Thais off to a strong start in Asian meet

Thanawat beat Taha Yassin Mohamed of Iraq 3-1 while compatriot Mayone defeated Lu Hai Quing of China by an identical margin.

In other matches, Karam Fatima of Syria got the better of Emad Adnan Daham of Iraq 3-2 while Wong Yun Shing of Hong Kong scored a 3-1 victory over Rayan Somaratne of Sri Lanka at Yeshwant Club here.

Thanawat raced to a 2-0 lead after pocketing the first two frames 62-26, 77-17 but Taha pulled one back, winning the third 60-50. However, Thanawat held his nerve to win the fourth 71-45.

The championships, being organised by Madhya Pradesh Billiards and Snooker Association, was declared open by BCCI Joint Secretary Sanjay Jagdale in the presence of Billiards and Snooker Federation of India and MPBSA officials.

Results: Group A: Chua Weisheng Javier (Sin) W/O MTM Najurudeen (SL). Group B: Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon (Tha) bt Taha Yassin Mohamed (Irq) 3-1 (62-26, 77-17, 50-60, 71-45).

Group D: Wong Yun Shing (Brn) bt Rayan Somaratne (SL) 3-1 (67-19, 73-35, 41-65, 87(43)-9). Group E: Karam Fatima (Syr) bt Emad Adnan Daham (Irq) 3-2 (25-52, 66-25, 63-25, 49-64, 76-41). Group G: Pachara Mayone (Tha) bt Lu Hai Quing (Chn) 3-1 (40-63, 81(56)-13, 95(55)-34, 84(46)-52).