Al Shaikh claims maiden victory
MOHAMMED Al Shaikh registered his maiden win yesterday at the 28th Asian Snooker Championship, being held at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation's gym in Doha.
A tough 4-3 victory against Mongolia's Batsukh Baldandori revived the Bahraini cueist's chances of finishing in the top two in this seven-member Group 'F' for a berth in the second round.
Al Shaikh started the game on a high note, scoring a 71-9 win over his opponent in the first frame for a 1-0 lead.
Baldandori came back later in the game, winning the next two frames (71-46, 66-37) to go up 2-1.
The Bahraini managed to put the scores level at 2-2 after picking up a 68-49 advantage over Baldandori.
In the fifth frame, the Mongolian regained momentum to take back the lead at 3-2 with a 68-37 win.
However, Al Shaikh put up an outstanding show in the sixth frame, which he comfortably won 73-11, before taking the seventh and deciding frame 64-51 and with it the tie.
Mohammed Al Shaikh, who began his bid with a 1-4 defeat to Thepchaiya Un-Nooh of Thailand, will now play his third game in the group today against host country's Ahmed Saif.
This encounter, set to tip off at 10am, will be crucial for both cueists who are vying for a place in this prestigious competition's last 16.
The group also includes Ahmed Al Okaily of Jordan and Michael Mengorio of the Philippines.
Bahrain's other representative Habib Subah, meanwhile, suffered his second straight defeat in the championship.
The Bahrain No. one cueist lost his third game in Group 'D' to UAE's Mohammed Al Joker 1-4, watching their bid to progress into the last-16 round suffer a major blow.
After giving himself a flying start to the tournament by beating Iraqi Ali Hussain 4-1, which was followed by a 2-4 defeat to Afghanistan's Mohd Rais Senazi, Subah headed into yesterday's game seeking a strong comeback and keeping his hopes of making progress.
But in this match, which was played over a one hour and 45 minutes, Subah could do little to match the experience and strong impact of his Emirati opponent who cruised to his third successive win.
Subah now has three more matches in the group against Fung Kok Wai of Vietnam, Suleiman Abusalem of Jordan and Lim Chun Kiat of Vietnam.
Subah will play his fourth game in the group today against Kiat at 4pm in the second session of play. Subah must win this match to revive hopes of finishing in the top two for a place in the last-16 round.
The tournament features 52 of the continent's best cueists, representing 26 countries. Top participants come from India, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Taipei, the UAE and Pakistan.
The remaining counties are Afghanistan, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Korea, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mongolia, Pakistan, Palestine, hosts Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Syria, the Philippines and Bahrain.
The winner of the Asian Championship gets automatic qualification for the Professional Snooker Tour 2012-13 season.
A tough 4-3 victory against Mongolia's Batsukh Baldandori revived the Bahraini cueist's chances of finishing in the top two in this seven-member Group 'F' for a berth in the second round.
Al Shaikh started the game on a high note, scoring a 71-9 win over his opponent in the first frame for a 1-0 lead.
Baldandori came back later in the game, winning the next two frames (71-46, 66-37) to go up 2-1.
The Bahraini managed to put the scores level at 2-2 after picking up a 68-49 advantage over Baldandori.
In the fifth frame, the Mongolian regained momentum to take back the lead at 3-2 with a 68-37 win.
However, Al Shaikh put up an outstanding show in the sixth frame, which he comfortably won 73-11, before taking the seventh and deciding frame 64-51 and with it the tie.
Mohammed Al Shaikh, who began his bid with a 1-4 defeat to Thepchaiya Un-Nooh of Thailand, will now play his third game in the group today against host country's Ahmed Saif.
This encounter, set to tip off at 10am, will be crucial for both cueists who are vying for a place in this prestigious competition's last 16.
The group also includes Ahmed Al Okaily of Jordan and Michael Mengorio of the Philippines.
Bahrain's other representative Habib Subah, meanwhile, suffered his second straight defeat in the championship.
The Bahrain No. one cueist lost his third game in Group 'D' to UAE's Mohammed Al Joker 1-4, watching their bid to progress into the last-16 round suffer a major blow.
After giving himself a flying start to the tournament by beating Iraqi Ali Hussain 4-1, which was followed by a 2-4 defeat to Afghanistan's Mohd Rais Senazi, Subah headed into yesterday's game seeking a strong comeback and keeping his hopes of making progress.
But in this match, which was played over a one hour and 45 minutes, Subah could do little to match the experience and strong impact of his Emirati opponent who cruised to his third successive win.
Subah now has three more matches in the group against Fung Kok Wai of Vietnam, Suleiman Abusalem of Jordan and Lim Chun Kiat of Vietnam.
Subah will play his fourth game in the group today against Kiat at 4pm in the second session of play. Subah must win this match to revive hopes of finishing in the top two for a place in the last-16 round.
The tournament features 52 of the continent's best cueists, representing 26 countries. Top participants come from India, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Taipei, the UAE and Pakistan.
The remaining counties are Afghanistan, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Korea, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mongolia, Pakistan, Palestine, hosts Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Syria, the Philippines and Bahrain.
The winner of the Asian Championship gets automatic qualification for the Professional Snooker Tour 2012-13 season.
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