By Armstrong Vas
Doha: Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn long name has proved quite a handful for snooker organisers and players around the globe when it came to getting it right. In Qatar too, it was no different.
But for the 27-year-old Thai it did not matter much, all that mattered from him was winning the Asian Snooker Championship and did it with aplomb.
“It was a great win, a win which will change the course of my career,” said the soft spoken cueist.
“I am happy that I won. It was the first time I was playing in the final and I finished on a winning note. I have reached the semi-final stage of many championship but never made it to the final. Qatar prove to be a lucky mascot for me,” he added.
“I am looking forward to playing on the Professional Circuit,” said Lertsattayathorn, who will get a two-year professional tour card from World Snooker.
Yesterday at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation (QBSF) Academy the diminutive Lertsattayathorn known by his knick name ‘Thorn’ maintain his consistent run to win the continental championship.
Lertsattayathorn, who hit the purple patch in the Qatar championship overcoming players much higher in the ranking hierarchy, continued in the same vein to register a comfortable 6-2 win over Mohamed Shehab of UAE in the 11-frames final. For the last two days, Lertsattayathorn, who is knick name ‘Thorn’ had to toil hard for victory, posting stunning wins over Mohammed Asif of Paksitan and Pankaj Advani of India in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively and in the final the Thai had a relatively easy passage.
Lertsattayathorn having done all the hard work in the last two rounds, overcoming the top seeds Advani and Asif, was in no mood to relax.
He seemed to be overawed by the situation losing the first frame to his UAE opponent by then bounce back to win the next two to make it 2-1.
Shehab, won the fourth frame, thereafter Lertsattayathorn asserted himself to pocket the next four frames to win the best-of-11 frames final 6-2.
Lertsattayathorn picked up the $1,750 prize for the maximum break of the tournament. The champion also took home $3,500 and the runner-up $1,750. The losing semi-finalists collected $500 each.
The Peninsula
