Teen sensation runs hot in Adelaide

After two days of intense competition for the World Singles Champion of Champions at Adelaide Bowling Club in the South Australian capital, Malaysian teenager Ahmad Zikry has emerged as one of the warm favourites in a sizzling men’s field.

He is well positioned in the run to qualifying, having suffered just one loss, to seasoned England professional Louis Ridout. The 18-year-old public servant, who has been playing since he was five and shows those unmistakable hallmarks of Malaysia’s star factory, is making his international debut at Adelaide, and seems to have it all.

And while the pocket-sized Malay is clocking up credits on the green, this second day of competition saw many of yesterday’s heroes brought back to the field.

In the women’s competition richly talented Norfolk Island youngster Shae Wilson, who topped her section overnight, was unceremoniously toppled by non-nonsense Namibian Diana Viljoen this morning, while on the very next rink much-admired Australian champion Kylie Whitehead was also put to the sword, despite winning the first set against England’s Sophie Tolchard 17-1.

This was a delight for Tolchard, who has found it tough going on Australian greens over the past few years, but brought her ‘A’ game for the second set and tiebreak to claim an improbable victory.

But it was relatively unknown Kiwi Debbie White – a former professional singer – who pulled off the result of the day when she snatched the points from Welsh world champion Laura Daniels this morning.

Similarly, Ridout, one of the favourites in the men’s competition also dropped the points in this morning’s crackerjack fourth round against Scotland’s Mark O’Hagan.

However, with two days completed he lead’s men’s Section 1 from O’Hagan and Hong Kong’s Tony Cheung, while Lee Schraner from Australia heads Section 2 ahead of Ireland international Stephen Coleman and Rajnesh Prasad from Fiji.

In the women’s competition, Kylie Whitehead leads Section 1 from Shae Wilson and Diana Viljoen, while Debbie White is overnight leader in Section 2 from Malaysia’s Nor Fidrah Noh and Laura Welsh from Scotland.

This week’s 17th World Singles Champion of Champions is seven days of stellar international competition, featuring twenty-five men and twenty women from no fewer than 28 countries, striving for the ultimate honour in action on the pristine Adelaide greens.

Qualifying rounds are being conducted continuously until Friday, with semi finals on Saturday, followed by the men’s and women’s world finals this coming Sunday.

This annual championship, first conducted in Australia at Moama in 2003, offers the ultimate ‘rags to riches’ fairytale story – fact is, any club singles winner, anywhere in the world, can progress through at regional, state and national level to win a shot at a world title – a place in this competition is won out on the green without the necessity to curry favour with national selectors.

MEN

Sec.1: Rd.4: Tony Cheung (HKC) bt Ian Kenyon (ESP) 9-8 11-5, Ahmad Zikry (MAS) bt Zoltan Pavelka (HUN) 14-2 13-6, Mark O’Hagan (SCO) bt Louis Ridout (ENG) 6-9 7-5 4-1, Earl Luk (CAN) bt Avala Savaiinaea (SAM) 12-5 13-6, Cabous Olivier (NAM) bt Clive McGreal (IOM) 5-11 8-6 5-2. Rd.5: Ridout bt Kenyon 15-3 7-6, Zikry bt Cheung 8-5 10-6, McGreal bt Frank De Vries (NED) 14-4 8-7, Olivier bt Pavelka 13-5 9-8, O’Hagan bt Luk 6-5 7-4. Rd.6: Taylor Horn (NZL) bt McGreal 4-9 13-4 4-3, Luk bt Kenyon 11-5 9-6, Cheung bt Olivier 7-5 8-5, Ridout bt Zikry 9-5 10-5, De Vries bt Pavelka 10-5 11-5.

Current standings: Ridout 15 points, 10 sets, +60 shots; O’Hagan 12, 7, +35; Cheung 12 7 +15; Zikry 9, 6, +28; Olivier 9, 5, +16; Luk 9, 5, +1; Horn 6, 5, +13; McGreal 6, 5, -11; Kenyon 6, 3, -18; De Vries 3, 3, -17, Savaiinaea 3, 2, -39; Pavelka 0, 1, -83.

Sec.2: Rd.4: Wayne Rittmuller (RSA) bt Stephen Coleman (IRE) 6-7 12-5 3-2, Hirokazi Mori (JPN) bt Boaz Markus (ISR) 4-15 7-5 3-2, Todd Priaulx (GUE) bt Law Kwok Fai (SIN) 13-7 11-6, Lee Schraner (AUS) bt Ozkan Akar (TUR) 10-8 8-5, Rajnesh Prasad (FIJ) bt Haydn Evans (NFI) 3-16 8-7 2-1, Charlie Herbert (USA) bt Regent Reid (BOT) 16-2 15-6. Rd.5: Kevin James (WAL) bt Reid 9-7 12-5, Schraner bt Herbert 12-6 6-12 2-1, Akar bt Markus 12-4 3-12 4-0, Rittmuller bt Priaulx 10-6 9-7, Coleman bt Mori 7-6 9-7, Prasad bt Kwok Fai 8-7 8-11 6-1. Rd.6: Schraner bt James 10-6 8-11 3-0, Coleman bt Akar 9-6 13-7, Priaulx bt Mori 13-3 12-3, Prasad bt Rittmuller 9-7 8-6, Evans bt Reid 9-8 15-8, Herbert bt Markus 11-7 10-8.

Current standings: Schraner 18 points, 9 sets, +29 shots; Coleman 15, 10, +26; Prasad 15, 8, -3; Rittmuller 12, 8, +32; Herbert 9, 7, +26; Priaulx 9, 5, +7; James 9, 5, +7; Markus 6, 5, +1; Akar 6, 3, -4; Mori 6, 3, -26; Evans 3, 4, +9; Kwok Fai 0, 2, -44; Reid 0, 0, -80.

WOMEN

Sec.1: Rd.3: Sophie Tolchard (ENG) bt Kylie Whitehead (AUS) 1-17 9-6 3-2, Diana Viljoen (NAM) bt Shae Wilson (NFI) 9-5 9-8, Shirley Fitzpatrick-Wong (CAN) bt Boikhutso Mooketsi (BOT) 6-6 7-4, Tammy Tham (SIN) bt Janice Pilling (IOM) 12-6 Rd.4: Whitehead bt Tham 10-8 11-4, Tolchard bt Pilling 12-4 8-6, Wilson bt Mooketsi 15-6 9-4, Viljoen bt Fitzpatrick-Wong 10-5 10-6.

Current standings: Whitehead 9 points, 7 sets, +51 shots; Wilson 9, 6, +39; Viljoen 6, 4, -1; Fitzpatrick-Wong 6, 3, -8; Helen Cheung (HKC) 6, 3, +16; Tolchard 6, 3, -20; Pilling 3, 4, +4; Tham 3, 1, -21; Mooketsi 0, 0, -33; Bonnita Van Heerden (ZIM) 0, 0, -27.

Sec.2: Rd.3: Debbie White (NZL) bt Laura Daniels (WAL) 8-6 6-6, Sonia Bruce (PHI) bt Sandy Wall (USA) 6-7 13-4 2-1, Mary Dyer (ESP) bt Cristina Konig (ARG) 6-5 14-4, Laura Welsh (SCO) bt Nur Fidrah Noh (MAS) 11-5 0-13 2-1. Rd.4: Esmé Kruger (RSA) bt Keiko Kurohara (JPN) 5-11 11-6 3-2, White bt Bruce 6-4 9-5, Daniels bt Wall 9-7 10-8, Welsh bt Dyer 11-6 3-12 6-0, Fidrah Noh bt Konig 13-4 14-2.

Current standings: White 12 points, 5 sets, +7 shots; Fidrah Noh 9, 6, +46; Welsh 9, 4, +6; Daniels 6, 4, +21; Kruger 6, 4, +34; Dyer 3, 4, +14; Kurohara 3, 3, -5; Bruce 3, 2, -9; Wall 0, 1, -28; Konig 0, 0, -84.

Photo: Exciting Malaysian teenager Ahmad Zikry in action during today’s play in the World Singles Champion of Champions at Adelaide Bowling Club.