UAE Assured of Place in Snooker Finals at Fujairah

UAE's leading cueists Mohammed Shehab (pictured above) and Mohammed Al Joakar (pictured below) started firing on all cylinders at the 13-nation Second West Asian Championships at the Concorde Fujairah Hotel on Monday, but only one of them will be left standing when the quarter-finals are over.

The vagary in the fortunes of the two national stalwarts came around when the draw for the knockout stages of the snooker singles competitions took place late on Sunday night and put them on a collision course in the quarter-finals, which were to be played late on Monday night.

Al Joakar was especially in a great form on Monday afternoon as he thrashed Firas Kamil of Iraq 4-1 in the last 16 round battles. Kamil is fresh from capturing the snooker singles gold medal at the 2011 Arab Games in Doha last month.

Shehab was also impressive in putting an all-round show that led him to a 4-2 victory over Ammar Taqi of Kuwait.

Al Joakar went for every pot that was made available by his opponent and scored at will to race to a massive 3-0 advantage.

Ahead in the fourth frame and fancying another whitewash, Al Joakar missed a tight red and that allowed Kamil to steal the frame on the black ball and get one to his credit.

There was no more letup on Al Joakar's part as he quickly wrapped up the match 4-1 to set up a quarter-final clash with Shehab, which would ensure that UAE will have a representation in the semifinals.

Al Joakar said: "This is the first time I have felt comfortable with myself on the table. I had won my both first round matches 4-0 but something always seemed to be missing.

"I went into today's last 16 round match a bit short on confidence. Firas is a good player and I expected an uphill battle against him today.

"However, it took me only a few minutes to get into the rhythm. Strange things happen in the game of snooker and it was one of those days."

Teenaged Khalid Kamali made the mistake of picking wrong shots and that cost him his last 16 match against experienced Bahrain star Habib Subah. Kamali, despite his lack of experience, succeeded in putting his talent on display before bowing out 4-2.

The fourth UAE player to have qualified for the last 16 round, Abdur Rahman Saif, was handed a 4-0 defeat by last year's bronze medallist Ehsan Hyderi of Iran.

It is not only UAE players who have been stumped by the draw as Hyderi was scheduled to take on compatriot and reigning world amateur champion Hossein Vafaei, a 4-0 winner over Hani Kanan of Palestine, in the quarter-finals.

The two Syrian cueists Omar Alkojah and Karam Fatima were also to clash with each in the last 8 round. Alkojah was a 4-0 winner over Yousaf Al Fori of Oman, while Fatima beat Mubarak Khalid of Kuwait by the same scoreline.

The other quarter-finalist was Ahmed Saif of Qatar who scored a 4-1 victory over Mohammed Al Shaikh of Bahrain on Monday morning.

The snooker singles semifinals are scheduled to start at 10 am and will be followed by the quarter-finals at 7 pm at the same venue.

This press release has been written by Hanif Hassan, UAEBSA International.

Snooker Draw

The Snooker Singles Knockout Stage Draw has been created with players and their opponents, days and times, right to the final on 17 January at 3pm at the Concorde Fujairah Hotel.

The draw can be downloaded from this link.

Further

Snooker Progress at Fujairah and the Knockout Stage Draw, FIF, 15 January 2012.

Al Joakar Leads at Second West Asian Snooker Champs at Fujairah Concorde Hotel, FIF, 14 January 2012.

Schedule and Times for West Asian Billiards and Snooker Champs, Fujairah, FIF, 14 January 2012.

Concorde Fujairah Hotel on Cue for International Billiards & Snooker Champs, FIF, 12 January 2012.

13 Countries to Compete in Billiards and Snooker at Fujairah Concorde Hotel, FIF, 10 January 2012.

Geoff Pound

More Fujairah news, resources, info and photos is posted on the Fujairah in Focus Facebook Page.

Images: “UAE's leading cueists Mohammed Shehab (top photo) and Mohammed Al Joakar (bottom photo) started firing on all cylinders at the 13-nation Second West Asian Championships at the Concorde Fujairah hotel on Monday.”