Who are the winners of the 16th Uzbekistan Cup?
The Uzbekistan Cup in ten-pin bowling ended with the Queen’s immortal hit called “We are the champions”. This music piece is symbolic for the two winners given their athletic achievements. Bakhtiyor Dalabayev became the winner in the men’s category. Tatiana Lefter was the best among women for the second consecutive year.
In the final game, Bakhtiyor Dalabayev met with the champion of the capital, Bakhodir Arifov. In the game for the third place, Ravshan Abdusamadov was stronger than Arthur Zarbaht. In the main match between women, Tatiana Lefter won the victory over Sayera Makhmudova. The third place was taken by Elena Kasymova.
Complex track architecture approved by the UPSF management did not allow the participants to make any mistakes and pushed the bowlers to think each of their rolls through. For this reason, the audience couldn’t observe any outstanding results. As the organizing committee noted, the goal at the current stage of sport development in the country is to allow players to learn how to show a stable game with any oil pattern. It is important for our athletes to know how to adapt quickly to new conditions when they participate in various international events.
A year ago, Davron Tuychiev unexpectedly won the game and showed a professional level. However, this year, the cup was not rich in surprises. The winners of the competition were the players who occupied the highest positions in the rating. They were considered the favorites of the event. A few days ago, Dalabayev topped the general classification and sustained his leadership position throughout all the 24 games. Athletes Arifov and Abdusamadov also showed good results and took second and third places respectively. Nevertheless, one of the participants showed a particularly strong result – Arthur Zarbaht took the fourth place. He managed to improve his game from day to day – after eight games he was the seventh, after 16 – the sixth, after 24 games – the fourth. Unlike many other bowlers, he did not lose faith and continued fighting and went into the semifinals due to his confidence. This semifinal was the first for him in a few years. It is interesting that Arthur met with Ravshan Abdusamadov (his partner in doubles) in the match for the third place.
In the final part, the intrigue between the top two bowlers of the 2017-2018 season was as follows: Arifov, just like many other athletes, was desperately trying to achieve a double. He was unable to become the first player in history to win both the city championship and the country’s cup within one season. We are looking forward to the end of the next season to learn if someone will be able to achieve the double. The audience could observe intense rivalry, as both players got 200 points; however, Dalabayev was more accurate when making complex rolls. Throughout the entire season, the two athletes were competing with each other. In All events, Dalabayev also became the first.
Semifinal. Men
Dalabayev Bakhtiyor: 360 (161, 199) – Zarbaht Arthur: 311 (145, 166)
Arifov Bakhodir: 407 (174, 233) – Abdusamadov Ravshan: 325 (169, 156)
Third place playoff
Abdusamadov Ravshan: 427 (188, 239) – Zarbaht Arthur: 282 (156, 126)
Final
Dalabayev Bakhtiyor: 439 (215, 224) – Arifov Bakhodir: 428 (211, 217)
Dalabayev says: “It was important to show a stable game given the complex oil pattern. Classification showed that the one who shoots more spares will make it to the next round. The format of the game was also difficult as I prefer 3D-diagrams. Any error affected the result. I managed to find the best solution to this problem. This format made me feel tense; nevertheless, I played calmly and had the confidence that I could win. In general, the season was successful even though I did not manage to win the two trophies. I will continue refining my technique further, because I have a goal that I have not yet achieved.”
Having won his trophy, Dalabayev broke his own record on the number of victories – it was his fourth victory. The previous victories were in 2010, 2012, and 2014. The closest rivals are Sergey Sapov and Bekzod Tukhtaniyazov. They will have to win two times in a row in order to reach Dalabayev’s result in regards to the number of gold medals. It is important that Bekzod started his game well enough right from the beginning, and he was in the top four for two days. However, Sapov improved his result during the tournament – first he was the 14th, then he became the ninth, and after 24 games, he became the 5th.
Athlete Arifov also achieved excellent results and won points not only for himself but also for his partners during pair and team championships. His support team can be proud of him for sure.
Arifov says: “The season was quite successful. With this level of rivalry, winning becomes even more significant for me; I am satisfied with my result in the cup. I was a little unlucky in the final, though. Each time, the last pin would stand still despite my efforts; I was unable to knock it down. I congratulate Bakhtiyor Dalabayev on his well-deserved victory.”
For 16 years, no one of male players could achieve a double; meanwhile, Tatiana Lefter keeps the status of the best athlete for the second year. The key to her success lies in stable training. Previously, no one of female players could win in the two main UPSF competitions. It is interesting that not everything developed in her favor – after 24 games, Tatiana was not on the top of the list in the general classification. Athlete Makhmudova got to the finals straightaway; Kasymova and Lefter had to compete for a spot in the final game. According to the regulations, they had to play up to two wins.
Semifinal. Women
Kasymova Elena: 549 (191, 179, 179) – Lefter Tatiana: 558 (200, 168, 190)
Final.
Mahmudov Sayer: 262 (128, 134) – Lefter Tatiana: 356 (181, 175)
Lefter says: “A year ago, I set myself the task to repeat the double. I trained hard to achieve it, and this victory is very significant for me, because my rivals were training just as hard. There were few female players in this season, but the competition was still high. Classification results were poor, and the tension grew. Oil pattern was complex, and I needed to understand what I should do in every frame. Our coach Andrey Suslov gave some important instructions for which I want to thank him. He taught us that each pin was important. This season was very interesting as new conditions were constantly introduced, which allowed us to evolve and grow professionally. In general, I want to note that we have become even more united. I hope that new athletes will join us next season.”
The crew of “Sport” TV channel visited the final part of the competition. The broadcast of the final meetings (for both men and women) will be shown on June 26 at 6:45 pm. The main hero of the Uzbekistan Cup-2017, Davron Tuychiev, tried himself in a new role and commented on the game of his colleagues together with a TV journalist.
At the end of the final matches, the ceremony of awarding the winners of the Uzbekistan Cup-2018 was held. Also, the winners in other competition types (the Tashkent Individual Championship, the doubles championship, and All events) were awarded.
Tashkent Championship
Men: 1 – Bakhodir Arifov, 2 – Bakhtiyor Dalabaev, 3 – Davron Tuychiev.
Women: 1 – Tatyana Lefter, 2 – Sayera Makhmudova, 3 – Elena Kasymova.
Doubles championship: 1 – Bakhtiyor Dalabaev/Kudrat Khilyamov, 2 – Tatyana Lefter/Olim Mukhtarov, 3 – Ravshan Abdusamadov/Arthur Zarbaht.
All events: 1 – Bakhtiyor Dalabaev, 2 – Bakhodir Arifov, 3 – Tatyana Lefter.
See you in the new season, dear pin sport fans! Play bowling and stay healthy!