19th November, Malacca: It was a dream come true for debutants, Caroline Lagrange and Choi Yong-Kyu as the Canadian and Korean were crowned champions of the 45th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup at Melaka International Bowling Center on Thursday.

Top seed Caroline Lagrange of Montreal, Canada bounced back from one game down to defeat No. 3 seed Zara Giles of England, 2-1 to win the women's crown in her dream debut. Lagrange lost the first game, 189-194 to Giles but took the second game, 210-181 to draw level.

In the deciding game, the 26-year-old Canadian fired four strikes in a row to open up a 33 pin lead but failed to spare two in frames five and eight allowing Giles to lead by five pins before the last two frames.

Needing a double in the ninth and tenth, Lagrange struck out to to seal the women's title, 218-211 and to become the fifth Canadian women after Kerrie Ryan-Ciach had triumphed in 2003.

Giles edged Malaysian challenger and No. 2 seed, Siti Safiyah Amirah of Malaysia, 226-218 in the second game of the opening semifinals to advance into the finals after taking the first game, 202-180 for a 2-0 victory.

"I'm lost for words. Winning in my debut is simply fantastic," exclaimed Caroline Lagrange after the victory. "I was just on the phone with my dad, Lucient and he's really happy for me.

"The competition is amazing seeing so many world-class bowlers here. The organizers have been great and I couldn't have asked for a better debut.

"It was a good match against Caroline but I simply lost to a better bowler on the day," said Zara Giles, who also made the semifinals at last year's championship in Hermosillo, Mexico but finished third.

The champion had won all eight matches in the earlier Top 8 Round-robin finals to advance into the stepladder finals as top seed with a 40-game total of 9006 ahead of Siti Safiyah in second with 8880 winning four and losing four matches.

Giles finished third with 8823 after a slow start and managing to win three and lost five. Korea's Beak Seung-Ja missed the top 3 cut in fourth with 8719 despite winning six matches and losing only two.

Meanwhile, it was another dream come true for top seed and crowd favourite, Choi Yong-Kyu as he thrilled the spectators to become the first-ever Korean to capture the men's title in its 45-year history.

The 24-year-old Korean had dominated the qualifying rounds and cruised into the stepladder finals after finishing as top seed in the earlier Top 8 rounds on a 40-game total of 9182. In the title match, Choi swept past 2005 champion, Michael Schmidt of Canada, 2-0.

The champion easily took the first game, 236-173 and the second, 227-208 to deny the Schmidt's bid to become the second Canadian to win the title for a second time. Schmidt had deafted Indonesia's Ryan Lalisang, 2-0 in the semifinals to face the Korean in the finals.

"It's amazing to win the World Cup," said Choi through an interpreter at the press conference after the victory. "The crowd is so good and people here are so friendly," added Choi, who was a last minute replacement for Jin Seok Kong.

"I have to thank Korea Bowling Federation for letting me come to this world cup and I hope I have not disappointed my coaches," added Choi, who won the Trios gold and Team silver at the 2008 World Men's Championship in Bangkok.

John Walker, CEO of QubicaAMF Worldwide Inc. and his honorable Chief Minister of Melaka, Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Mohd Rustam were on hand to present trophies the champions. Tournament organizing chairman and advisor to MIBC, Wan Ahmad Lofti Datuk Paduka Wan Ibrahim presented the best country award to Canada.

The participants were entertained in a victory and farewell banquet which followed the finals in which Belinda Tan and Paeng Nepomuceno were voted as the championship's sportwomen and sportman .The 46th QubicaAMF World Cup will be held in Zagreb in Croatia from October 16 to 23, 2010.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Malacca.

18th November, Malacca: Top seeds, Choi Yong-Kyu of Korea and Zara Giles of England cruised into the Top 8 Round of the 45th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup by leading from start to finish in the Round of Top 24 on late Wednesday night.

Choi Yong-Kyu, who had 298 pins margin going into the round of Top 24, did not have the best of starts knocking down 176 and 190 but still had a decent margin over second-placed Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia continuing to trail the Korean.

The nearest Lalisang got to the leader was in game 31 when the Indonesian reduced the deficit to 150 pins but eventually settled for second with 7201, 157 pins adrift. Choi totaled 7358 after scoring 1706 in the series while Lalisang posted 1835.

Sweden's Martin Larsen retained third spot with 7169 and almost shoointg a perfect game in the 30th with 298 as Canadian Michael Schmidt made up more grounds to take fourth spot with 7165.

American pro, Walter Ray Williams Jnr. continued to make headway finishing fifth with 6984 ahead of Zulmazran Zulkifli of Malaysia, who dropped from third to sixth with 6956. Thailand's Surasak Manuwong and UAE's Hussain Al-Suwaidi made the cut in seventh and eighth.

Hong Kong's Wicky Yeung missed the cut by just 9 pins in ninth position while a further 10 aways was Arturs Levikins of Latvia in tenth spot.

Meanwhile the top 3 positions in the women's division remained unchanged as the trio led the remaining five women into the next Round of Top 8. England's Zara Giles, who had 34 pins lead over Siti Safiyah of Malaysia, ended the round with 7026 and 63 pins ahead.

The Malaysian totaled 6963 after kncoking down 1722 in the round to settle for second. Canadian debutant, Caroline Lagrange took third spot with 6884.

Latvia's Diana Zavjalova, America's Tennelle Milligan, Sweden's Helen Johnson, Philippines' Liza Del Rosario and Korea's Baek Seung-Ja completed the top 8 cut from fourth to eighth positions.

Russia's Evgenia Tsarkova was unlucky to miss the cut after a poor 188 in her final game and missed the cut by 10 pins while the Korean shot 257 to snatch that final spot.

The top 8 men and 8 women will resume with the Top 8 Round-robin finals over 7 games and a final position round to determine the top 3 who will advance into the stepladder finals. Thirty pins bonus will be added to their pinfalls for a win.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Malacca.

18th November, Malacca: Korean Choi Yong-Kyu is in a commanding position as he led the field into the next stage of the 45th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup with a massive 286 pins margin after another scintilating third block performance on Wednesday evening.

Overnight leader, Choi Yong-Kyu set a blistering pace with 276, 277 and 279 for a 3-game series of 832 yet far from the record set by Paul Trotter of 896 in the 2002 World Cup in Latvia.

But his effort gave the Korean a 280 pins lead over his nearest opponent, Martin Larsen of Sweden in second. Choi followed it up with another good game of 246 to stretch his lead to 294 pins as Larsen managed only 194 at the halfway mark.

Apart from his lowest game of 194 in the 22nd game, Choi was literally cruising to end the block with 1986, the highest 8-game block posted thus far and a 24-game grand total of 5652.

Indonesia's Ryan Lalisang, whose best effort was finishing ninth in the 2001 World Cup in Pattaya, Thailand, the ended stronger to claim second spot with 5366 after chalking up 1881 series.

"I am so happy to lead for two days," said the 24-year-old Choi from Busan in Korea. "I used the same ball all the way and it work perfectly. I've good margin for the next stage and hope to keep my No. 1 position.

Larsen settled for third spot with 5282 while first block leader, Michael Schmidt of Canada recovered from a poor second block to clinch fourth spot with 5279. Local hero, Zulmazran rounded up the top 5 with 5232.

"It was a good start for me in the first two games but a small mistake costed me the third game," said the 29-year-old Asian Games gols medalist, Ryan Lalisang.

"I changed the surface of my ball to allow it to grip the lanes much better and it worked very well. It had a lot of carry but I also made some more mistakes in the 22nd game. Overall I'm happy with my performance.

Sonny Reguerra of New Zealand finished 24th to make the top 24 cut but the saddest story of the day was four-time winner, Paeng Nepomuceno of the Philippines missing the cut by just 3 pins.

American PBA pro, Walter Ray Williams Jnr came close to scoring the tournament's first perfect game when he reeled in 11 consecutive strikes only to hit 8 pins in his final throw to become a scorer of the highest game with 298 so far.

The World Championship Masters gold medalist also made up the most grounds from second block to seventh position with 5156 after a superb 1891 series.

The top 24 men and 24 women will proceed to bowl another 8 games in the next stage immediately afer lane dressing. The top 8 men and 8 women will advance into tomorrow's round-robin stage before determining the top 3 men and 3 women for the stepladder finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Malacca.

18th November, Malacca: The leading trio of Zara Giles, Siti Safiyah Amirah and Caroline Lagrange led the top 24 women into the next stage of the 45th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup at the completion of the third round on Wednesday.

Zara Giles, who led both the opening and second block, was again firing all cyclinders as she led from start to finish in the final 8-games preliminary round to amassed a 24-game total of 5275.

The 27-year-old from Kettering, England rolled 219, 235, 196, 226, 226, 267, 208 and 206 to round off another superb 1783 series to retain her pole position. The closest her opponent came near the lead was in the 17th game when Canadian Caroline Lagrange trailed by 3 pins.

Undoubtedly the day belong to local favourite, Siti Safiyah Amirah of Malaysia when she knocked down 278, 258 and 278 in games 20 to 22 to move up the field and into fourth. The 19-year-old Malaysian ended on another high game of 269 to snatch second spot with 5241.

Siti also posted the highest 8-game series thus far with 1893. Lagrange got the better of Russia's Evgenia Tsarkova to claim third spot with 5218 after an impressive display in the block.

"I just get on with what I'm doing, to be honest. I play the lane and do as well as I can. If I stay at the top, then I'm happy. If not, then good luck to them if they bowl so well," said Zara Giles at the press conference.

"The lanes definitely held up a lot more today. Maybe it's something in the morning as the first squad on Monday was the same. Yesterday afternoon when we bowled they were a lot drier, so we'll see what happens tonight. Bowling 16 games is all in a day's work."

Tsarkova, who was second in the earlier two blocks, dropped to fourth with 5175 while USA's Tennelle Milligan shot 1805 series to take up fifth spot with 5122.

Making the cut in 24th position was Moldova's Uliana Grosu with 4743 and averaging 197.63 while Daiva Perminiene of Lithuania missed the cut by 28 pins in 25th position.

The women awaits the men to complete their third and final 8-game block in the afternoon to determine the top 24 men to advance into the next stage in the evening.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Malacca.

17th November, Malacca: First block leader, Zara Giles retained her lead after the Women's second block of the 45th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup was completed on Tuesday evening despite posting a lower 8-game series than her opening block.

The 27-year-old winner of 19 medals European and World Championships started off well in her two opening games but again stumbled in the third when the leader could only managed a low game of 150.

Giles gradually made up her lost pins with 205 and 245 but soon lost her lead when Liza Del Rosario of the Philippines stormed into contention after she shot 246, 215, 233, 269, 223 and 238 to take over the running with two games left to play.

The Filipina, too suffered a glitch when Rosario down a lowly 156 in the 15th game which saw her dropping down to fifth while a 214 from the Englishwomen made her return to the top of the field.

A strong 224 in her last game firmed up her pole position despite only rolling 1687 series and a 16-game totel of 3492. Russia's Evgenia Tsarkova remained in second with 3471 after another superb 1720 second block series.

Debutant, Caroline Lagrange who at one stage was second to Giles, settled for third with 3459 and recording the highest 8-games series of 1805 while Korea's Baek Seung-Ja quitely sneeked into fourth spot with 3452.

"I ran into all sorts of problems in the third game," said Giles of Preston, Lancashire. "I had two splits and two open frames as a result of making bad shots and I must confess that I didn't bowl as well as in the first block.

"I promised my mom that I'll do better than finishing third last year and I'm determined to do just that. Hopefully I can carry my momentum into the third and final block tomorrow.

Brief leader, Rosario finished fifth with 3431 followed by 2006 winner, Anne-Maree Putney of Australia sixth on 3383. Home crowd favourite, Siti Safiyah Amirah dropped one rung to ninth with 3348.

The women to contest their second block in the morning and the men will complete their third block preliminaries in the afternoon after which the field will be cut to 24 women and 24 men for another 8 games the same day.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Malacca.

17th November, Malacca: Choi Yong-Kyu took center stage as the Korean moved to the top of the leaderboard with an impressive performance in the 45th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup Men's second block of 8 games on Tuesday.

Trailing overnight leader, Michael Schmidt of Canada, winner of the 2005 World Cup, the 24-year-old Choi immediately set a cracking pace grab the lead with a 224 opening game. But his lead was challenged by Martin Larsen after the Swede shot 243 and 236 to take over the running.

Determined to finish on top, Choi reeled in 236, 241, 228 and 222 to end the block with 1788 to add to his 1878 first block series for a grand total of 3666. Larsen finished second, 93 pins adrift with 3573.

"Only 2 pins yesterday in second and now lead by 93 pins, very good, very happy," said Choi without an interpreter. Choi was part of the Korean trio which won the Trios gold medal at last year's World Men's Championship in Bangkok.

Local hero, Zulmazran Zulkifli posted 1770 in the block to take up third spot with 3534 despite a slow start. Indonesia's Ryan Lalisang was equally impressive chalking up 1710 for a total of 3485 to claim fifth spot.

"I'm happy with the first four games of the block but I lost a bot of concentration in the second half," said Martin Larsen. "We still have 8 more games tomorrow and it is improtant to stay focus.

"We've to eat well, drink alot of water and have good rest for tomorrow's 8 games in the third block and another 8 games in the Top 24 round.

Thomas Larsen of Denmark kept his fifth spot with 3477 with another fine performance while current Asian ranked No. 1, Hussain Al-Suwaidi moved up from 14th to sixth with 3466. Thailand's Surasak Manuwong and Scotland's Mark Kerr rounded up the top 8.

The women to contest their second block later today and the men will complete their third block preliminaries tomorrow afternoon where the field will be cut to 24 for another 8 games the same day.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Malacca.

16th November, Malacca: 2005 champion, Michael Schmidt of Canada took a slender lead of just 2 pins in the Men's opening block of the 45th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup over Korean Choi Yong-Kyu at Melaka Iinternational Bowling Center on Monday evening.

Denmark's Thomas Larsen set the pace with a scintillating 266 in his opening game to lead by 10 pins over two-handed Gabriel Sanchez of Puerto Rico with Japan's Ryo Yamanaka and Indonesia's Ryan Lalisang tieing in fourth, 1 pin adrift.

A sizzling 267 from 2005 World Cup champion, Michael Schmidt after an opening 235 propelled the Canadian to the front with the surprised Arturs Levikins of Latvia in second, 14 pins behind.

But it was the Japanese Yamanaka who took over the running at the halfway mark after getting the local crowd cheering as he reeled nine consecutive strikes to end the game with a strong 272 while Mark Kerr also downed ten strikes in a row to finish his game on 287.

His lead was however short-lived when Schmidt bounced back to retake the lead with Korea's Choi Yong-Kyu making his bid in second, 21 pins adrift. The Korean took a breif lead but soon found Schmidt back in front before the final game.

Both were drawn on the same pair of lanes for their final game and Schmidt ended stronger to hang on to the lead with 1880. Choi settled with second on 1878, just 2 pins seprating the duo.

"It was a good day at the office today," he joked. "I needed a little bit of thinking, towards the middle of the block for sure, but a good friend of mine once told me: over analysis leads to paralysis, so I tried not to think too hard.

"I'm happy to be back here (the World Cup), it's been a couple of years, happy to have been able to take advantage of the situation. I really had a lot of fun out here today.

"Hopefully, I can keep up this momentum over the next 16 games, but it is a long tournament and anything can happen.

"I've never crossed the Pacific before. It's a nice change from the cold

winters of Canada. It's nice and warm out here all week long, so far, I've really enjoyed it.

Swede Martin Larsen stormed home with 280 in his final game to snatch third spot with 1838 ahead of early leader, Thomas Larsen taking fourth spot with 1767. Home crowd favourite, Zulmazran Zulkifli did well to finish fifth with 1764.

The women will contest their second block of 8 games tomorrow morning while the men will resume with their second block in the afternoon.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Malacca.

16th November, Malacca: Last year's second runnerup, Zara Giles (Glover) of Kettering, England topped the Women's opening block of the 45th QubicaAMF Bowling World which got underway at the Melaka International Bowling Center on Monday.

Team USA member, Tennelle Milligan got off to a cracking start with a scorching opening game of 269, just 2 pins ahead of Hong Kong's Jeoy Yip in second and Scotland's Laura Rhoney thid a further 8 pins away.

But it was Zara Giles, who grabbed the attention of the center as she streaked into the lead after two superb games of 248 and 257 taking over the running and ahead of Rhoney, who held second spot 20 pins away as Milligan dropped off her pace.

Rhoney kept her momentum going better than the top few runners as she took over the lead at the halfway mark and opening up a 47-pin gap to Giles with Yip staying close. Yip took a breif lead only to see Giles up on top again after the sixth game.

The 31-year-old ended the first block of 8 games atop with a total of 1805, 54 pins from the fast finishing Russian, Evgenia Tsarkova snatching second with 1751 on a strong 269 final game.

"I can't complain, I one had one bad game in the block (156, game 4)," commented Giles. "The condition is pretty open although I did hit one bad pair of lanes, they didn't feel as though they were level. So I had a different ball reaction on each lane and didn't read it until the eighth frame. Most of the pairs are quite good to be honest.

"My goal is to finish higher than I did last year, my target is to get a good score at the beginning, not to have to leave it all to the last game again. My mother can't take it if I do that and her heart goes like the clappers, so I promised I wouldn't do it to her again by getting better scores early."

Yip did well to take third spot with 1724 ahead of pace-setter, Rhoney settling for fourth with 1713. Diana Zavjalova of Latvia, Baek Seung-Ja of Korea, Ann-Maree Putney of Australia and local favourite, Siti Safiyah Amirah rounding up the top 8.

"I had a good start with the first game but then I eased off too much and had a low game of 181," said the 34-year-old ex-national, Joey Yip.

"Coach Purvis reminded me that this is not the usal league and that I have to put in total focus throughout the blcok. So I guess I worked a lot harder. My goal is to make the top 8 and that's my target.

The men will take to the lanes for the first block after lane maintenance while the women will resume with their second block tomorrow afternoon after the men bowl their second in the morning.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Malacca.

15th November, Malacca: An opening extravaganza marked the start of the 45th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup as bowlers, officials and guests were treated to cultural performances and a scrumptious dinner graced by the Honorable Chief Minister of Malacca on Sunday evening.

Bowlers, officials and dintinguished guests had gathered at the ballroom of the Equatorial Hotel to await the arrival of the Guest of Honour, the Honorable Chief Minister of Malacca, Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Mohd Rustam for the grand opening ceremony.

Immediately on his arrival, the march past of bowlers from 90 countries began promptly followed by speeches from Mr John Walker, CEO of QubicaAMF Worldwide, Mr Kevin Dornberger, President of the World Tenpin Bowling Association and by the Chief Minister.

"The event has grown since its small beginnings in 1965 and I would like to welcome you all - players, coaches, officials, supporters and the media," said John Walker, CEO of QubicaAMF Worldwide in his opening speech.

"In 1987 in Kuala Lumpur, players from 37 countries took part. This year, as many as 90 which would almost equal the record set in 2004."

"On behalf of millions of bowlers and more than 100 federations across the globe, the World Tenpin Bowling Association would like to offer its warmest greetings to the participants," said Kevin Dornberger in his address.

"With its storied and ability to draw one of the largest international fields in the sport, the World Cup continues to play a significant role in the bowling landscape.

"It is indeed an honour to see more than 90 countries congregating in the World Cup heritage city of Melaka for the 45th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup," proudly declared by the Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Mohd Rustam in his address.

"I would like to thank QubicaAMF for choosing Melaka as the venue for this competition and I assure them that they will not regret their choice but instead return home with fond memories.

The Chief Minister then official declare the championship open by striking the traditional "Gong" to mark the memorable occassion. Souvenirs were then presented by the Chief Minister to Mr Joh Walker, Mr Kevin Dornberger and Dato' Dr P.S. Nathan, President of the Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress.

This was followed by the oath taking ceremony by Malaysia's representatives, Siti Safiyah Amirah and Zulmazran Zulkifli on behlaf of the competitiors. Donovan Tan, the chief lane marshal took the oath on behlaf of the tournament officials.

The bowlers, coaches, officials and distinguished guests were then treated to a scrumptious dinner and cultural dances performed by members of the the State Cultural and Tourism Authority.

Competition will begin proper with the Women's first block of 8 games at 11.00am on Monday followed by the men in the afternoon. The next two blocks will be contested over the next two days at the end of which the top 24 men and 24 women will advance into the next stage.

The top 24 men and 24 women will then bowl another 8 games to determine the top 8 men and 8 women who will advance into the final 8 games block to determine the top 3 men and 3 women for the stepladder finals on Thursday, November 19.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Malacca.

13th November, Malacca: It is all systems go for the 45th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup, which officially rolls tomorrow at the Melaka International Bowling Centre (MIBC), with the official practice followed by the championship proper on Monday.

Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Mohd Rustam, the Chief Minister of Melaka, in a Press Conference yesterday, expressed his satisfaction with the preparations for the championship and was confident that the world bowling fraternity will have the best facilities, accommodation, hospitality and a memorable experience of Melaka.

"We're all ready to welcome the world bowling fraternity," declared Mohd Ali. "Melaka is indeed proud to have been given the opportunity to hold a world-class event like the QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup, where more than 90 countries and about 150 bowlers will compete.

"It's indeed an honour to Melaka and to Malaysia, where the championship is only coming to our shores for the second time in the

45 years history of the championship. (The championship was first hosted at the Miramar Bowl in Kuala Lumpur in 1987."

Mohd Ali later visited the state-of-the art 52 lanes (split house - 26-26 lanes) MIBC located in Air Keroh which was officially opened by him on August 1.

It was like a carnival atmosphere at the MIBC with booths inside and stalls surrounding the building. Mohd Ali took time to visit all the booths and stalls before checking out the centre. He spent close to an hour at the centre with MIBC advisor, Wan Ahmad Lofti Datuk Paduka Wan Ibrahim showing him around.

Mohd Ali also said that Melaka would be known to 500 million people around the world through the championship that will be aired in all the participating countries after the event.

QubicaAMF, the owners of the championship have made provision for the tapes of the championship to be provided for free to all the participating countries for their local television stations to air it.

Three international stations - ESPN, Eurosports and Fox TV, will also be giving daily coverage on the event while Astro SuperSports (Channel 811) will carry live the semifinals and final on Thursday.

"It's not only the championship that will be viewed throughout the world, but footages of the historical city of Melaka will also be aired as prelude to the programme," he said.

"Without doubt, this championship is part of the sports tourism efforts of Melaka, which the new product we are offering to the world to enhance tourism."

The Chief Minister concluded his press conference with the hope that Malaysia's representatives, Zulmazran Zulkilfi and Siti Safiyah Amirah, despite up against a world-class field in a very competitive championship, will perform to do the nation proud with a world-class performance too.

Later in the night yesterday, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek, was at the MIBC to meet Zulmazran and Siti, to wish them well for the championship before taking part in bowling competition with representatives from the Sportswriters Association of Malaysia (SAM), local Media, Chief Minister's Office, Melaka Sports Division and MIBC.

Meanwhile, a majority of the bowlers have arrived, with the rest a few expected by tonight. The unofficial practices started yesterday and will continue today, before the official practice on Sunday followed by the Welcome Dinner at night. The championship will roll off Monday morning.

Photos by Hero Noda and Terence Yaw in Malacca.