The Japanese girls (pictured left) and the Junior Team USA boys (right) held onto the lead in the four-player Team event at the 13th CGSE World Youth Championships as the competition has reached the halfway point Tuesday afternoon at SCAA bowling center in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, China.

The 21 girls' and 38 boys' four-player teams have completed the first of two three-game blocks on the 45 feet 'long' oil pattern.

Shion Izumune and Kana Shimoide, who won silver and bronze in Singles and another silver medal in Doubles, and their teammates Mirai Ishimoto and Mana Yoshida led the girls division with 2502 total and an average of 208.50.

Team Finland (left) featuring Roosa Lundén, Eliisa Hiltunen, Sanna Pasanen and Jonna Jokinen remained in second place with 2477 (206.42).

Malaysia (right) was the only team in the second squad that averaged over 200 en route to overtake third place with 2402 (200.17). Victoria Chin, Nerosha Keligit, Natasha Roslan and Radin Nur Najwa had games of 817, 762 and 823.

Nur Najwa led the team effort with 638 and was followed by Chin (606), Keligit (589) and Roslan (569). Thanks to the 823 final game, the Malaysian surpassed Sweden (left) by 31 pins.

Ida Andersson, Annie Thorell, Cajsa and Jenny Wegner had to settle for fourth place with 2371 (197.58). The Swedes, who led after two games with 31 over (806 and 825), fell one spot due to a 740 last game.

Russia with Varvara and Alena Korobkova, Maria Bulanova and Daria Voronkova started their set with 744 and 762 before they closed with 827 to leap into fifth place in the overall standings.

The team from the United States (right) including WYC Doubles gold medalists Liz Kuhlkin and Sarah Lokker plus teammates Mary Wells and Stephanie Schwartz slipped from third to sixth place with 2316 and were followed by Colombia with Alexandra Mosquera, Juliana Franco, Tatiana Munoz and Laura Plazas, who fell from fourth to seventh place with 2296.

Japan's Izumune (left) held a comfortable 151 pin lead in All-Events after 15 of 18 games with 3262 total and an average of 217.47 for 15 games. Wells and Kuhlkin sit in second and third place with 3101 and 3098, respectively.

Plazas (right) is 16 pins off the pace for the medals in fourth place with 3082 with Shimoide in fifth place on 3079. Singles bronze medalist Jenny Wegner was the top player of the second squad with 3060 (204 average), good for sixth place going into the final three games on Wednesday.

On the boys' side, the top seven teams remained unchallenged. Junior Team USA (left) members Matthew Farber, Gregory Young, Kamron Doyle and Wesley Low were in the pole position with 2573 and an average of 214.42, 81 pins ahead of Malaysia, whose score was corrected to 2492.

Muhd Rafiq Ismail, Timmy Tan, Jonathan Ding Sagan and Ahmad Muaz Fishol (right) sandwiched games of 756 and 795 around a high game of 928 boosted by 12 consecutive strikes in frame six, seven and eight.

The biggest surprise so far was the third place by Peru. Juan Andres Yuzuriha, Alejandro Ishikawa, Sebastian Yuzuriha and Kenny Kishimoto toppled 2476 pins including games of 819, 882 and 775.

Rounding out the top 4 after day one qualifying was Germany with Rene Filor, Fabian Franz, Christoph Schurian and Christian Birlinger, who checked in with 2473. Sweden (left) with WYC Doubles champions Markus Jansson and Pontus Andersson and teammates Magnus Johnson and Jesper Svensson were fifth with 2471.

Sixth place belonged to Team England (right) featuring Curtis Hooper, Matthew Clayton, Christopher Lam and Elliot Crosby with 2437 including the highest game of the event so far (965).

Tetsuya Chiba, Yuhi Shinbata, Takuya Miyazawa and Kenta Yoshida of Japan were just four pins behind in seventh place with 2433.

Rounding out the top 10 were three teams of the second squad spearheaded by Canada with in the line-up of Kevin Maurice, Jordan Klassen, Curtis Fach and Mitch Hupé The Canadians were on course for second place with games of 853 and 846, but had to settle for eighth place with 2412 due to a final 713.

France with Gaetan Mouveroux, Nicolas Gerard, Christophe Hachin and Valentin Saulnier finished with 816 to land just three pins behind Canada in ninth place with 2409.

Finland (right) with Tatu Lehtonen, son of Finnish standout Kimmo Lehtonen, Juuso Rikkola, Saku Konttila and Jesse Kallio were further five pins behind in 10th place with 2404. The Finns are merely 88 pins away from second place, making this Wednesday's second block on short oil before the cut to the top four promising to be an extra exciting round.

Americans Low (left) and Doyle, the youngsters in the U.S. squad with 17 and 16 years of age, led the 196-player field in Boys All-Events with 3453 and 3331, respectively. Malaysia's Rafiq (3291) got sandwiched between Swedes Svensson (3326) and Andersson (3282), while local favorite Michael Mak (right) of Hong Kong was the top bowler of the second squad in sixth place with 3253.

The 196 boys and the 96 girls from 46 countries were split into two squads to bowl three games on the 45 feet 'long' Mexico City lane conditioning pattern on Tuesday and another three games on the 35 feet 'short' Beijing pattern on Wednesday. The semifinals and finals will follow on Wednesday evening.

The top 4 girls' and boys' teams will advance to the playoffs on Wednesday starting at 5 p.m. Hong Kong time. No. 1 bowls No. 4 and No. 2 takes on No. 3 in the semifinals. The winners of the one-game matches bowl for gold and silver. The losers share the bronze medal.

The Team event will also decide the medalists in girls' and boys' All-Events and the top 24 in each division, who will advance to the Masters competition which will conclude the 13th CGSE World Youth Championships on Thursday and Friday.


In cooperation with the Asian Bowling Federation (ABF) and the Hong Kong Tenpin Bowling Congress, Bowlingdigital.com will cover the Championships live from Hong Kong.

The United States Bowling Congress is working in cooperation with the host federation, the Hong Kong Tenpin Bowling Congress, to provide live streaming on BowlTV.


This World Youth Championships is made possible by title sponsor, The Chinese Gold & Silver Exchange Society World, and co-sponsors Chancellor Precious Metals, Fine Metal Asia Limited, Glory Sky and Safe Gold Bullion Limited as well as Watsons Water and Mr. Juicy, the Official Drink Sponsor of the event.