As the curtain fell on the prestigious 7th Arab Snooker Championships 2012 on Saturday, the UAE left the arena with a respectable haul of one gold and one bronze medal and a realisation their baize future is bright.
Young cueist Khalid Kamali was the toast of the Emirates as he earned the top honours in the youth competition as he edged past talented Ahmed Al Jalaad of Jordan 4-3 in the title showdown on Thursday.
The pinnacle of his fairytale run in the tournament came when he completed 130 clearance, which was both highest of the whole tournament and the highest of Kamali’s career, in the final in front of TV cameras.
At the conclusion of the prize presentation ceremony presided over by Dr. Ahmad Al-Sharif, Secretary General of the Dubai Sports Council, Kamali said: “As I have said before, this is the biggest moment of my career.
“Winning the gold medal in such a tough match and the manner in which I achieved the success gives me a lot of confidence for the future. I hope that I will continue to live up to the expectations of my family and the local fans.”
Meanwhile, in the seniors tournament, Syria emerged as the new snooker powerhouse in the making in the Arab world, as they took sealed 1-2 finish in the singles contests
Omar Al Kojah took the gold as he routed compatriot Karam Fatima 5-0, while the bronze medallists were Habib Subah of Bahrain and Ahmed Saif of Qatar.
The UAE had high hopes of faring well, but defending champion Mohamed Shehab and former Arab Mo. 2 Mohammed Al Joaker both went out in the quarter-final stage.
In the team competition, hosts UAE took the bronze as their teamcomprising Shehab, Al Joaker and Abdulrahman Saif were edged 2-1 by eventual winners Iraq in the semi-finals.
Syria failed to added team gold to to their singles domination as they were edged out 2-1 by Iraq in final late on Saturday night.
Besides the UAE-A team, the other bronze medallists in the team competition were Qatar who had lost to Syria 2-1 in the semifinal on Saturday afternoon.
Kyrgyzstan’s Marat Zhumanaliev got his hands on the WMC International Challenge Title night, beating Ashraf Suleiman on points after six rounds at the Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel in front of a packed crowd.
The fight was the headline event for KO16, a kickboxing, Muay Thai and boxing event run by KO Promotions which saw some of the UAE’s best young talent take on a fighters from around Asia, mainly Thailand.
Before the headline fight, Iranian fighter Yaser Samadi – who has a bizarre pre-fight ritual, even by boxing standards, involving postures and poses while balancing on the ropes resembling an angel spreading his wings – was thoroughly beaten by Petchtanong Banchamek from Thailand.
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