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Ayeni Olusegun
Doha
Germany's Oliver Morig took the lead on the opening day of the $155,000 16th Qatar International Bowling Open Tournament which got under way at the Qatar Bowling Centre on Saturday.
After Squad 1 play, Morig had rolled into the top spot after six games in the 58-player strong squad. The German posted five series over 240 to finish with a series score of 1434 averaging 239.00. Closely behind the German were Malaysian trio Esther Cheah, Rafiq Ismail and and Sin Lin Jane in second, third and fourth spots respectively.
Qatar's Jassim al Muraikhi led the Qatari players finishing sixth. Khalil al Muazzin and Ghanim Aboujassoum and Mohammed Jamal made it to the top 30 for the hosts.
The format of the tournament is singles, mixed and women categories and will have 8-pins handicap (per game).
The tournament features 137 athletes consisting of 116 male and 21 female bowlers from 42 countries, including 2015 champion Cameron Weler of the US. The winner will claim a whopping $40,000, second $20,000 while the third and fourth placed bowlers get $7,000.
Speaking of his performance, Squad 1 leader Morig said,"The lines have become faster and consistent because of the level of oil on the lane. For me it favours my game unlike in the World Singles Championships where I struggled a bit.
"My goal is to qualify for the next stage and that will determine how well and far I go in the competition. I like my position so far.
"The competition is more dynamic with a lot more players in the frame, and the Qatari players are doing very well."
The Asian Bowling Federation (ABF) and World Tenpin Bowling Association (WTBA) sanctioned event will run till Dec 16 and is open to players from all the World Bowling federations.
