SNOOKER / SANGSOM 6-RED INTERNATIONAL
Selby, Ebdon, White, Davis crash out as Ratchapol advances
Hanif Hassan
A gust of upsets hit the SangSom 6-red Snooker International stage as the leading contenders were scythed down like frail trees at the Montien Riverside Hotel yesterday.
A Hollywood director would have loved to have set up a climax starring the likes of world No 4 Mark Selby, former world professional champion Peter Ebdon and six-time world championship runner-up Jimmy White, but the script was totally ignored by the others in the cast.
On an upset-laden day, Selby was the first to be shown the exit, losing 6-3 to former world professional champion Ken Doherty, who has had an unimpressive if not disappointing run in the first round which concluded on Thursday night.
Joining him on the next flight home to Heathrow is Ebdon, who suffered a shock 6-2 defeat at the hands of Jimmy Michie, the world No 45, who had entered the last 32 stage as a fourth-ranked qualifier from Group F.
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| World No 34 Michael Holt of England stopped Thailand's Phaithoon Phonbun 6-3. Hanif Hassan |
White, who had once again proven to be an effective magnet for the local fans, was in for an even bigger shock as he was routed 6-2 by Singaporean amateur Keith E Boon.
Even world No 58 Mark Davis, who had been impressive in the first round and had been re-seeded as the top ranked contender, couldn't handle an onslaught from young Indian cueist Aditya Mehta and went down 6-2.
Among the stars who survived the challenging first two sessions of the day was Thailand own hero Ratchapol Pu-Ob-Orm (James Wattana), who played with ease and confidence to seal a 6-3 win over compatriot and reigning world amateur champion Atthasit Mahitthi.
Later, there were disappointments for Thepchaiya Un-nooh, winner of the national 6-red snooker title last month, and Phaithoon Phonbun, the gold medallist in the discipline at the 2007 Korat SEA Games.
Phaithoon, the winner of Group G, was beaten 6-3 by world No 34 Michael Holt of England, while Thepchaiya lost 6-4 to Martin Gould.
On the brighter side for the local fans, both Supoj Saenla and Noppadon Noppachorn both scored convincing victories.
Saleh Mohammed of Pakistan, re-seeded second after a brilliant run, was once again in great form as he hammered former professional star Dene O'Kane of New Zealand 6-1 to march into last 16 round, which was to be played late last night.
The quarter-final competitions are scheduled for today at 10am and will be followed by the semi-finals at 3pm and 7pm.
Both the semi-finals will be televised live on TrueSport 3.
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