Masters crown gives Malaysia best ever title haul in Asian meet

KUALA LUMPUR: Adrian Ang brought joy to the Malaysian bowling camp on the final day of the Asian Championships at the Hong Kong Bowling City in Kowloon yesterday.

Adrian had ensured the battle for the men’s Masters gold medal would be an all-Malaysian affair. And he went on to become the first Malaysian to win the Masters event in the series, beating Zulmazran Zulkifli in the stepladder final.

Adrian Ang made history when he became the first Malaysian to win the Masters event of the Asian Championships at the Hong Kong Bowling City in Kowloon Friday.

The Penangite chalked up seven consecutive strikes in the first match of the final played on short oil for a 279 game while Zulmazran only managed a 196. Adrian lost the second match 179-217 but the 83-pin cushion was enough for him to claim the prestigious title.

It was the third gold medal for Malaysia in the championships after the successes of Shalin Zulkifli-Esther Cheah in the women’s doubles and the men’s team.

The three-gold haul is also Malaysia’s best result in the biennial championships since the inaugural event in 1970.

Adrian had defeated China’s Zhang Peng 214-166 in the first match of the top three stepladder Finals to set up the showdown for gold against top seed Zulmazran.

He was the leader going into the second block of eight games and finished in second place on 3,707 behind Zulmazran, who had a total of 3,765. Zhang Peng finished on 3,695.

Adrian, who will be 20 on Wednesday, succeeded in claiming the birthday present he was aiming for. He featured in the two previous championships and the victory yesterday brought him his first individual gold medal in the series.

“I have played against Zulmazran in the stepladder Finals many times. The stake was higher this time. I’m glad I got a head start with a high game and could take it easy in the second game,” he said.

“To win the Masters gold is something I will treasure for a long time. It is a great present for my birthday next week,” said Adrian.

The third Malaysian in the men’s Masters Finals, Alex Liew, finished 10th on 3,541.

None of the four Malaysian women advanced to the stepladder Finals. Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman was the best performer in eighth on 3,481. Shalin and Wendy Chai finished 10th and 13th respectively while Esther was last in the field of 16 bowlers.

RESULTS

MEN

After 16 games: 1. Zulmazran Zulkifli (Mas) 3765, 2. Adrian Ang (Mas) 3707, 3. Zhang Peng (Chn) 3695, 4. Hussain Al-Suwaidi (Uae) 3666, 5. Choi Ki-bong (Kor) 3597, 6. Chester King (Phi) 3581, 7. Raoul Miranda (Phi) 3576, 8. Kim Tae-young (Kor) 3562, 9. Masaru Ito (Jpn) 3556, 10. Alex Liew (Mas) 3541, 11. Saeed Al-Hajri (Qat) 3514, 12. Shaun Ng (Sin) 3516, 13. Michael Tsang (Hkg) 3484, 14. Mubarak al-Muraikhi (Qat) 3460, 15. Wu Siu Hong (Hkg) 3459, 16. Mohd Alrajibah (Kuw) 3237.

First stepladder: Adrian bt Zhang Peng (Chn) 214-166.

Final stepladder: Adrian bt Zulmazran 458-413 (279-196; 179-217).

WOMEN

After 16 games: 1. Choi Jin-a (Kor) 3751, 2. Gye Min-young (Kor) 3727, 3. Jeon Eun-hee (Kor) 3653, 4. Hwang Sun-ok (Kor) 3592, 5. Kim Yeau-jin (Kor) 3575, 6. Jazreel Tan (Sin) 3533, 7. Yang Suling (Chn) 3499, 8. Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman (Mas) 3481, 9. Gang Hye-eun (Kor) 3438, 10. Shalin Zulkifli (Mas) 3428, 11. Krizzah Tabora (Phi) 3418, 12. Haruka Matsuda (Jpn) 3344, 13. Wendy Chai (Mas) 3292, 14. Jasmine Yeong-Nathan 3290, 15. Huang Chiung-yao (Tpe) 3280, 16. Esther Cheah (Mas) 3254.

First stepladder: Min-young bt Eun-hee 203-190.

Final stepladder: Jin-a bt Min-young 472-445 (236-187 and 236-258).