Singapore, Sweden wins gold in singles at 2021 IBF Super World Championships in Dubai
USBC communication
Dubai, United Arab Emirates –
Singapore’s Shayna Ng and Cherie Tan are responsible for more than half of the medals their country has won International Bowling Federation Super-WC, and they added two more Friday nights in women’s singles.The teammates met for the first gold medal in the 2021 edition of the event, and Ng received the top prize via roll-off, 49-27, after winning one match each in the format of the best of two.
Ng struck out seven of his first nine deliveries in the opening game, including a streak of six consecutive strikes, en route to a 234-215 win over Tan.
A ball change from Tan early in Game 2 helped her roll five straight lines on the way to a 236-206 victory to force a roll-off.
Tan started the roll by leaving, and converting, the combination 3-5-6-9-10. Ng’s first delivery resulted in a strike, and she stepped up in the 10th frame and needed a double to unlock the second gold medal of her career at the IBF Super World Championships.
She recorded a strike on her first delivery, but a 4-pin on her second shot, followed by the reserve conversion, gave Tan the opportunity to throw three strokes in his 10th frame to win with a pin.
Tan’s first shot hit the pocket, but she left a split of 7-10 to fall short.
The men’s gold medal went to Sweden’s James Blomgren, who beat the Finn Tomas Kayhko, 2-0 (279-233 and 247-185).
The competitions took place on an outdoor set-up with two courses basking in the moonlight of Dubai.
The custom venue was created specifically for the 2021 IBF Super World Championships medal rounds and was built in the Sports, Fitness and Wellbeing Hub at Expo 2020 Dubai, a multicultural event that includes exhibitions from more than 190 countries and will run for six months.
Ng’s win marked the third gold medal for Singapore’s women’s team in the tournament’s history, and she now owns two of them.
The 32-year-old right-hander won Singapore’s first gold medal at the World Cup when she won all competitions in nearby Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 2015. Tan won gold in Las Vegas in 2019 when she won the tournament-final Masters event.
The teammates also did the singles medal round together in 2015, where Tan took the silver medal and Ng got bronze. They did not meet in the semifinals.
The Road to Gold included 10 qualifying matches over two days, seven round robin matches, a one-match quarter-final round and a nearly one-hour bus ride from the Dubai International Bowling Center to the Expo 2020 Dubai venue.
In tonight’s first semifinal for women, Tan rolled five straight strikes, starting in the second frame, on its way to a 246-194 victory over Canada’s Sarah Klassen.
The class stayed close through the first six frames, before back-to-back opens in the seventh and eighth frames. Tan delivered seven goals and stayed clean in the victory.
Ng delivered hits on his last four shots to shut out Guatemala’s Sofia Rodriguez in the second semifinal, 216-203.
Both players missed single pins during the first half of the match, but Rodriguez took advantage of strokes in the sixth, seventh and eighth frames. However, she could not record a fourth straight strike in the ninth frame. She left a 7-pin, which gave Ng the chance to lock in the victory in her last two frames.
The class and Rodriguez each received bronze medals to advance to the semifinals.
Blomgren went on to the gold match with a win of 236-196 over Italy’s Nicola Pongolini in the first semifinal for men.
Blomgren noted seven strokes on the way to victory. Pongolini could not turn on the right file until the 10th picture.
Kayhko posted eight strikes in his semifinal meeting with Korea’s Ji Geun and advanced, 248-211.
The Finnish two-hander had a slight advantage throughout the match, but Ji kept it close with four straight lines, starting in the fifth frame. A 7-pin in the ninth frame slowed Ji, and he could not put further pressure on Kayhko in his last frame, leaving the 4-6-7-10 split.
All 133 men and 92 women who competed at the World Cup played 10 matches in two days – five matches on Saturday and five matches on Monday – before each field was cut to the top 32 for match play.
Kayhko shared for last place and defeated Singapore’s Jonovan Neo, 244-205, to advance to match play.
The advanced players were divided into four groups, each with eight competitors, and they played all seven matches with round-robin match play on Wednesday.
Points were awarded for each win in match play, and the two best bowlers in each group, based on points, advanced to the quarterfinals in bracket style.
The next medals to be awarded will be in doubles, with the medal round scheduled for Saturday night. The trio ends on Sunday, and both teams and mixed teams end on Monday. Doubles, trios and both team events will feature variations of the Baker format from start to finish.
Team USA Andrew Anderson and Kristopher Prather will appear in the doubles semifinals, and will be joined by Jakob Butturff and AJ Johnson for the trio medal round.
The USA entered the event in 2021 as the reigning world champion in both men’s and women’s trios. The Team USA ladies were eliminated in the quarterfinals this week.
Additional medals will be awarded to the most valuable athletes and the best federations.
The competition at the Super World Cup will resume early on Saturday with 10 matches of qualification for the coveted team event. All teams will throw 10 qualifiers, and the field will be cut to the top 16 teams for round-robin match play.
The IBF Super World Championships is the first of three events held in Dubai. The inauguration For the Bowling World Cup will share the stage over the weekend, with singles starting on Saturday night. The IBF Masters (formerly Senior) World Championships will help end the visit to the United Arab Emirates.
IBF provides livestream monitoring and complete results at StrikeCloud.com.
For more information on IBF, visit bowling.sport.