Dubai: Former Dubai champion Kim Bolleby of Sweden further consolidated his position at the top of the table at the end of the 10th day of qualifying in the Fifth Dubai International Open Bowling Championship being held at the Dubai Bowling Club.
Playing before a capacity house late on Friday, the 23-year-old Bolleby rolled three-game series of 688, 716 and 725 to lead the standings in the Open category with a nine-game aggregate of 2,129 pin-falls at the end of the tenth day of the qualifying rounds.
UAE bowler and former Asian Games medallist Naif Oqab shrugged off his indifferent form from the Incheon Asian Games to hoist himself into second position with a total of 2,097 with series of 697,717 and 680.
Oman’s Ghalib Al Bu Saidi, who had led all in the Open competition on Wednesday, slipped into third place with a total of 2,067.
As per rules governing this annual tournament, the top three finishers along with the best Emirati player will bag an automatic entry for Round 3 of the finals.
Shaker Ali Al Hassan, bronze medal winner in the Men’s Masters at the Incheon Asian Games, continued his fine form with a fifth place with a total of 2,063, while his national team-mate and defending Dubai Open champion Mahmoud Al Attar is currently in seventh with 2,037.
The competition is now slowly approaching its conclusion with the top 24 bowlers along with the one-game desperado squad will contest eight-game Round 2 finals on October 13. The top-12 together with the four seeded qualifiers will advance to Round 3 finals for another eight games on the final day of the competition on October 14.
The top five finishers in Round Three will advance to the step-ladder grand finals to determine who among them secures the top prize of Dhs 60,000. As part of the incentive, the top-16 Asians will also qualify for the ABF Tour UAE led to be held on October 15.
Meanwhile, the youth and women’s competitions will conclude on October 12 with the top ten bowlers in the two divisions contesting the eight-game semi-finals first in order to choose the best four to the step-ladder finals. The top eight women will qualify directly to the step-ladder finals shootout the same day.
