start in the ribbon. We cannot stress enough the need for the routines to be mistake-free, no drops. Every mistake comes at a cost," she said.

"But we have some time to work on getting the routines tighter and to bring all the elements together – stability, expression and presentation. They have one last competition, the Miss Valentine 2014 in Tartu, Estonia, from Feb 7-9 before competing in the Junior Asian Championships. Hopefully, we can achieve more success in Tartu," added Legotina.

Malaysia will host the Junior Asian Championships, which is a qualifying competition for the second Youth Olympic Games, at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil from Feb 21-24.

Olivia, Yuki, Sie Yan and Shasangari Sivaneswary Nagarajan, who was forced to miss the Hibiscus Cup after suffering a muscle pull, will be looking to earn their spots at the Games in Nanjing, China, from Aug 16-26.

At the inaugural Games in Singapore in 2010, Malaysia missed out on a medal after Lee Wan Nin, who has since retired, finished fourth in the all-around individual final.

Malaysia knuckle down for Olympics

By FABIAN PETER

Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has tasked the NSI to start scouting for potential athletes to make the Olympics 2020 and 2024 cut.

MALAYSIA have finally taken initiatives to look at long term success, planning ahead of time for the 2020 and 2024 Olympics.

The National Sports Institute (NSI) chaired a meeting with its 18 core sports associations today in Bukit Jalil, and will kick-off their initiative to find more talents beginning next month.

Director of backup athletes Jefri Ngadirin sat with Sports247.my and shared a little about the aim of the programme.

“We have been asked by our Minister (Khairy Jamaluddin) to start looking at long-term plans, and so we have finally decided to come up with this.

“We will be tapping into talents  from the ages of 14-16 from all across Malaysia, and they will be absorbed into this programme. We have spoken to the associations to draft out a list of selection criterias’ which will be presented when we meet in  fortnight’s time.

“Talents will not be chosen based on quality and performance alone, but physical attributes will also be one of the key factors,” Jefri said.

He added that at present the athletes pyramid consists of the national elites, backups and regional athletes under the national program.

However with the introduction of the new programme, athletes selected from the states will have two camps each year for monitoring purposes, and they will also now have the opportunity to be exposed to overseas trainings and competitions.

“At the moment state athletes only train at out training centres’ based in their hometown. With this initiative, we will allow them to go overseas for exposure. We will also invite other nations to come here for friendlies,” added Jefri.

There are currently 251 NSI centres across Malaysia and an estimated 5,500 athletes.

“We are looking at getting a pool of about 700-800 athletes. These athletes will then be monitored closely.

“If we find them exceptionally good, then they may also be absorbed into the national elite or backup squad.

“Our target is to have a camp in Janda Baik next month, using the criterias’ set by the associations. And if all goes well, we should have a pool of athletes at the end of January. These athletes, based on performance, may also compete at the 2017 SEA Games in Myanmar.

“They may not be expected to win anything yet, as we have still have our elites and backup’s, but the exposure may be valuable,” explained Jefri.

When asked about football, Jefri said “Football is a stand alone, they have the National Football Development Programme (NFDP) which is a big programme, so we don’t want to mix it all up.”

The 18 disciplines

Swimming
Diving
Syncronised swimming
Weightlifting
Badminton
Track cycling
Road cycling
Artistic gymnastic
Rhythmic gymnastic
Field hockey
Fencing
Archery
ISSF shooting
Skeet and Trap shooting
Athletics
Sailing
Taekwondo
Boxing

- See more at: http://www.sports247.my/2013/12/malaysia-knuckle-down-for-olympics/#sthash.3QFKlwcp.dpuf

SEA Games report card: Juniors did good

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NAYPYITAW: The Malaysian young guns have proved their worth at the Myanmar SEA Games.

Out of a total haul of 43-38-76, a total of nine golds, four silvers and 12 bronzes came from the national back-up team.

And that is good news for Malaysia, who are searching for new stars to make a stronger assault at the Asian and Olympic Games.

"This is the highest-ever gold medal contribution by the back-up athletes in our SEA Games history, And it does not include the young athletes who are already in the elite squad," said a proud NSC director-general Datuk Zolkples Embong.

The men's back-up athletes who won golds are Lim Chee Wei (men's kata individual), the men's kata team (Chee Wei, Leong Tze Wai and Emmanuel Leong Theng Keong), Eddy Chew (shooting), Sentil Kumaran Selvarajoo (men's kumite's below 60kg), Mohd Irfan Shamsuddin (discus) and Nauraj Singh Randhawa (high jump).

Gole medallists S. Shree Sharmini (kumite below 68kg), pencak silat's Nor Hamizah Abu Hassan and Nur Syazreen Abdul Malik (ganda double) and wushu's Phoon Eyin are from the women's back-up squad.

For the 18-year-old Irfan, the NSC have big plans for him.

"He is one of our outstanding athletes here and we will continue to give him the right exposure. He is our star for the future," said Zolkples.

Of the country's multiple gold medallists, Zolkples was full of praise for Mohd Jironi Riduan for winning golds in the 800m and 1,500m.

"This is Jironi's last SEA Games and he showed great determination and pushed himself hard to the finish line. He will now become our coach at the Bandar Penawar Sports School."

Zolkples, however, was disappointed with four sports – football, sepaktakraw, archery (compound) and cycling (road).

"We invested so much on sepaktakraw and they could not even nick one out of the 18 gold medals. These sports need to review their performances," said Zolkples.

Other assessments by NSC

• A total of 13 sports were given excellent billing for winning gold medals – swimming (4), diving (8), badminton (1), billiards and snooker (1), bodybuilding (1), equestrian (3), hockey (2), karate (7), shooting (1), muay (2), sailing (2), wushu (3), archery recurve (2).
• Five sports – cycling, football, archery compound, athletics and pencak silat – failed to meet the gold medal target.
• Six sports – equestrian, badminton, karate, muay, swimming, billiards and snooker – delivered more than they promised.
• Six national records were set through Mohd Irfan Shamsuddin (men's discus), Jackie Wong Siew Cheer (men's hammer), Mohd Hakimi Ismail (men's triple jump), Iskandar Alwi (men's pole vault), men's 4x200m freestyle (Lim Ching Hwang, Kevin Yeap, Daniel Bego and Welson Sim) and Nor Khasida Abdul Halim (women's weightlifting, 69kg).

Eyin makes it the 1,000th gold for Malaysia

Eyin makes it the 1,000th gold for Malaysia

BY STARSPORT TEAM

Golden girl: 17-year-old Phoon Eyin won Malaysia's 1000th gold at the SEA Games in the qiangshu event in Naypyitaw. Filepic

NAYPYITAW: Wushu exponent Phoon Eyin claimed a surprise gold for Malaysia in the women's qiangshu event at the SEA Games on Monday.

The 17-year-old schoolgirl said, “I want women qiangshu to spark a big celebration for the Malaysian contingent at the Myanmar SEA Games in Naypyitaw.”

Eyin, making her debut, scored 9.67 to win the 1,000th gold medal for Malaysia in SEA Games history.

Vietnam's Duong Vi took silver with 9.59 while Thalia Lovita of Indonesia took the bronze with 9.40.

Squash: Syafiq leads Malaysia to secure top spot

Squash: Syafiq leads Malaysia to secure top spot

BY KNG ZHENG GUAN

Mohd Syafiq Kamal played a crucial role to beat Hong Kong’s Yuen Tsun Hei 11-6, 11-6, 11-8 at the Asian Youth Games in Nanjing, China, on Thursday.

   

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PETALING JAYA: Individual silver medallist Mohd Syafiq Kamal led by example as the Malaysian boys secured top spot in Pool B of the Asian Youth Games at Nanjing, China.

The team, who already qualified for the semi-finals, needed to beat Hong Kong in order to give themselves a better draw in the last four.

And they did just that by overcoming a persistent Hong Kong 2-1 on Wednesday.

Pahang’s Darren Chan gave them the start they needed by beating Lau Tsz Kwan 11-3, 11-3, 12-14, 11-7 in the first tie.

Hong Kong however levelled the tie as Chris Lo played a consistent game to frustrate Asian Junior Under-17 champion Ng Eain Yow to win 12-10, 9-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-9.

It was up to Syafiq to rescue the team and he duly delivered, with an outstanding performance to beat Hong Kong No. 1 Yuen Tsun Hei 11-6, 11-6, 11-8.

In their final group match against Thailand on Thursday, the team had an easy run out by thrashing Thailand 3-0.

Malaysia will face Jordan in the semi-finals later today while Hong Kong will face top seeds India.

“The test for the boys was taking on Hong Kong where we faced some real resistance,” said team manager Allan Soyza.

“Darren played well to take the a 2-0 lead, and although he was pinned back in the third set, he upped his game to seal it in the fourth.

“Eain Yow had an up and down match and despite having the physical advantage, Chris had the upper hand in terms of game control and displayed better consistency to win that tie.

“The decider was Syafiq’s match, against Tsun Hei whom he had already beaten in the individual event a few days ago.

“Basically he was in no mood to drop a game and started fabulously ... taking total control to seal the winning point. That was the best from him all week,” added Soyza.

Meanwhile, in the girls’ event, Malaysia will face India in the semi-finals while Hong Kong will take on Japan.

Diver Zhiayi aims for birthday 'gift' at AYG

Diver Zhiayi aims for birthday 'gift' at AYG

Loh Zhiayi in a file photo taken in 2012. The 16-year-old is hoping for a belated birthday present in the form of a medal win at the Asian Youth Games in China.

PETALING JAYA: Taiping-born diver Loh Zhiayi turned 16 on Tuesday and wants to reward herself with a perfect belated birthday gift when she competes in the Asian Youth Games (AYG), starting in Nanjing, China, Saturday.

A team of three two boys and a girl – Mohd Nazreen Abdullah, Mohd Danial Sabri; and Zhiayi – arrived in the Chinese city Thusday night to vie for medals at the second edition of AYG, which ends on Aug 24.

The trio will compete in all four events – boys’ and girls’ 3m springboard and platform.

Zhiayi, who finished an impressive fifth at the World Junior Championships in Adelaide last October, has been tipped by head coach Yang Zhuliang to shine in the platform discipline.

“I hope to do well in the AYG so that my birthday will be more meaningful,” said the double gold medallist at last year’s Kuantan Sukma.

“After the recent one-month training stint in China, I feel like I’m a better diver now. I’ve increased my DD (degree of difficulty) since the world juniors. I’ll be executing two higher DD routines, 107B and 407C (both carrying 3.0 and 3.2 respectively) in future competitions.

“Hopefully, I can perform them well and see where they’ll take me.”

Zhuliang is counting on Zhiayi to do the country proud in Nanjing.

“We have a small team but we hope Zhiayi can deliver. She has a decent chance in platform. I hope Nazreen and Danial can give a good account of themselves too,” said Zhuliang, who is not in China but has put his assistant, Zhang Yikun, in charge.

The 68-member Malaysian contingent are among the 45 nations competing in this edition of the AYG, which features 15 sports.

At the last AYG held in Singapore four years ago, Malaysia won only a bronze medal in sailing.

But that was due to Malaysia withdrawing the whole contingent, except for sailing, following the H1N1 flu outbreak.

Impressive finish for cyclist Firdaus in Glasgow

BT LIM TEIK HUAT

Impressive: Mohd Firdaus Mohd Zonis finished sixth in the in the 1km time trial final at the UCI Juniors World Track Championships in Glasgow on Saturday.Here the Selangor lad celebrates after winning the gold medal in Junior Men Keirin Final at the Malaysian National Track Championship at Cheras Cycling Velodrome in June. - S.S.KANESAN/THE STAR.

PETALING JAYA: Cyclist Mohd Firdaus Mohd Zonis rode through the pain barrier to do Malaysia proud at the UCI Juniors World Track Championships in Glasgow on Saturday.

Firdaus, the Asian junior champion, clocked 1:05.092 to finish sixth in the 1km time trial final and it is an impressive achievement considering he is eligible for another go at the world meet next year.

Maximilian Dornbach of Germany clocked 1:03.129 for the gold ahead of Russian Aleksandr Dubchenko (1:03.227). Australia’s Zachary Shaw claimed the bronze in 1:03.288.

Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF) deputy president Datuk Naim Mohamad was delighted with Firdaus’ performance.

“He was unlucky to have hurt himself in a training mishap when we came here earlier and end up with three stitches on his shin.

“But he fought the pain and the older competitors to register a good result.

“Anyway, the gold, silver and bronze medallists as well as well as the fourth fastest (Thomas Copponi of France) will not be around for next year’s World Juniors while Firdaus is still eligible.

“He has to contend with South Korean rider Jung Jae-hee who is of the same age and who is ahead by about 0.1 second.

“If Firdaus keeps his form and improves further, he has a very bright future. It is a good exposure for him and we should see some medals in next year’s championships,” said Naim.

Firdaus’ performance in the 1km time trial made up for the disappointing exit in the keirin’s first round.

Mohd Shah Firdaus Sahrom reached the keirin second round but failed in his bid to enter the top six final. Sahrom also reached the top 16 in the 200m sprint before he was eliminated.

The duo combined with Asyraf Naim Ying to form the team sprint combination but were relegated for a technical infringement.

As for Afiq Huznie Othman, he finished 16th in the men’s points race final.

Sarvinder gets her big break with spot in U-17 Asian Youth Games

Sarvinder gets her big break with spot in U-17 Asian Youth Games

BY AFTAR SINGH

Ready to rumble: Savinder Kaur is all set to achieve her dream as she has been selected to compete in the Under-17 Asian Youth Games in Nanjing, China, from Aug 19-24.

KUALA LUMPUR: Teenager Savinder Kaur’s dream is to become a national middle distance runner.

And the Form Four student of Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) looks set to achieve her dream as she has been selected to compete in the Under-17 Asian Youth Games in Nanjing, China, from Aug 19-24.

The Selayang-born girl was picked to compete in the Games after clocking a personal best time of 2:15.00 en route to the silver medal in the girls’ 800m at the Asean School Games in Ho Chi Minh City in June.

Savinder also impressed at the National Schools Championships (MSSM) in Kuantan in May, clocking 2:15.97 to break the Under-18 800m record.

She also clocked a personal best time of 4:55.79 to bag the gold in the 1,500m.

Savinder, a former student of Ideal Heights Secondary School in Selayang, said that she did the right thing by joining the BJSS in January.

“Since enrolling in BJSS, I not only managed to improve my timing but I did well to win the silver in the 800m in the Asean Schools Games.

“I am training diligently as I expect a strong challenge from Asia’s top runners in Nanjing ,” said Savinder, who wants to become a national runner in three years’ time.

Eain Yow to be flag bearer for Malaysia in Nanjing

Squash: Eain Yow to be flag bearer for Malaysia in Nanjing

BY AFTAR SINGH

Confident: Ng Eain Yow has set his sights on winning the gold medal in the individual event at the Asian Youth Games in Nanjing from Aug 17-24.

KUALA LUMPUR: Two-time British Junior Squash Open champion Ng Eain Yow has been given the honour of being the flag bearer for Malaysia at the Asian Youth Games in Nanjing from Aug 17-24.

The Form Three student of Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS), who won the British Junior Open Under-13 title in 2011 and the Under-15 title in January, has also set his sights on winning the gold medal in the individual event at the Games.

The youngster had also won the Asian Junior title twice – the Under-15 category in Iran last year and the Under-17 event in Jordan in June.

Eain Yow, seeded joint third-fourth with Hong Kong’s Yuen Tsun Hei in Nanjing, is delighted to have been picked to be the flag bearer for Malaysia in the Under-17 Games.

“Being chosen to be the flag bearer is a boost for the game of squash. It will also boost my confidence as I fight for the gold medal at the Games,” said Eain Yow, who is last year’s national Under-16 champion.

He also hailed this year as the best for him, having won the British Junior Open Under-15 title and the Under-17 title in the Asian Junior.

“Although I’m seeded joint third-fourth for the individual event for the Asian Youth Games, I’m in top form – mentally and physically – to win the singles title,” he said.

“We’re also eyeing the team title as we have good players like Mohd Syafiq (Kamal) and Darren Chan.”

Syafiq, who lost to Eain Yow in the Under-17 final of the Asian Junior meet in Jordan, is the second seed while India’s Kush Kumar is the top seed.

Malaysia’s S. Vanessa Raj has been given the top billing in the girls’ individual event. Hong Kong’s Pansy Pui Hei is the second seed while Rachel Arnold, also of Malaysia, is seeded joint third-fourth. The other Malaysian player – Celine Yeap – will feature in the team event.

The individual event will begin on Aug 17 and the team event on Aug 20.

Twelve teams will feature in the boys’ category, where Malaysia are seeded second behind India.

Seven teams have confirmed their participation in the girls’ category, with Malaysia being the top seeds and Hong Kong second.

Squash was not included in the inaugural Asian Youth Games in Singapore in 2009.

Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) director of coaching Allan Soyza said they are targeting a clean sweep of all the gold medals in squash.

“We have good sets of players in the boys’ and girls’ categories ... we’re confident of dominating the squash event,” said Allan.

The other sports at the Games are athletics, aquatics, badminton, basketball, fencing, golf, judo, shooting, table tennis and weightlifting.

Eain Yow eyes Asian Youth Games target

Eain Yow eyes Asian Youth Games target

BY KNG ZHENG GUAN

Ng Eain Yow and R. Yovineshan in the CIMB National Junior Squash Circuit in May this year. Eain Yow is up for the challenge of SRAM's four-gold medal target.

PETALING JAYA: Asian Junior Under-17 champion Ng Eain Yow is aware of the challenging task awaiting him in the nine-day Asian Youth Games (AYG), which will be held in Nanjing, China, from Friday.

Instead of cowering in fear, Eain Yow is actually looking forward to meeting the Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia’s (SRAM) four-gold medal target.

The city boy is in the best form of his life – winning the British Junior Open Under-15 title in January before following it up with the National Junior Circuit GP Finals, the Milo All Star and the Asian Juniors.

Still only 15, Eain Yow has matured remarkably fast and is certainly one of the brightest young talents in the country.

And Eain Yow, who is seeded joint third-fourth with Hong Kong's Yuen Tsun Hei for the AYG, can’t wait to lock horns with some of the top juniors in Asia.

“It’ll definitely be tougher than the Asian Juniors because there are several players from the older age groups who will be competing this time,” said Eain Yow.

“The two most dangerous players in my half of the draw are India’s Kush Kumar and Pakistan’s Ahmad Israr.

“I’ve not played against Kush because he’s always in the older age group. Israr has beaten me once – in the semi-finals of the British Juniors last year.

“But I lost to him in five sets ... it was a really close fight. I haven’t faced him since but I’d like to believe that I too have improved since that loss.

“The challenge now is to get back my game. I’m a little rusty as I’ve been busy with my Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) trials a few weeks back. The trials are over now and I’m confident I can return to top form when the tournament begins.”

Eain Yow has been give a first round bye at the AYG and should meet Iraq’s Al-sultani Abdullah in the second round.

A win will see him face Israr in the quarter-finals.

He is expected to take on top seed Kush in the last four.

Besides Eain Yow, the other Malaysian in the individual event is second seed Mohd Syafiq Kamal. A third Malaysian, 17-year-old Darren Chan, will only compete in the team event.

The girls will be represented by Rachel Arnold, Vanessa Raj and Celine Yeap.

Tujuh pelumba remaja pikul cabaran trek dunia

Muhammad Firdaus antara pelumba yang terpilih ke Kejohanan Trek Dunia 2013 di Glasgow.

KUALA LUMPUR - Persekutuan Kebangsaan Berbasikal Malaysia (PKBM) menghantar tujuh pelumba remaja ke Kejohanan Trek Dunia 2013 Glasgow dan dalam masa yang sama mahu menguji keupayaan pelumba endurance serta mengharapkan kejayaan dari pelumba pecut.

Timbalan Presiden PKBM, Datuk Naim Mohamad berkata, ketujuh-tujuh pelumba itu akan menyertai kejohanan yang bermula dari 7 hingg 11 Ogos ini di Velodrom Chris Hoy gelanggang yang akan digunakan di Sukan Komanwel tahun depan.

"Mereka akan bersaing dalam pelbagai acara dan ini adalah gelanggang terbaik untuk mereka meraih kejayaan seterusnya menyarung jersi pelangi selaku juara remaja dunia," katanya dalam satu kenyataan di sini, semalam.

Mereka ialah Muhammad Firdaus Mohd Zonis, Asyraf Naim Ying, Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom, Muhammad Afiq Huznie Othman, Muhammad Aele Shafri Rusli, Irwandie Lakasek dan Mohamad Farid Razali.

Firdaus bakal menggalas tugas berat apabila menyertai empat acara pecut, satu kilometer ujian masa, keirin dan pecut berpasukan, manakala Asyraf pula beraksi dalam acara satu kilometer ujian masa dan pecut berpasukan. Seorang lagi pelumba Shah Firdaus mengambil bahagian dalam acara pecut, keirin dan pecut berpasukan.

Sementara itu, bagi endurance pula, Afiq akan mengambil bahagian dalam acara kejar-mengejar berpasukan, perlumbaan mata, scratch dan omnium, diikuti Aele Shafri yang menyertai acara kejar-mengejar berpasukan, perlumbaan mata dan omnium.

Irwandie pula bakal beraksi dalam acara kejar-mengejar berpasukan, kejar-mengejar individu, scratch dan omnium sementara Farid pula beraksi dalam acara kejar-mengejar berpasukan dan kejar-mengejar individu.

"Pelumba pecut akan berlepas ke Glasgow pada Selasa minggu depan dan mereka akan menyertai pelumba endurance yang sekarang ini sedang mempersiapkan diri di Gent, Belgium.

"Mereka akan mendapat pendedahan terbaik di kejohanan ini bagi meneruskan kesinambungan pelumba senior negara seperti Josiah Ng dan Mohd. Azizulhasni Awang.

"Mereka juga telah beraksi cemerlang di Kejohanan Berbasikal Asia (ACC) 2013 New Delhi Mac lalu apabila meraih empat emas, satu perak dan dua gangsa," katanya.

Firdaus atau terkenal dengan nama timangan 'Toi' telah menghadiahkan tiga emas buat negara di kejohanan tersebut manakala Irwandie juga turut mencuri tumpuan dengan menjuarai acara scratch.

"Kejohanan ini juga akan menguji keupayaan pelumba endurance negara, kerana sebelum ini hanya pelumba pecut sahaja yang sering menonjol. Saya harap mereka mampu beraksi cemerlang dalam acara kejar-mengejar," katanya.

Skuad negara akan ditemani pegawai, Mohd. Izham Mohamad dan jurulatih Suod Hussain dan penolong jurulatih, Junaidi Mohamad Nasir. Mereka juga bakal menyambut sambutan Hari Raya Aidilfitri di Glasgow.

Artikel Penuh: http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/Sukan/20130722/su_04/Tujuh-pelumba-remaja-pikul-cabaran-trek--dunia#ixzz2Zjdgd3BK
© Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd 

YUSUF BAGS MAIDEN INTERNATIONAL YOUTH TITLE

18th July 2013

Yusuf bags maiden International Youth title

National Youth bowler Yusuf Abdul Raof stormed home to win his maiden International Youth title this morning at the 13^th Chinese Taipei International Open Bowling Championships at Twin Woods Bowling Center, Taichung City.

Yusuf cruised to the lead after 6 games over Chinese Taipei duo of Cheng Xing Yeh and Zhang Zhi Ling. However, in the pen-ultimate game, Zhang shoots a 230 game against Yusuf's 212 game to lead by a mere 3 pins. Yusuf had to dig deep into his reserves to maintain his composure in the decider match and maintained his game with another 215 game. However, Zhang succumbed to the pressure as he only managed a weak 164 game in the decider which eventually dropped him to third spot. Cheng Xing Yeh overtook Zhang as well with a 223 last game to take second spot.

National Youth bowler Nora Lyana Nastasia Norkamal however was left in tears as she failed to make the podium finish by just 11 pins from Zhang. She showed good fighting spirit to claw her way back into contention when she started weakly in the first 3 games. However, for her efforts, she made the cut for the final slot for the Asian Youth Championship bound team.

7 National Youth bowlers managed to qualify for the finals and they finished accordingly in the Master Finals. 6^th place is Chong Jun Foo, Joint 7^th are Faten Najihah Ahmad Faik and Nadine Kong, 9^th place is Jonathan Ding Sagan and 12^th place is Christopher Tiong.

Tomorrow will be the finals for the Men and Women Open divisions, where Yusuf will be hoping to bag a double as he looks set to qualify for the finals later today. Other National Elite and Backup bowlers who will be competing in tomorrow's finals are Isaac Russell Paul, Syimir Abdul Razak, Ahmad Muaz Fishol, Aris Ardila Santosoh and Jonathan Chan in the Men Division. In the Women Division, Sharon Koh, Hee Kar Yen, Dayang Khairuniza, Victoria Chin and Siti Shazwani will be vying for the title.

THANK YOU

Maradona Chok

General Manager

Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress