UAE bowlers challenge Omani at Dubai Bowling Open

UAE bowlers remained on the tail of Omani challenger Ghalib Al Busaidi at the end of the eighth day of qualifying in the Open category of the 5th Dubai International Bowling Tournament being held at the Dubai Bowling Centre in Al Mamzar.

Mahmood Al Attar, Hussain Al Suwaidi, Ibrahim Al Zaabi and Shaker Ali Al Hassan were all within striking reach of leader Ghalib Al Busaidi of Oman at the end of the eighth day on Wednesday.

The Omani bowler had a pin-fall of 2067 followed by Mahmood Al Attar in second with 2037, Hussain Al Suwaidi with 2026, Ibrahim Al Zaabi (2016) and Shaker Ali Al Hassan (2005).

Then came a couple of Filipino bowlers – Anthony Balabbo and Paolo Joquico – followed by Samantha Hannan, one of the top bowlers from the United Kingdom.

Samantha Hannan also kept herself in the frame for other honours as she stood leading the women’s competition ahead of Uella Marcial from the Philippines and Kholood Akram from the UAE.
She made her presence felt in the youth category as well as she remained in third place behind Obaid Al Saadi and Juan Rafael Vargas.

Organised by the Emirates Bowling Federation (EBF), the fifth edition of this popular tournament is being held in co-ordination with the Dubai Sports Council (DSC). A string of outstation bowlers have started arriving for the final days of qualifying.

After the qualifying rounds, the top 24 bowlers will advance to the knockout stages of the competition with the finals of the youth and women’s competitions being held on October 12 while the open category finals will be played on October 14.