Marshall Kent (pictured left) captured the first gold medal for the United States at the 12th World Youth Championships in Thailand by defeating Shusaku Asato (right) of Japan, 226-197, to claim the title in the Boys Singles event.

Kent barely made the cut to the finals and grabbed the fourth and last place to advance thanks to the higher last game over 2010 WYC silver medalist Sam Cooley (244 to 236) after a 1317-1317 tie with the Aussie.

The Junior team USA member had to defeat the No. 1 and No. 2 seed on his way to the title.

Basil Low (left) of Singapore, 196-188, to advance to the championship match. In the other semifinal-match, Asaoto, seeded second, edged South Korea's Ryu Ji-Hoon (right) by three pins, 200-197. Asato took the silver medal. Low and Ryu shared the bronze medal.

The 178 boys from 47 countries are done for today and will return Tuesday and Wednesday for the Doubles preliminaries (Squad A, B and C on Tuesday, Squad D on Wednesday). The 96 girls from 29 countries will conclude the Doubles preliminaries on Monday. The Boys and Girls Doubles Finals will take place Thursday, June 28th, from 1 to 2.30 p.m. local time.

The 12th World Youth Championships takes place at Blu-O Paragon Bowling Center in Bangkok, Thailand, from June 22 - July 3, 2012.

274 girls and boys from record 48 countries, who must not have reached their 21st birthday on January 1, 2012, will compete will compete for gold, silver and bronze medals in Singles, Doubles, four-player Team event, All Events and Masters in the ten-day event.

The WTBA patterns "Mexico City" and "Atlanta" will be used in Bangkok. The 45-foot Mexico City pattern is the second-longest of the twelve WTBA certified lane pattern (four short, four medium and four long). With a length of 38 feet, the Atlanta pattern is the shortest of the four medium pattern.

Singles is being played on "Mexico City" and Doubles will be contested on "Atlanta", while the Team event will feature both oil patterns (3 games on each pattern). The Masters will be staged on dual lane condition (one lane dressed with the medium pattern and the other lane dressed with the long pattern).

The top four players and teams after six games in Singles, Doubles and Team, respectively, will advance to the semifinals. The No. 1 meets No. 4 and No. 2 takes on No. 3. The winners will determine the World Youth Champion, while the losers will share the bronze medal. All matches are single-game matches.

Photos courtesy of Thai Tenpin Bowling Association (TTBA).

 

12th World Youth Championships - Boys Singles

Championship Round:
1. Marshall Kent, United States
2. Shusaku Asato, Japan
3. Basil Low, Singapore and Ryu Ji-Hoon, South Korea

L-R Asato, Kent, Low and Ryu. Click on the image to enlarge it.

Playoff Results:
Semifinal Match 1: #4 Kent def. #1 Low, 196-188
Semifinal Match 2: #2 Asato def. #3 Ryu, 200-197
Title Match: Kent def. Asato, 226-197.

 

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