The Women’s Singles qualifying round is complete at the IBF World Championships 2025 in Hong Kong, with Denmark’s Karen Kærgaard Nielsen finishing first after a steady and consistent six-game block, scoring 279 202 244 211 278 223 for a 1437 total (239,5 avg.).
132 athletes from 22 nations bowled at the 40-lane Top Bowl at Kai Tak Sports Park for 32 available spots in the next phase of the Singles event qualification.
Karen Kærgaard Nielsen was followed closely by Sweden’s Nora Johansson with 1432, who finished second. Korea’s Kim Bo Ah secured third place with 1392, while the United States’ Shannon Pluhowsky finished fourth with 1340. Singapore’s New Hui Fen completed the top five with 1330.
Fen also delivered one of the key moments of the day, rolling a perfect 300 game during Squad 2. This marks the second perfect game of the tournament so far, following Abdulrahman Al Doseri’s 300 for Qatar in the Men’s Singles qualifying on Tuesday.
Sweden’s Victoria Johansson posted 1329, Mexico’s Iliana Lomelí Lemus recorded 1318, Sweden’s Anna Andersson followed with 1311, Malaysia’s Siti Safiyah and Malaysia’s Natasha Roslan tied on 1300 to round out the top ten.
Sweden’s women's team delivered a strong start to the championship, giving team coach Robert Andersson a wonderful birthday present as four Swedish athletes advanced to the Round of 32. Sweden stands alongside Korea and Singapore as the nations with the highest number of qualifiers in the next stage of the women's competition (4).
The 32 qualifiers will now move into four round-robin groups for Thursday’s second stage.
Each group will bowl seven matches, earning three points for a win and one point for a tie. The bowler with the highest point total in each group will move on to the semifinals later on Thursday.
In theory, all of Sweden’s or Singapore’s athletes could advance to the semifinals if they finish first in their respective groups.
32 Players Split Into Four Groups
Group A (Places 1, 8, 9, 16, 17, 24, 25, 32)
- Karen Kærgaard Nielsen (DEN)
- Anna Andersson (SWE)
- Siti Safiyah (MAS)
- Shin Hye Bin (KOR)
- Peppi Konsteri (FIN)
- Jung Da Wun (KOR)
- Song Si Ra (KOR)
- Shayna Ng (SGP)
Group B (Places 2, 7, 10, 15, 18, 23, 26, 31)
- Nora Johansson (SWE)
- Iliana Lomelí Lemus (MEX)
- Natasha Roslan (MAS)
- Daphne Tan (SGP)
- Bryanna Coté (USA)
- Essi Pakarinen (FIN)
- Pan Yu Fen (TWN)
- Teng Jo Yu (TWN)
Group C (Places 3, 6, 11, 14, 19, 22, 27, 30)
- Kim Bo Ah (KOR)
- Victoria Johansson (SWE)
- Bec Whiting (AUS)
- Adelia Nur (MAS)
- Christina Mas (ESP)
- Megan Gales Dicay (DEN)
- Mirai Ishimoto (JPN)
- Tay Ning (SGP)
Group D (Places 4, 5, 12, 13, 20, 21, 28, 29)
- Shannon Pluhowsky (USA)
- New Hui Fen (SGP)
- Breanna Clemmer (USA)
- Hanna Engberg (SWE)
- Wang Ya Ting (TWN)
- Mika Guldbaek (DEN)
- Marian Lara Posadas (PHI)
- Felicia Wong (CAN)
Schedule Ahead
Women’s Singles Round 2, semifinals, and finals will take place on Thursday, November 27. The Women’s Doubles event begins on November 28, followed by Men’s Doubles on November 29. Medal rounds for both Doubles divisions will be contested on November 30.
Trios and Team of Five events will follow in early December, with the final stages held at Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Wanchai.
A full schedule and all results from the IBF World Championships 2025 are available at tournaments.bowlinglife.eu.
Wednesday, November 26
Women’s Singles QualifyingThursday, November 27
Men and Women Singles Round 2Men and Women Singles Semifinals
Men and Women Singles Finals
Friday, November 28
Women’s Doubles QualifyingSaturday, November 29
Men’s Doubles QualifyingSunday, November 30
Men and Women Doubles Round 2Men and Women Doubles Semifinals
Men and Women Doubles Finals
Monday, December 1
Men’s Trios QualifyingMen’s Trios Round 2
Tuesday, December 2
Women’s Trios QualifyingWomen’s Trios Round 2
Wednesday, December 3
Men and Women Team of Five QualifyingMen and Women Team of Five Round 2
Thursday, December 4 – Queen Elizabeth Stadium, Wanchai
Men and Women Trios Semifinals and FinalsFriday, December 5 – Queen Elizabeth Stadium, Wanchai
Men and Women Team of Five Semifinals and FinalsVictory Banquet at Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel
