9th December, Petaling Jaya: Debutant, Kang Myoung Jin of Daegu, Korea and Malaysian national youth, Qistina Zainal captured the Boy's and Girl's Open Masters titles at the 18th MILO International Junior All-Stars Bowling Championships 2017 on Saturday.

Kang, who won this year's U22 Fukuoka Summer Cup, brushed aside challenger and 2016 Singapore national champion, Timothy Tham 234-172 to win his second international title. Both title contenders started the final match cautiously marking their first three frames.

The topseed stumbled to a split in the fourth but did well to pick up the spare which obviously gave him the confidence he needed when he rolled two consecutive strikes thereon. Tham marked all his frames and was unable to string together strikes to pose any threat.

The 22-year-old Korean then rolled three strikes-in-a-row from frame eighth while his opponent had two splits in the ninth and tenth frames. Kang two more strikes to end with a convincing victory and earned the top prize of RM25,000 (approx. US$6,110).

In the girl's division, third-seed Qistina Zainal forced topseed, Ameerahusna Dato Aznel into the second deciding match after she took the first game 237-191. Ameerahusna started the second match better with a double in her first two frames while Qistina has an early opened frame with a split.

The match was swaying toward Ameerahusna when Qistina had another split in the fourth frame which she failed to convert. But Ameerahusna also had a split in the fifth but was still 11 pins ahead. Qistina bounced back with a double in the seventh and eighth frames forcing Ameerahusna into a mistake on the split in the ninth frame.

Qistina eventually ended with 182 which meant Ameerahusna needed to double in her tenth frame to take the match but she managed on a nine-pin count which she spared and struck seven pins in her bouns frame to lost the match with 178.