The 43rd annual QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup is ongoing at the Kontinent Bowling Centre in St. Petersburg, Russia, where Malta is represented by Sue Abela and Kenneth Arpa. The able pair earned the right to represent their country in this the most prestigious event in the world tenpin bowling calendar by winning a qualification tournament recently organized at the Eden SuperBowl by the Malta Tenpin Bowling Association.
Top bowlers from an incredible 86 nations are competing in this event, which consists of a 24-game qualifying round for both the male and female divisions, after which the top 24 athletes from each will play a further eight games before being cut back to the top eight qualifiers. The final stages will consists of head-to-head elimination matches on a best-of-three basis until the eventual champions are known.
Ladies Division: Sue Abela Third In Qualifying Round
National Champion Sue Abela has gotten off to a fantastic start in St. Petersburg, rolling an excellent 1,342 (223.6 ave) over her initial six games which puts her in third place. Only Korea’s Sun Hee Lee, and one of the event favourites, Aumi Guerra from the Dominican Republic are ahead of Abela at this point.
Abela (European Champion, 1999) has an incredible 20-year history in the event, her first World Cup experience being in Malaysia. This is her ninth appearance in all, and she is looking to improve on her best performance to date, that of sixth place overall in the 1991 edition held in Beijing, during which Sue was awarded the ‘Sportswoman of the Tournament’ trophy.
Men’s Division: Arpa eyes qualification
After ten qualifying games in the extremely tough male competition, Malta’s Kenneth Arpa lies in 23rd place, just one spot above the cut. Australian Jason Belmonte, known world wide for his amazing and flamboyant two-handed bowling style is currently leading the division.
Play continues from qualification right through to the finals on Saturday 10 November. The Maltese contingent is backed by the MTBA and also the Malta Olympic Committee, while the Eden SuperBowl has provided training facilities for the bowlers representing Malta in the 43rd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup.