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New Delhi, Oct 16 (IANS) India’s Aditya Mehta survived some tricky moments to beat Hammad Miah of England 4-1 and enter the pre-quarter-finals of the Indian Open World Snooker professional ranking tournament here Wednesday.
Mehta, the 27-year-old from Mumbai and ranked 72nd, enjoyed some slice of luck in a match that revolved around much safety play and the Indian eventually clinched the fifth frame on a 27-clearance.
Miah, who had lost to Mehta 0-5 in their previous meeting, squandered a 40-point lead in the fifth and then bungled on a sitter yellow to leave his opponent in position to clear the table.
England-born Miah, the World No.107, whose parents are from Bangladesh, began well with a break 97 in the first frame after Mehta, who opened the bunch, missed a pink to leave his opponent in a good position.
However, Mehta took the second on runs of 28 and 42, and tightened up considerably thereafter to take the next three frames with a high break of 67 in the fourth, followed by the 27 clearance under pressure in the fifth.
Miah, 20, a product of the Q-school and in his first season on the pro tour, had his chances in each of the frames, but his safety play was not up to the mark as he time and again presented chances to Mehta who did not need a second invitation.
“I thought I played better safety today and forced a few mistakes from my opponent. He is a very good potter and my plan was to keep him tight.
“In the first frame, I missed an easy pink after opening the bunch and he made a 97. So, I decided not to hurry. My mindset was not to get negative and go for my shots when there was an opportunity.
“It was not an open game and I thought I played solid. My break of 67 in the fourth was crucial as it helped me control the match better. The fifth was a bit scrappy, but I was happy with the 27 clearance under pressure,” said Mehta.
Earlier, 22-year old Anthony McGill from Scotland continued his good run in the tournament as he ousted Ireland’s Fergal O’Brien 4-1 while compatriot and World No.5 Stephen Maguire was given a stiff fight by England’s Tom Ford before pulling through 4-3 with a crucial break of 93 in the sixth frame.
Also through to the round of 16 was World No.4 Ding Junhui from China who, after trailing 1-3, defeated England’s Mark Joyce 4-3 with breaks of 106 and 109 in the sixth and seventh frames.
Joyce, ranked 42nd, jumped to a 3-1 lead on breaks of 85 and 88 after Junhui had taken the first with a run of 68. Thereafter, it was Junhui all the way as he made 85, 106 and 109 in the next three frames to seal the match.
The results:
Second round: Aditya Mehta (IND) bt Hammad Miah (ENG) 4-1 (20-97, 74-02, 69-27, 68-00, 69-60); Ding Junhui (CHN) bt Mark Joyce (ENG) 4-3 (07-75, 68-44, 70-09, 22-70, 22-60, 70-19, 89-07); Stephen Maguire (SCO) bt Tom Ford (ENG) 4-3 (85-00, 52-71, 59-79, 60-52, 01-70, 93-00, 54-46); Robbie Williams (ENG) bt Andrew Higginson (ENG) 4-1 (62-18, 75-13, 60-05, 11-73, 103-00); Michael White (ENG) bt Zhang Anda (CHN) 4-3 (08-92, 00-133, 69-23, 55-21, 41-66, 76-40, 79-26); Liang Wenbo (CHN) bt Dechawat Poomjaeng (THA) 4-2 (01-71, 100-01, 87-00, 75-11, 47-63, 84-50); Anthony McGill (SCO) bt Fergal O’Brien (IRE) 4-1 (63-65, 77-25, 75-0, 62-44, 60-49); Mark Davis (ENG) bt Michael Holt (ENG) 4-1 (01-71, 83-1, 58-38, 60-11, 75-00).
First round: Ratchayothin Yotharuck (THA) bt James Wattana (THA) 4-3 (83-32, 22-72, 51-73, 101-00, 114-02, 60-69, 131-00); Tom Ford (ENG) bt Jamie Jones (ENG) 4-3 (66-36, 59-50, 49-58, 01-77, 08-72, 74-19, 61-00); Mark Selby (ENG) bt Dharmender Lilly (IND) 4-0 (58-37, 88-13, 107-00, 62-23); Stuart Bingham (ENG) bt Liu Chuang (CHN) 4-1 (130-06, 35-101, 62-36, 106-09, 98-13); Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon (THA) bt Lyo Haotian (CHN) 4-1 (81-09, 58-55, 93-35, 16-63, 70-63).
Centuries: Pankaj Advani – 134; Zhang Anda – 133; Ratchayothin Yotharuck – 131, 101; Aditya Mehta – 127, 122; Gary Wilson – 125; Anthony McGill – 123, 103; Mark Joyce – 114; Ding Junhui – 109, 106; Neil Robertson – 103, 103, 103; Robbie Williams – 103; Ken Doherty – 102; Liu Chuang – 101; Liang Wenbo – 100.
