Leo Tse of Hong Kong claims maiden victory at Singapore Sports School-Opulent bowling championship

Contributed by Terence Yaw

Singapore Sports School, Friday, June 11, 2010 — Last year’s third runner-up, Leo Tse of Hong Kong took home a well-deserved victory after he defeated challenger, Alwin Lau of Singapore, in the final stepladder match to lift the 4th Singapore Sports School-Opulent Under-18 Bowling Championship title on Friday.

Leo Tse, who finished as the top seed in the earlier 12-game top 24 final with a total of 2558, set a blistering pace in the final match with four strikes in a row as challenger, Alwin Lau had an opened frame in the first.

Lau never looked comfortable throughout the match as Tse ensured that he made no mistakes to give away the lead he had built up. The Hong Kong lad cruised to a 223-179 victory to claim his first international title.

“I was very tense and nervous in the beginning but after I knocked down four strikes, I was more relax,” said the 17-year-old Leo Tse, who will now stand a good chance to be included in Hong Kong’s youth team bound for Finland next month.

“Everything worked well during the final and I had many high games that helped me to build up a healthy margin so I eased up towards the end.”

Lau edged second-seed, Rachael Ang, 201-199 in the first stepladder match to face the top seed. Rachael had looked set to take the match but had two open frames towards the end to hand the match to Lau.

Singapore’s Justin Lim Chai Loong and Singapore Sports School’s Muhammad Danial missed the cut for the stepladder final by 22 pins as they were tied in fourth place with 2481. Filipino Jayson Tubid took sixth position with 2477.

Defending champion, Dechochai Tinjiratip, who led in the early stages, fizzled off in the second half to end up in a dismal 16th position while top local qualifier, Jaris Goh, managed only 18th place.

For more information, visit the Singapore bowling or the Singapore Sports School website.