Coming to tropical Kuala Lumpur, site of the 22nd AMF Bowling World Cup, was like entering the land of milk and honey after being kicked into the wilderness for Remo Fornasari of Italy and Irene Gronert of the Netherlands.



Both bowlers (51 and 43, respectively), lost their national teamberths when their federations decided to "build for the future." Gronert got her revenge by cruising into the finals at Mirama Bowl as the top seed. She then convincingly doused Finland's Heidi Lind in the title match, 181-116, as Lind left seven splits to card the worst title game ever in the tournament's history. Not only did the over-the-hill Gronert win, but she picked up Holland's first-ever Bowling World Cup title in the process.

Fornasari was reportedly so angry after he was dropped from the Italian team that he stopped bowling for a year and a half. "But I decided to come back and prove something to the federation," he said. He won the national championships and, thus, a trip to Malaysia. Fornasari's three-step delivery and hole-ridden rental shoes were enough to stop helicopter pilot Wu Shin-Bin of Chinese Taipei, 225-172, in the final match. Appropriately, Fornasari's victory made him the oldest person ever to win the AMF Bowling World Cup, a mark which still stands.


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