Tannya still leads, Ryan moves up to 3rd at WRM

Musthofid ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sun, 05/04/2008 10:06 AM  |  Sports

Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia made amends for his shaky start in the opening of the World Ranking Master (WRM) bowling championship by placing third on the provisional standings of the men's division in Jakarta on Saturday.

Ryan's move to third was boosted by his confident performance on the long oiled lane in the second round of the championship, held at Senayan Sportainment bowling center. Friday's games were played on short oiled lanes.

He ended up with the second best score at 1,705 from eight games for 3,363 overall, behind Qatari Mubarak Al-Muraikhi, whose highest score of 289 in the seventh game helped thrust him to the top at the end of the day.

"I'm more confident on the long oil. After the opening two games I found it difficult but I could recover in the next games," Ryan said.

Ryan scored over 200 on average. In contrast to Al-Muraikhi, he floundered in the seventh game before closing with a 226 in the eighth game.

"I was a little bit too impatient and I rushed in bringing round the game," he said, referring to the seventh game, where he missed pin number 10.

Al-Muraikhi took over first place after pocketing the day's highest score of 1,732 for 3,399 overall. His form peaked with his outstanding run in the seventh game, when he made ten consecutive strikes before closing with a spare.

"I just sent the ball through to the pocket. I didn't think of anything else ... whether it was a strike or not. I was trying to throw a nice ball," Al-Muraikhi said.

Hussain Al-Suwaidi of United Arab Emirates took second place at 3,364 overall.

Jari Ratia and overnight leader Sami Konsteri, both of Finland, Lucas Legnani of Argentina, Jesper Agerbo of Denmark and Daniel Lim of Malaysia filled the rest of the top eight positions.

However, their positions are not yet secure with the bowlers to play another eight games on Sunday, when they will alternate between long and short oiled lanes.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Tannya Roumimper experienced a dip when she only scored 1,512. However, she still leads the women's division at 3,232 overall, thanks to a similarly below-par performance from the chasing group.

Malaysians Shalin Zhulkifli and Wendy Chai, Kirsten Penny of England, Diana Zavjalova of Latvia, Venezuelans Alicia Marcano and Karen Marcano, and Edissa Valarino of Panama, who made up the top eight on Friday, also struggled to tackle the oiled lane.

"It's usually difficult to play on long oil and the lane was more difficult today. Other people had the same problem," she said.

Shalin is looking to build on her impressive run in Russia in 2004 in which she reached the final before she was defeated by Diandra Asbaty of the United States.

"This year, it's not as strong as it was last year. Diandra and a few top players are not competing. But the quality is almost the same," she said.

While acknowledging the challenging lane, Tannya blamed herself for her drop in performance.

"I'm disappointed with the way I played today. I made too many ... minor mistakes. I released the ball incorrectly and my body wobbled.

"I might have been too tense from the pressure of having to keep on top," Tannya said, adding that she would have to be more focused on the long oil when the competition resumes in the third round's games on Sunday.

Tannya scored 1,512, which was well behind fellow Indonesian Putty Armein, who hit 1,538 to give her a leverage to 10th from 14th position on provisional standings.

"I played a bit more relaxed," she said. She still hopes to improve further to clinch a place in the quarterfinals.

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