Hyderabad, Oct 8, 2026: Naresh Gotte of Telangana won the Title at the South Zone Tenpin Bowling Tournament concluded at Game Xtreme, Hitech City, Hyderabad.

In the finals, played on the cumulative pinfall of two games, 8th seed Naresh G (TG) gained a strong 32-pin lead in Game 1 against top seed Naveen Siddam of Telangana (180 - 148). Naveen mounted a spirited fightback in Game 2, outscoring Naresh 173–158, but the deficit of 32 pins from the opening game proved too substantial to overturn. Naresh held his nerve to secure a 17-pin aggregate victory, 338–321, completing a remarkable run from the eighth qualifying spot to lift the South Zone Tenpin Bowling Tournament Title.

Earlier, in the knockout Round played based on cumulative pinfall of two games, in Match 1, 5th seed Anand Babu (TN) (384) won against 3rd seed Parthiban J (320) and 7th seed Shanmugananda (KAR) (324).

In Match 2, 8th seed Naresh G (TG) won against 4th seed Aditya Varma (TG) (363) and 6th seed Goutham Abhilash (AP) (368). Winners of Match 1 and Match 2 moved on to next round to play against 2nd seed Mahipal Singh (TN).

In Match 3, 8th seed Naresh G (TG) scored 356 to win against winner of Match 1 Anand Babu (TN) (303) and 2nd seed Mahipal Singh (TN) (348) and moved to Finals to play against top seed Naveen Siddam (TG).

Naveen Siddam followed in 2nd position. Mahipal Singh of Tamil Nadu (TN) finished 3rd, with his state-mate Anand Babu taking 4th. Goutham Abhilash of Andhra Pradesh (AP) placed 5th, Aditya Varma (TG) 6th, Shanmugananda of Karnataka (KAR) 7th, and Parthiban (TN) 8th.

Among the special prizes, Naveen Siddam (TG) won both awards: the highest average in a 6-game block (202.33) and the highest average over 18 games (189.00)