Chinese teenager Zhao Xintong put on a dazzling display to record a come-from-behind 16-67, 8-77, 65-8, 75-19, 89-0, 51-37 win over Singalore’s Keng Kwang Chan on the third day of the IBSF World snooker championship here on Friday.
Xintong, who plays with the carefree attitude that only a 17-year-old can afford, showed no nerves after losing the first two frames. He made his way back into the match with the help of a crucial fluke blue in the third frame, and went on to win it 65-8 despite three straightforward potting misses.
The 2013 World championship runner-up then started the fourth by cushioning the cue ball behind the yellow. This forced Chan to foul twice as he attempted to make contact with the reds at the other end of the table. The damage was done.
Xintong brought out all the stops in a stunning 89-break in the fifth frame. He started the run with a powerful disturb to free himself up for the next red.
The red went down on the next shot, and despite a glaring positioning error, he rescued himself with a precision long cut to pocket the green.
At 65-0, he sunk a long pot on the black, helped by a clean cueing action which made light of the mere inches between cue ball and the black.
Within touching distance of a certain century, Xintong inexplicably missed a straight red. The callous attitude was as much a part of his game as his shot-making ability.
A pressure long cut on the blue, and an exhilarating masse shot to escape a tight rail snook provided the exclamation points in the sixth frame. On the day, Xintong’s pure talent prevailed. Before Xintong’s exploits, Thailand’s Boonyarit Keattikun grabbed the spotlight with two century breaks in his facile win over Lithuania’s Andrej Maksimov.
India’s Pankaj Advani got into his stride with a 103-4, 119-7, 86-26, 136-0 thumping of Austria’s Paul Schopf.
He complied breaks of 71 and 84, and stated later that this was his best performance of the championship thus far.
Advani’s countryman Kamal Chawla looked impressive as well in his 68-27, 74-0, 67-56, 68-75, 60-17 victory over Belgium’s Jurgen van Roy. He let slip of the fourth frame despite holding the lead, but an effortless clearance in the fifth frame sealed the deal.
Important results: Yan Bingtao (Chn) bt Rahul Ajay Sachdev (Ind) 41-62, 72-06, 57-42, 87-0, 72-65; Kamal Chawla (Ind) bt Jurgen van Roy (Bel) 68-27, 74-0, 67-56, 68-75, 60-17; Shahbaaz Adil Khan (Ind) bt Marwan Alfalasi (UAE) 77-11, 85-23, 79-08, 73-58; Shivam Arora (Ind) bt Tetsuya Kuwata (Jpn) 60-41, 81-62, 97-33, 80-9; Laxman Rawat (Ind) bt Antonis Poullos (Cyp) 67-41, 77-38, 122-0, 19-81, 5-66, 52-41; Mohamed Khairy (Egy) bt Thor Chuanleong (Mal) 85-24, 18-73, 72-7, 55-47, 64-24; Varun Madan (Ind) bt Vinicius Da Silva Fucuta (Bra) 76-69, 53-35, 63-44, 71-37; Pankaj Advani (Ind) bt Paul Schopf (Aut) 103-4, 119-7, 86-26, 136-0; Boonyarit Keattikun (Tha) bt Andrej Maksimov (Lit) 81-30, 108-00, 74-0, 103-0; Zhao Xintong (Chn) bt Keng Kwang Chan (Sin) 16-67, 8-77, 65-8, 75-19, 89-0, 51-37.
Women: Anastasia Nechaeva (Rus) bt Arantxa Sanchis (Ind) 62-33, 73-6, 72-9; Ng On Yee (HK) bt Neeta Sanghvi (Ind) 72-38, 70-27, 94-2; Ip Wan In Jaique (HK) bt R. Umadevi (Ind) 15-52, 52-21, 68-42, 65-9; Siraphat Chitchomnart (Tha) bt Kerry De Pradines (Aus) 76-17, 78-34, 42-38; Chitra Magimairaj (Ind) bt Bussanich Suzanne (Aus) 64-19, 80-33, 48-32.
