Wednesday, 19th December 2001 -  The Malaysian team bowled them over with outstanding results in international competitions this year. Bowlers Ben Heng and Lai Kin Ngoh emerged as the Masters champions in the Hong Kong Open on Saturday to mark Malaysia as one of the powerhouses in Asia this year. Besides Ben and Kin Ngoh, the others who found successes this year included Shalin Zulkifli, Wendy Chai, Ng Yiew Hup, Zulmazran Zulkifli, Alex Liew and Gerald Samuel. And in the regional SEA Games in September, Malaysia raked in seven of the 12 gold medals at stake.

For the season-ending World Masters, which will be played in April, Malaysia are set to have three women’s qualifiers – Shalin, Kin Ngoh and Wendy. Ben is also set to make an appearance in the men’s competition. Shalin, who reached the stepladder finals in the Hong Kong Open, is set to be the top Asian qualifier for the World Masters. Shalin trails Wang Yu-ling by 11 pins and she is expected to take over the lead from the Taiwanese in the new ranking list. Kin Ngoh’s victory in the Hong Kong Open is certain to push her up from 10th spot to among the top eight. Wendy is also set to climb up from the 11th spot. For Kin Ngoh and Wendy, they are looking forward to playing in their first individual world tournament.

Having four representatives in a world meet is a great achievement in itself. In the inaugural competition held in Abu Dhabi in April this year, Malaysia were represented by Shalin and Kenny Ang. Only the top eight men and top eight women from the Asian Zone qualify for the World Masters. Besides the World Masters, the good performances by the Malaysians in this season’s Asian Tour could see a record number of qualifiers for the Tour’s Grand Slam Finals, which will be played in Singapore from Jan 18-20. With one more leg remaining in the Tour in Singapore next month, Malaysia are already assured of four qualifiers in the Finals. Kin Ngoh, Wendy and Zulmazran will be making their debut while Shalin will be making her second consecutive appearance. There is also bright chance for Alex, Gerald and Sarah Yap to sneak in if they put up a good show in the final leg. Last season, Malaysia had five bowlers in the Finals. Only 16 men and 16 women after the completion of seven legs of the Tour will feature in the Finals.

-The Star-  

Monday, 17th December 2001 -  Malaysia had the most number of qualifiers but not one of the nine bowlers went beyond the semi-finals in the sixth leg of the CGU Asian Bowling Tour at the Olympian City Super Fun Bowl here yesterday. Malaysia’s Lai Kin Ngoh, who won the women’s Masters in the Hong Kong Open which precedes the sixth leg of the Asian Bowling Tour and teammate Sharon Chai, a SEA Games bronze medallist, were the best performers when they reached the last four in the women’s division.

Yesterday Kin Ngoh started off with a 209-200 win over Philippines top women bowler Cecilia Yap in the second round but local heroine Vanessa Fung dashed her hopes of reaching her first final in the Tour with a 235-227 win in the semi-finals. The 18-year-old Sharon also had a good start when she downed teammate Shalin Zulkifli 198-148 in the first round and then knocked out Hong Kong’s Carol Choi 241-179 in the second round but she went down to Liza Del Rosario of Philippines 196-237 in the semis. The other Malaysian women representatives Sarah Yap and Wendy Chai were beaten in the first and second round respectively.

Women Results

First round: Cecilia Yap (Phi) bt Sarah Yap 225-215, Melody Yeung (Hkg) bt Joung Myo-boub (Kor) 179-179 (40-39), Vanessa Fung (Hkg) bt Park Jn-hee 246-205, Sharon Chai bt Shalin Zulkifli 198-148, Carol Choi (Hkg) bt Sharon Adelina (Ina) 200-146, Wendy Chai bt Tseng Su-fen (Tpe) 215-186.

Second round: Lai Kin Ngoh bt Cecilia 209-200, Vanessa bt Melody 211-163, Sharon bt Carol 241-179, Liza Del Rosario bt Wendy 244-203.

Semi-final: Vanessa bt Kin Ngoh 235-227, Liza bt Sharon 237-196.

Final: Vanessa bt Liza 193-192

-The Star-  

Friday,16th December 2001 -  The 2001 CGU Asian Bowling Tour (CGU ABT) comes to its sixth leg at the Olympian City Super Fun Bowl today. Nine Malaysians qualified for the event but only Lai Kin Ngoh and Sharon Chai are among top four. Lai beat Cecilia Yap from Philippines by 209-200. Her opponent in the semi-final is Vanessa Fung. Chai edged local bowler Carol Choi to win her first semi-final appearance in CGU ABT. 

But Philippine bowlers still manage to occupy two seats in the semis. Lisa del Rosario continued her strong run after clinching second in the masters of HK Open. She beat Wendy Chai of Malaysia by 244-203 and will face another Malaysian Sharon Chai in the semis.

-ABT-   

Sunday, 16th December 2001 - Malaysia bagged a double for the second time in international bowling competitions this year when Ben Heng and Lai Kin Ngoh made strong comebacks to capture the men’s and women’s Masters titles in the Hong Kong Open Championships at the South China Bowling Centre here yesterday. In October, Alex Liew and Shalin Zulkifli emerged as the Masters champions in the PBAP International Classic in Manila. But it was the first time that the Malaysians won a double in an Open tournament, which precede a leg of the Asian Tour since its inception in 1998.

Kin Ngoh, who had recovered from a thumb injury, also upstaged another formidable Philippines bowler to win her second Masters title this year. Kin Ngoh, who defeated Liza Del Rosario by four pins to take the SEA Games Masters gold medal, defeated Liza again 231-195, 223-172 in a sudden death playoff in the stepladder finals. The 24-year-old Kin Ngoh, who finished second and pushed overnight leader Shalin to third place, knocked down a high score of 246 against Shalin’s 184 and South Korean Park Jin-hee’s 199 to set up a final match against Liza, who was the top finisher after 16 games. “I was struggling during the qualifying rounds the whole week, leaving a lot of corner pins in most of my attempts. I am glad to be able to get rid of them today (yesterday),” said Kin Ngoh, won won HK$8,000 (RM3,896).

-The Star-   

Friday, 23 November 2001 - A recurrence of a thumb injury has hampered national bowler Lai Kin Ngoh’s hopes of qualifying for two major tournaments – the Asian Bowling Tour Grand Slam Finals and the World Bowling Masters Grand Finals. The 25-year-old Kin Ngoh, who staged an incredible comeback to win the women’s Masters title at the SEA Games in September, is on the verge of making the cut for both events, which will be staged in January and April next year respectively. 

And if she does not recover in time for the two remaining ranking tournaments – Hong Kong Open from Dec 7-15 and the Singapore Open from Jan 6-16, to confirm her places, she could kiss good-bye to her hopes of featuring for the first time in both the season ending tournaments. 

“My thumb had been bleeding since the Korean Open last week. I did badly there and was unable to collect points. It is still sore and bleeding,’’ said Kin Ngoh. “The last time I had a thumb injury was eight years ago when I started bowling as a junior. I had to take a long break to recover before I could bowl again then. “I will have to discuss with my coach (Holloway Cheah) to work on my thumb holes. We will have to re-do it again so that I will not aggravate the injury,” she added. Kin Ngoh said it was important for her to gain points at the Hong Kong Open. “If I do not do well in Hong Kong there will be additional pressure on me to make the cut in the Singapore Open. I should know in the next two weeks whether my thumb will hold out,’’ said Kin Ngoh. 

For the Grand Slam Finals, Kin Ngoh is currently in 17th position. Only the top 16 men and top 16 women after the completion of eight legs in the Tour will make the cut. As for the world meet, Kin Ngoh is ranked ninth in the Asian Zone. Only the top eight men and top eight women from the Asian, European and American zones are invited. “There had been near misses for me in the previous Grand Slam Finals. “I had always been close to making the cut but always missed out,’’ said Kin Ngoh, who finished 20th in 1999 and 24th last year.

-The Star-   

Friday, 21st September 2001 - Bowlers Shalin Zulkifli and Ben Heng are the frontrunners to represent Malaysia in the World Cup, which will be held in Pattaya from Nov 4-10. The 23-year-old Shalin won four gold medals and shattered seven individual records. Shalin won the singles gold medal and set records for three games and six games. She also broke records in the trios’ one game and in the team of five, she bettered the scores in one game, three games and six games. In the all-events, her 24-game total of 5,255 pinfalls surpassed her old record of 4,992, which she set in the Brunei Games.

Her closest rival for a place in the World Cup is Lai Kin Ngoh, who won three gold medals in the Games. The 25-year-old Kin Ngoh, who is eyeing to feature in her first World Cup, staged a tremendous comeback to prevent the Philippines from winning the Masters gold medal. It was her first individual title in the SEA Games.

- The Star-