Kuwait's Abdulrazzaq Mohammad and Malaysia's Gillian Lim are the first champions of the 28th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships in Doha.
Lim won women's singles on Saturday, November 14 with 1,368 pins over six games, and Abdulrazzaq took the men's title on Sunday with 1,390 in a finish so tight that the top six men were separated by 13 pins.
The Asian Championships are the Asian Bowling Federation's flagship event, with national teams competing in singles, doubles, trios, team of 5 and the Masters. This edition runs from November 12 to 22 at the 30-lane Qatar Bowling Federation Bowling Center.
Abdulrazzaq Mohammad wins men's singles by 7 pins
Abdulrazzaq Mohammad won men's singles gold for Kuwait with 1,390, an average of 231.7. He opened with 276 and 235, survived a 180 in the third game and closed with 241 and 249. Nobody else in the 108-man field reached 1,385.
Malaysia's Tun Hakim took silver with 1,383. He had the best first four games of anyone in the top seven, 970 pins from 258, 247, 224 and 241, but a 165 in the fifth game cost him the title. His 248 in the last game was not quite enough to close the 7-pin gap.
Hong Kong's Michael Mak Cheuk Yin won bronze with 1,381 after finishing 258 and 255, just 1 pin ahead of Macau's Lucio Marcelino Chiu on 1,380. Korea's Ryou Hojun (1,378) and Malaysia's Rafiq Ismail (1,377), who won this event in Bangkok in 2024 with 1,419, were the next two.
13 pins from first to sixth
Final standings after six games, from the ABF results page.
Malaysia had three men in the top seven, with Muhd Hazim Alihanafiah seventh on 1,367. Rafiq's sixth place keeps him in the running for All Events, which he won in 2024, and he has been in form all year after winning his third Malaysian International Open title in June. China's Du Jianchao was eighth with 1,350.
Gillian Lim takes women's singles gold for Malaysia
Gillian Lim's win was the opposite of the men's event: a slow start and then a clear finish. She opened with 164, then bowled 258, 236, 210, 279 and 221 to finish on 1,368, a 228 average. Her 279 in the fifth game was the highest game in the top three.
Li Yi-Rou of Chinese Taipei took silver with 1,337, 31 pins behind, helped by a 265 in game two and a 255 in game five. Korea's Baek Seungja won bronze with 1,328.
Gillian Lim wins by 31 pins
Top five after six games, from the ABF results page.
Korea showed their depth with four women in the top seven: Baek third, Nam Hyebin fourth (1,315), Paek Yedam sixth (1,279) and Kim Moonjeong seventh (1,274).
Doubles, trios and the road to the Masters
Women's doubles started on Sunday evening Doha time, and the men's doubles are bowled in two squads on Monday, November 16, with doubles medals presented that night.
Trios follow on November 17 and 18, the team of 5 on November 19 and 20, and the Masters finals with the stepladder close the championships on November 22.
The week began off the lanes, with IBF president Sheikh Talal re-elected to lead the Asian Bowling Federation at the General Assembly in Doha on November 12. BowlingLife will follow every medal event through to the final day.
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