26th July, Doha: His Excellency Sheikh Talal Mohammed Al-Sabah, President of ABF/IBF officially declared the 24th Asian Junior Tenpin Bowling Championships open at the opening ceremony held at Qatar International Bowling Center on Saturday.

Eleven countries and territories comprising of 59 boys and 20 girls paraded in front of a pack house graced by the guest of honour, His Excellency Sheikh Talal Mohammed Al-Sabah, President of Asian Bowling and International Bowling Federation.

Among the distinguished guests were Honorary President of Qatar Bowling Federation (QBF), Mr Salman Abdullah Abdulghani, former President of QBF, Mr Abdulsalam Abdulla, President of Chinese Taipei Bowling Association, Mr Wu Fu-Lung, Secretary General of Bahrain Bowling Federation, Mr Issa Taqi.

Also present were Secretary General of Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress, Mr Maradona Chok, Secrtary General of Vietnam Bowling Federation, Ms Bui Kim Ha, Secretary General of QBF, Mr Bandar Al-Shafi and team officials of the participating countries.

His Excellency, Sheikh Talal Mohammed Al-Sabah, in his welcoming speech, re-iterated the confidence he has of the ability of Qatar Bowling Federation in hosting the championships and wished all participants the best of luck in their pursuit of glory in the championships.

Mr Abdulla Al-Qattan, President of QBF, in his speech, thanked ABF for awarding the hosting of the 24th Asian Junior Tenpin Bowling Championships for the first time. He also expressed his sincere gratitude to the ABF member federations for sending their teams to take part in this year's event.

Mr Ibrahim Sattam Al-Moraikhi, a team member of Qatar team took the athlete oath on behalf of all athletes while Mr Ahmed Al-Kuwari, took the official oath on behalf of all officials. This was followed by the Qatari traditional sword dance.

Earlier in the day, the official practice sessions, divided into two squads, were held. Competition will kick off with the Girl's Singles tomorrow, July 28 followed by the Boy's Singles on Monday, July 29. The Doubles for both the Boy's Squad 1 and Girl's Doubles will be contested on Tuesday, July 30.