Kok Leong stumbles in q-finals

LIM Kok Leong failed to win his second international title after he was ousted in the quarter-finals of the World Amateur Snooker Championship at AlArabi Sports Complex in Doha, Qatar yesterday.

The 22-year-old led 3-1 at one stage against Ehsan Heydari Nezhad but the Iranian clawed his way back to take the next five frames for a 6-3 (84-14, 60-69, 1355, 57-65, 68-14, 62-21, 62-21, 860, 78-0, 75-59) success.

Kok Leong, who won the World Amateur Team Championship with Moh Keen Hoo in 2015, was disappointed after failing to become the first Malaysian to go beyond the quarter-finals in the tournament.

“I was eager to create history, but I could not maintain my composure when I was 3-1 up,” said Kok Leong.

“I was pumped up to clear the table quickly and it led to silly errors. The excitement got the better of me.

“When I missed my shots, Ehsan punished me by notching big breaks.

“I lost my momentum and I could not recover to win more frames.

“However, it is still a great outing as I was the only Malaysian to make the quarter-finals.

“I want to thank the Malaysian Snooker and Billiards Federation (MSBF) for giving me this break to play in a major event despite not being a national player.

“I hope to get more opportunities to play abroad in the future.”

Compatriot Reza Hassan was ousted by Kok Leong in the last 16 while Keen Hoo was shown the exit in the last 32 stage.

India’s Pankaj Advani will play Iran’s Amir Sarkhosh for the world crown on Tuesday.

In the semi-finals, Pankaj, the winner in 2003 and 2015, defeated Florian Nuble of Austria 7-4 while Amir edged Ehsan 7-6.

The champion will earn a twoyear World Tour card. Ajitpal Singh