30th THAILAND OPEN:
STEPLADDER FINALS - LADIES:
Game 1:
Alice Tay (Singapore) 203
Angkana Netviseth (Thailand) 184
Irene Garcia Benitez (Philippines) 166
Game 2:
Alice Tay (Singapore) 197
Kirsten Penny (England) 174
Tsai Hsin Yi (Chinese Taipei) 213
Final:
Tsai Hsin Yi (Chinese Taipei) 219 - 212
Shalin Zulkifli (Malaysia) 169 - 208
As Zulkifli, the top seed, was beaten in the first game, another game was
played.
STEPLADDER FINALS - MEN:
Game 1:
Daniel Lim ( Malaysia) 268
Shaker Al Hassan (UAE) 202
Adrian Ang (Malaysia) 190
Game 2:
Abdullah Algatan (Qatar) 128
Chester King (Philippines) 179
Daniel Lim (Malaysia) 235
Final:
Ahmed Shaheen (Qatar) 165 - 194
Daniel Lim (Malaysia) 187 - 148
 It was the traditional Asian spinner ball, the infamous 'helicopter style'
that was to once again win through and take the 30th Thailand Open title as
Chinese Taipei's Tsai Hsin Yi dominated the final against the conventional hook
ball of Shalin Zulkifli of Malaysia. The final 'went the distance' as Zulkifli,
being the top seed, had to be beaten twice ... and she was, 219-169 and 212-208.
Zulkifli could have won the match with a strike in the tenth frame, but left the
4-7 split, which she converted but, alas for the Malaysian supporters, it was
too late. Hsin Yi was second
seed and outpointed defending champion Kirsten Penny and Singapore's Alice Tay
for the shot at the top seed.
26-year-old Tsai Sin Yi is single and just lives for bowling, although she
has yet to amass a treasure chest of medals and trophies, but on current form
that will not be far off. Her spinner style is extremely accurate and nobody is
going to take her for granted. Her performance against Shalin Zulkifli in the
stepladder final was incredible, despite the previous domination of the event by
the Malaysian star.
"I was pretty nervous to begin with, but when I won the first game I gained a
lot of confidence," said Tsai. "It was all very close in the second game and it
was quite a relief and a great pleasure to emerge as the 2004 champion."
In the men's division it was very much a case of 'youth versus experience' as
Malaysia's Daniel Lim fought his way from sixth place to earn the challenger's
spot against the tough Ahmed Shaheen, a man whose trophy cabinet must be as big
a four wardrobes. But the pendulum swung in favor of the Malaysian, taking the
first blood in a lowly scoring game, 187-165.
However, you can't keep a good man down and the determination of World and
World Cup champion Shaheen showed through, coming back to clinch the title, 194-148.
Ahmed Shaheen was a worried man when Daniel Lim beat him in the first game of
the stepladder final, forcing a replay. "I ran into problems in the first game,
whilst Lim seemed to be happy with his line," commented the tall Qataran. "But
the situation was reversed in the second game when Lim ran into trouble. I
tightened my line and got a lot more action and was very pleased with the
result."
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For further information, contact Keith Hale: keithhale679@aol.com |
