BAHRAIN'S three hopefuls in the World Under-21 Snooker Championship were all knocked out of medal contention yesterday after the completion of the preliminary round in Kish Island, Iran, reports PATRICK SALOMON.
Hussain Mahmood failed to make the top four in group 'A' despite winning his second of five games against Ali Jalil of Iraq 4-0.
Compatriots Ebrahim Al Khalfan and Mohammed Al Mousawi, meanwhile, were eliminated after finishing with just one win in group 'F' and group 'G', respectively.
Mahmood finished fifth in his six-player division, narrowly missing out on a place in the next round. His win against Jalil put him tied on the group standings with Arsalan Esmaeilnejad of Iran, but Esmaeilnejad secured the qualification spot with a better frames difference.
Mahmood had three losses the preliminaries, suffering defeats to Liu Chuang of China, Ali Al Obaidly of Qatar, and Esmaeilnejad. Mahmood earlier beat Shaheen Al Shaheen of Kuwait for his first victory.
Chuang, Jalil, Al Obaidly and Esmaeilnejad all advanced to the round of 32.
In group 'F', Al Khalfan ended his campaign with a 0-4 loss to India's Shahbaaz Adil Khan. He had earlier also been defeated by Qatari Mohanna Al Obaidly, Iranian Hossein Hadavi, and Thai Yuttapop Pakpoj.
Al Khalfan's only victory came against Abdulla Al Shaikh of Saudi Arabia.
Pakpoj, Khan, Hadavi and Al Obaidly qualified for the next phase.
In group 'G', Al Mousawi lost his last game 0-4 to Ali Roshani Kia of Iran. His other defeats came against Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon of Thailand, Hamza Akbar of Pakistan, and another Iranian, Mohammed Lababi.
Al Mousawi's sole triumph was over Adam Korwash of Libya.
Tirapongpaiboon, Akbar, Lababi and Kia were the players advancing from their group.
A total of 48 cueists took part in the preliminary round. The competitors were divided into eight groups of six players each. The top four in each division, not two as originally reported, at the end of a single round-robin move on to the next phase.
The round of 32 and ensuing round of 16 will both be played best of nine frames. The quarter-finals will be best of 11, the semi-finals best of 13, and the final will be best of 17.
The competition is being run by the International Billiards and Snooker Federation.
FINAL GROUP STANDINGS (in order of wins-losses-frames difference)
Group 'A': 1 Liu Chuang (China) 5-0-16; 2 Ali Jalil (Iraq) 3-2-4; 3 Ali Al Obaidly (Qatar) 3-2-3; 4 Arsalan Esmaeilnejad (Iran) 2-3-0; 5 Hussain Mahmood (Bahrain) 2-3-(-5); 6 Shaheen Al Shaheen (Kuwait) 0-5-(-18).
Group 'F': 1 Yuttapop Pakpoj (Thailand) 5-0-16; 2 Shahbaaz Adil Khan (India) 4-1-9; 3 Hossein Hadavi (Iran) 3-2-6; 4 Mohanna Al Obaidly (Qatar) 2-3-1; 5 Ebrahim Al Khalfan (Bahrain) 1-4-(-12); 6 Abdulla Al Shaikh (Saudi Arabia) 0-5-(-20).
Group 'G': 1 Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon (Thailand) 5-0-17; 2 Hamza Akbar (Pakistan) 4-1-8; 3 Mohammed Lababi (Iran) 3-2-6; 4 Ali Roshani Kia (Iran) 2-3-0; 5 Mohammed Al Mousawi (Bahrain) 1-4-(-11); 6 Adam Korwash (Libya) 0-5-(-20).
