Finland leads doubles at 2014 World Men's Championships
December 08, 2014
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Finland's left-handed duo of Kimmo Lehtonen and Joonas Jehkinen used two big opening games to set themselves apart from the field at the 2014 World Bowling Men's Championships in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
The pair started doubles at Zayed Sports City's Khalifa International Bowling Centre with games of 493 and 480 and seemed unfazed by the tricky transition of the 38-foot Atlanta oil pattern that plagued many of the teams late on the day's opening squad.
Lehtonen led the way with a six-game total of 1,432, a 238.67 average, while Jehkinen contributed 1,297.
Bowling on the third and final squad of the day, Japan had a chance at the top spot heading into the final frame but came up short, settling into second place overall with 2,725. Left-hander Daisuke Yoshida set the pace with a 1,457 total (a 242.8 average), and Shusaku Asato added 1,268.
Korea and Sweden both finished strong, shooting 508 and 491, respectively, to sneak into the top four from the last squad. Korea is third with 2,717 and Sweden is fourth with 2,688.
The final qualifying squad will hit the lanes Tuesday at 12 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
After all 272 bowlers, representing 49 countries, have completed their six games of qualifying, the field will be cut to the top four for the semifinals, which will begin at 4:30 a.m. EDT. The two semifinal winners will advance to the gold-medal match, and the losers each will earn bronze medals.
The nine-day World Men's Championships runs through Dec. 14, and bowlers will compete for medals in six events - singles, doubles, trios, team, all-events and Masters match play.
The tournament features two different lane conditions - the 38-foot Atlanta pattern and the 43-foot Tokyo pattern.
Doubles is being contested on Atlanta, while trios and team competition both will include three games on each pattern. Each event includes six games of qualifying before the field is narrowed to the top four for the semifinals.
Canada's Dan MacLelland claimed the singles gold medal Sunday with a win over local favorite Shaker Al Hassan of the United Arab Emirates. Singles was bowled on the Tokyo pattern. Team USA's Tommy Jones and Sam Cooley of Australia earned bronze medals.
The 2014 World Men's Championships marks the event's first visit to Abu Dhabi since 1999.
All rounds of the event will be broadcast live on BOWL.com's BowlTV. For a complete schedule in Eastern time, visit BOWL.com/LiveStream.
For more information on the World Men's Championships, visit the official website of the event at adwtbc.com.
The pair started doubles at Zayed Sports City's Khalifa International Bowling Centre with games of 493 and 480 and seemed unfazed by the tricky transition of the 38-foot Atlanta oil pattern that plagued many of the teams late on the day's opening squad.
Lehtonen led the way with a six-game total of 1,432, a 238.67 average, while Jehkinen contributed 1,297.
Bowling on the third and final squad of the day, Japan had a chance at the top spot heading into the final frame but came up short, settling into second place overall with 2,725. Left-hander Daisuke Yoshida set the pace with a 1,457 total (a 242.8 average), and Shusaku Asato added 1,268.
Korea and Sweden both finished strong, shooting 508 and 491, respectively, to sneak into the top four from the last squad. Korea is third with 2,717 and Sweden is fourth with 2,688.
The final qualifying squad will hit the lanes Tuesday at 12 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
After all 272 bowlers, representing 49 countries, have completed their six games of qualifying, the field will be cut to the top four for the semifinals, which will begin at 4:30 a.m. EDT. The two semifinal winners will advance to the gold-medal match, and the losers each will earn bronze medals.
The nine-day World Men's Championships runs through Dec. 14, and bowlers will compete for medals in six events - singles, doubles, trios, team, all-events and Masters match play.
The tournament features two different lane conditions - the 38-foot Atlanta pattern and the 43-foot Tokyo pattern.
Doubles is being contested on Atlanta, while trios and team competition both will include three games on each pattern. Each event includes six games of qualifying before the field is narrowed to the top four for the semifinals.
Canada's Dan MacLelland claimed the singles gold medal Sunday with a win over local favorite Shaker Al Hassan of the United Arab Emirates. Singles was bowled on the Tokyo pattern. Team USA's Tommy Jones and Sam Cooley of Australia earned bronze medals.
The 2014 World Men's Championships marks the event's first visit to Abu Dhabi since 1999.
All rounds of the event will be broadcast live on BOWL.com's BowlTV. For a complete schedule in Eastern time, visit BOWL.com/LiveStream.
For more information on the World Men's Championships, visit the official website of the event at adwtbc.com.