Melaka Leg Champions crowned

(Report by Tony Lim and YK Choo)

Boys Open Winners

Girls Open Winners

Boys Graded Winners

Under-12 Champions

Girls Graded Winners

Fatin Haswani and Tan Wooi Seong gave Penang the shine while Noor Syairah binti Amran and Muhd. Afnan Shafiq put the oomph back to SSBP and Pahang respectively.

It was another day of excitement at Melaka International Bowling Centre in the finals of the National Junior Tenpin Bowling Circuit when the outcome of the winners was decided by the match play finals.

Muhd Afnan Shafiq Jaafar of Pahang disposed off favourite Muhd Aizudeen Mustaqim of Selangor in a best of 3 games finals. Afnan lost 138 – 184 in the first game and many in the spectators stand thought that the game was over given the experience of Aizudeen.

However Afnan was not cowed by the occasion and instead showed that he was made of stronger and more resilient attitude when he shot a 214 – 197 to take the second game and force the match into a tie breaker which Afnan won with ease beating Aizudeen 199 -171.

In the Girls Open division, Natasha Roslan of Selangor open the first salvo when she won the game 237 – 201 from Fatin Haswani binti Hassan of Penang. But the tenacious Fatin Haswani fought back gamely and with the encouragement of her coach, Kim Eun Jung who was behind her all the way, she won the second game 195 -181 and in the decider that Fatin pulverized the pins to score 265 – 183 win and with that, claimed the Girls Open title of the Melaka Leg.

Another Penangnite, Tan Wooi Seong just did as instructed by his energetic coach to claim the title in 2 games with a 181 – 168 and 199 – 198 win over Mohd Syafiz Syahmi Suhaimi of Selangor. But Wooi Seong was the surprise in the pack as he was never expected to go this far but he made the move at the correct timing. Going into the finals as the second seed and getting a bye right into the semi finals, he never looked back from then onwards.

Banda Penawar Sports School had the best outing when Noor Syairah binti Amran took the Girls Graded title when she beat Nora Lyana Natasia of Selangor 183 -179 and 180 -147. But the win came as no surprise for the top seed who had earlier bowled a high game of 280 in the first game of the second block to stamp her mark as a title contender.

In the Under 12 boys and girls division, Tun Ameerul Al Hakim of Perak overcame his tendency to get flustered easily and concentrated on his spares to secure a well fought victory when he scored 2161 pinfalls for a 180 average over Muhd Nadsreen bin Nadzri of Kuala Lumpur who had a total of 2155 pinfalls to take second place.

Amirul Firdaus bin Abdul Halim of Kuala Lumpur Megalanes settled for third placing with 2088 pinfalls while Muhd. Nur Hazarizq of Selangor finishing in fourth placing with 2000 pinfalls. A total of 71 boys participated in the Under 12 category making the competition even tougher.

Nur Fadlin of Perak scored a high game of 244 in the final game to seal the title with a total of 2031 pinfalls for a credible 169 average while Ayra Nur Jehan of Selangor took second place with 1960 pinfalls. Nur Dayana binti Zuhdi of Kuala Lumpur came in third with 1950 pinfalls and Anis Syazlin of Penang settled for fourth placing with 1856 pinfalls.

Siti Safiyah from the National Elite Squad made a surprise visit to the finals and was invited to give away the prizes. It was in 2004 that Siti Safiyah won the Grand Prix Finals. She is an excellent example and an inspiration to all bowlers that if they word hard that they too could one day be champions and represent Malaysia on the world stage.

All results can be downloaded from the "Downloads" box on the left.

Hot conditions and blazing scores!

(Report by Tony Lim and YK Choo)

Never mind the heat, good bowlers are made of better stuff and it shows in their resilience to combat the air conditioning system to register high games and concentrating the task at hand. “It’s just mind over matter “as one coach said. How true can that statement be when 15 of the 20 finalist average above the 200 mark.

Indeed, if the scores are a yardstick of measurement and the averages are acting as a barometer, then the coming Sukma will be a very high scoring event but yet demanding all the knowledge and expertise of lane conditioning and ball selections to match up to the lanes.

Muhd Aizudeen Mustaqim stakes his claim for the boys open title when he scorched the lanes for an amazing 223 average over 14 games played in 2 blocks in the Melaka Leg of the National Junior Tenpin Bowling Circuit. Muhd Afnan Shafiq Jaafar of Pahang made came as a surprise to move into second spot with a 216 average to ensure a bye in the playoffs while Ahmad Aidil bin Hj Abdul Ismail, leader in the 1st block with a 230 average dropped back to 4th placing to finish with a 214 average.

The Girls Open category saw Fatin Haswani binti Hassan of Penang staving off a strong challenge from Nur Syamimi Supardi of Perak to take the top seed going into the finals playoff. In fact the top 2 seeds will automatically have a bye in the 1st round of the playoff and will face the winners in the 1st round playoffs.

Fatin Haswani who had a 218 average in the 1st block managed to keep her composure throughout the 6 games in the second block by sparing when she could not strike to keep her game plan in place. But when the momentum got going, she utilized the strikes to her full advantage posting scores of 213, 249, 180 and 257 in the last 4 games to remain as the top seed.

Nur Syamimi went on the offensive at the start to try and narrow the deficit, registering scores of 244, 259, 174, 220, 233 and 224 for a total of 1354 pinfalls to have the highest average of 225 in the second block. That effort earned her the second seed and a bye in the finals.

Natasha Roslan of Selangor also had the same idea as Syamimi but the gap was just too far for her to catch up and she had to settle for 3rd placing with a total of 2886 pinfalls for a 206 average. An interesting point to look at is that with most of the Sukma bound trainees in the fray, the competition has made the bowlers produce their best as reflected on the scores with the top 5 girls averaging above 200.

Even in the boys division, 25 bowlers in the field had average above the 200 mark and in the second block where only the top 8 made the cut, 15 bowlers had average above the 200 mark. This is a good indication that all the state teams involved in the Sukma are serious about their preparations and their quest for gold medals is realistic.

Ameerul, Alif and Dayana leading in the Under-12 Categories

(Report by Tony Lim and YK Choo)

In the boys under 12 division, Tun Ameerul Al- Hakim of Perak bowled a 209 on the last game to share the lead with Alif Muqri bin Hazmi with a total of 1073 pinfalls to post a creditable 178 average while Amirul Firdaus bin Abdul Razak Halim of Kuala Lumpur settling for third spot with a core of 1069 pinfalls.

Nur Dayana bt Zuhdi of Kuala Lumpur takes command of the girls under 12 category when she amassed a total of 1029 pinfalls to cruise to a comfortable lead of 91 pins from Ayra Nur Jehan of Selangor who scored 938 pinfalls.

Dayana who was consistent throughout the six games block shot a high game of 237 on the fourth game to take the lead thereafter and never look back. Nur Fadhlin of Perak shot a high 222 on the last game to snatch third placing ahead of team mate Nurul Aina Syakirah who scored 901 pinfalls despite having a 203 on the second game.

The top 12 boys and girls will bowl another 6 games in the finals the total pinfalls of the 12 games will decide the final placings.

Results cab be downloaded in the "Downloads" box on the left.

Humid conditions didn't bother the Open Bowlers

(Report by Tony Lim and YK Choo)

The humid condition caused by the air conditioning system did not dampen the spirit of the bowlers; instead the boys and girls bowling in the open division simply swept aside this minor glitch to scorch the lanes with scintillating high scores in almost every game.

Tournament officials who were already overwhelmed with the influx of entries had to deal with more tasks by announcing on the P.A System every time a bowler achieves seven consecutive strikes. The pace was so frantic that in the end, 24 bowlers in the boys open division hit above the 200 average mark but only the top 20 boys open will make the cut for the next round.

Ahmad Aidil bin Hj Ahmad Halim of Sekolah Sukan Banda Penawar scored an upset by taking the lead in the field of 60 boys open bowlers with a sensational average of 230 for the first round of 8 games and all his games were above the 200 mark to secure 1845 pinfalls. 14 year old, Aidil who is only in form 2 was cool throughout the tournament and was hitting his target with remarkable consistency and had a high game of 290 in the third game.

Syed Mohd. Hafiz bin Syed Hussein of Johor was also in fine fettle to average 226 with a total of 1815 pinfalls. Hafiz was so close to his dream of hitting the perfect game on the first game but nerves got the better of him on the 11th throw hitting 8 pins and had to settle for a 288 game. But he also had games of 268 and 249 with a blemish on the card coming on the third game scoring a poor 158 game.

The bowlers were quick to adjust to the lane conditions with most of the Sukma coaches turning up in full force for this Sukma games simulation by adjusting their charges lines and ball selections after the practice throws. After which it was almost like auto pilot for the bowlers who occasionally needed to do a little adjustment to line up their shots. In terms of ball selection, most of the bowlers had chosen the right equipment judging from the ball reaction and pin carry they had when their balls hit the pocket.

Muhammad Syahmi Rizuan Md Yusof of Terengganu was another surprise in the pack when he took the third spot with a 221 average for a total of 1774 pinfalls. Although the third spot could be deemed as a minor placing but for Terengganu Sukma Team, it was a major force in their preparation especially when Mohd Syazwan is leading the Boys Graded category with an average of 212. This goes to show that Terengganu could be a force to be reckon with in the coming Sukma.

Mohd. Amirul Che Mat of Kedah, Shin Chern Yew of Perak, Kovarman a/l Arikrishnan of Melaka, Mohd. Aizudeen Mustakil of Selangor, Muhd. Rafiq bin Ismail of Kuala Lumpur and Muhd. Afnan Shafiq Jaafar of Pahang finished in fourth to ninth placing respectively to even up the field of contenders for the title. This is by far the most even field seen in the circuit.

However with many of the top junior bowlers who are in the National Youth Team not participating but eligible to play in the Sukma in Melaka, the competition will certainly be keen and definitely there will be no certainties in any event of the Sukma games.

In the girls open category, Fatin Haswani of Penang leads after completing the first round of 8 games.

Simply fantastic! That’s how one can describe Fatin Haswani performance in the girls open division when she score an astounding 216 average over 8 games in the Melaka Leg of the National Junior Tenpin Bowling Circuit. With the spotlight on the more fancied girls, Fatin quietly sneak under the radar to post steal the limelight.
She had seven games above the 200 mark with a total of 1728 pinfalls to lead by 115 pins from her nearest competitor Nur Syamimi Supardi of Perak who had a 201 average when she accumulated 1613 pinfalls while Hanan Fateha Binti Rozaimee of Kuala Lumpur taking third place with 1598 pinfalls.

The two training camps in Melaka prior to this event did a lot of good for the Penang Team. Not only were they more adapted to the lanes but their mental attitude was also more positive and, if they keep progressing at this rate, Penang will surely be out to redeem themselves in this Sukma after lying in the doldrums for some time.

Penang who dethroned Selangor as the overall champion in 2000 when it was held on home soil never kept the momentum going and in the following years their haul of gold medals fell and they returned empty handed in the last two Sukma editions.

Perhaps with all the effort being put into the preparation of the team and sparing no effort in their quest for the golden path, they should be rewarded this time around.

Results can be downloaded from the "Downloads" box on the left.

Perak Leg Boys Graded Champion, Mohd Syazwan continues his prowess in Melaka

(Report by Tony Lim and YK Choo)

Mohd Syazwan bin Kamarudin of Terengganu held off a strong challenge from Alif Ihsan of Kedah to lead the field of 141 bowlers in the boys graded division. Left handed, Syazwan had a consistent 8 games series with a high game of 268 and scored 213 and 214 in the last 2 games for a total of 1696 pinfalls for a 212 average to pip Alif by 7 pins.

Alif had been scoring well with seven of his games above the 200 mark and the only blemish on the card was 164 in the last game and that was where he lost the lead. Nevertheless the top 48 bowlers in the boys graded division will advance to the second round where they will play another 6 games and the total of the 2 stages will determine the top 8 bowlers that will proceed to the finals.

Mohd Syafiq Syami bin Suhaimi of Selangor claim third placing with a 1678 pinfalls to register a 209 average while Tan Wooi Seng of Penang had to settle for fourth with a total of 1654 pinfalls and Mohd Firdaus Nor Hazamin of Perak finished in fifth placing with a total of 1603 pinfalls.

The atmosphere at MIBC bowling centre in Melaka is bustling with excitement as about 400 bowlers are competing in the national junior tenpin bowling circuit. This is by far the biggest turnout in the history of the event and it could be due to the fact that most of state contingents are sending their bowlers to have a feel of the venue which will also be the venue for the forthcoming Sukma.

Except for Sarawak and Sabah which have their own East Malaysian Leg of the National Junior Tenpin Bowling Circuit, most of the states in Malaysia have their SUKMA training team trying out the lanes and oiling condition at MIBC. Only Perlis is the notable absentee in the list.

While the oiling pattern used in this leg of the circuit which is similar to that of last year’s world cup, is already a challenge to the bowlers with tremendous emphasis on shot making and ball selection, the air conditioning is another headache which the bowlers and even the officials have to bear.

The MIBC bowling centre in Melaka which played host to the 2009 Qubica – AMF world cup and only 9 months in operation is already having problem keeping the temperature down. It is believed that a few of the compressors for the air conditioning system is not functioning and this could severely affect the lane conditions as well.

State teams which are competing in the Melaka leg of the National Junior Tenpin Bowling Circuit are as follows Kedah, Penang, Perak, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Johor, Wilayah Perseketuan, Selangor, Pahang, Terengganu, Kelantan and Sekolah Sukan Banda Penawar.

Results can be downloaded in the "Downloads" box on the left.