RIYADH July 16 (Online): Pakistan’s Mohammad Hamza Ilyas conjured up a stirring 4-2 victory over Dhruv Patel to reach the semi-finals of the IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship here on Saturday.
Hamza, who saw off Hong Kong’s Li Chun Fung 4-0 in the last-16, won the opening frame convincingly with the score being 66-23 before edging a closely-fought second 58-50.
It sparked a strong comeback from Patel who won the third frame 76-36, only for Hamza to restore his two-frame lead by winning the fourth 62-13.
A break of 67 saw Patel hit back in the fifth as he won it 80-28 but Hamza set up a clash with Germany’s Alexander Widau by taking the sixth frame 76-48.
Hopes of an all-Pakistan final were dashed when Asian under-21 champion Ahsan Ramzan fell 4-3 to Welshman Liam Davies in their quarter-final contest.
Davies made a storming start, blanking Ahsan 97-0 in the first frame with a break of 51 but his Pakistan rival hit back with a break of 63 to take the second frame 84-63.
A see-saw encounter saw Ahsan, who had beaten Indian Rayan Razmi 4-2 in the round-of-16, win the third 66-55 but Davies hit back to grab the fourth and fifth frames 72-0 and 65-33 respectively.
Ahsan took the clash to a decisive seventh frame by winning the sixth 68-31 but Davies booked his spot in the semis when he won the final frame 69-27 to set a date with China’s Yan Luhao.
Follow the PNI Facebook page for the latest news and updates.
