KUWAIT: The 13th Kuwait Open Bowling Tournament will mark the last round of the 2019 world league, today the fourth day in the preliminaries as competition became heated between participants since the start on Thursday. The second place finisher in the 2017 world championship Venezuela's Ildemaro Ruiz headed the preliminaries that reached the fifth round on Friday by collecting 1,354 points out 1,500. Meanwhile Thailand's Yannaphon Larpapharat was second with 1,334 points and Indonesia's Billy Islam third with 1,306.

The preliminaries consist of 22 rounds over five days and will be conclude tomorrow, then on Tuesday there will be the first and second rounds and then on Wednesday the final round which will decide the top three places.

The tournament enjoys the participation of an elite group of world champions and top professionals from various countries, all of whom are competing for top place and a top prize of $50,000.

Meanwhile, President of International and Asian Bowling Federations, Chairman of Kuwait Bowling Club inspected activities and lauded the way competition is going and insisted that this is a continuation of the success the 25th Asian championship enjoyed.

Sheikh Talal Al-Mohammad said the current championship is considered the best field for Kuwait players to gain experience and compete with the best players. He said Kuwait has promising players who proved well during the Asian championship and won a silver medal in the men's trios.
Sheikh Mohammad hoped that Kuwait be world center in hosting the strongest world championships including the open that is being going on for 15 years with success.

Sheikh Talal Al-Mohammad decided to designate one hour weekly for sports journalists to practice bowling on Fridays between 2 pm - 3 pm as an appreciation for journalists' role in serving Kuwait sport.

By Abdellatif Sharaa