Zhang wins China Bowling Tour championships in dramatic fashion

The Hefei Bowling Championships of the 2023 China Bowling Tour ended in Hefei Zhongan Bowling Alley on Sunday evening. Zhang Min, a Sichuan bowler and a last-minute replacement, dramatically won the Spinner-Hook Match Play over noted Guangdong player Wang Shizhen.

After two Guangxi players, Mi Zhongli and Shang Furong, won the Hook Group and Spinner Group championships respectively with 1,264 and 1,307 points, the final Spinner-Hook Match Play was set to begin among 16 players. However, Du Jianchao, the seventh-ranked bowler in the event, was unable to participate due to personal reasons, and Zhang Min, who missed the top eight by only one point, was named by the committee as replacement while he was packing his bowling bags in frustration.

Zhang came into his game rapidly, with eight strikes in a row. After three consecutive wins, he jumped from No 9 into the final stage against Wang. Spectators were talking online and off, guessing who would be the eventual winner. But Zhang was unstoppable, opening with three consecutive strikes in two games, and his momentum eventually helped him lift the trophy.

"It was like a dream come true." Zhang said. "When I was holding the championship trophy, the melody of the theme song of the China Bowling Tour flashed in my mind: ‘With all my heart, with a dream to work wonders.’"

The tour is a brand-new event, hosted by the Multi-ball Games Administrative Center of the General Administration of Sport and Chinese Bowling Association. The launch of CBT marks a major development of bowling in China.

The Hefei Open is the third leg of the 2023 CBT. He Fengxiang, president of the CBA, said the event is helping the revitalization of bowling through the Chinese Tour, and is committed to actively integrating bowling into the national fitness strategy.

The fourth leg will be held in Beijing in October.