, DHNS
Bengaluru: Michal Szubarcyzk could see his dad a few feet away, but he couldn’t rely on him for a glance or a familiar gesture to calm down when he needed him the most.
Poland’s Michal was tied four-frames-all against Iran’s Tirdad Azadipour in the best-of-nine semifinal of the World Men’s (Under-21) Snooker Championship at the Karnataka State Billiards Association on Friday.
Michal needed his dad around, and he was. But, he wasn’t available for him for Kamil was officiating the other semifinal between Germany’s Alexander Widau and Thailand’s Lomnaw Issarangkun only inches from his 13-year-old son.
Kamil was professional in that he barely cast an eye in the direction of Michal’s game. Luckily, since Widau was able to wrap up his game 5-3, Kamil got off work a bit earlier and caught some of his son's final frame from afar.
The final frame, like the rest of the game, was tense, and in the eerie silence of the hall, the situation was all the more palpable, but eventually Michal came through 5-4 (24-76, 97 (59)-00, 34-59, 67-47, 58-49, 74-37, 41-88 (88), 46-57, 48-24).
When Michal’s blue-ball cut to the centre pocket didn’t fall after a very efficient 17-point break, Azadipour would have reckoned himself in for the long haul on the ninth frame.
After all, the 20-year-old was exceptional with his potting all through the day. The difference, however, was that Michal’s positions on safety were exceptional, and his touch to get there was delectable.
While Azadipour was able to avoid making fouls for he had a grand understanding of the angles he was dealt with, he couldn’t help but open up the frame more and more.
At one point, he was so frustrated as the two kept pushing the cue ball to the other end of the table to avoid an easy yellow-ball pot, that he struck the yellow harder than he would have wanted and gave Michal an opening.
Azadipour’s coach, in the stands, couldn’t avoid his annoyance and even proceeded to walk away with his ward staring in his direction.
Under these circumstances, Michal was precise with his potting and went up 43-24 with only blue, pink and the black ball (18 points) left on the table. Azadipour attempted to make things hard for Michal a couple of times, but he knew he was done for, and so proceeded to shake hands with a boy who still struggled to smile.
Results: Semifinals: Alexander Widau (Ger) bt Lomnaw Issarangkun (Tha) 5-3 (67-59, 43-68, 46-73, 104 (104)-28, 41-56, 81 (67)-06, 61-8, 69-24); Michal Szubarczyk (Pol) bt Tirdad Azadipour (Irn) 5-4 (24-76, 97 (59)-00, 34-59, 67-47, 58-49, 74-37, 41-88 (88), 46-57, 48-24).
Quarterfinals: Issarangkun bt Zac Cosker (Wal) 4-0 (84 (73)-05, 68 (50)-22, 67-46, 74-34); Widau bt Riley Powell (Wal) 4-3 (83 (61)-3, 55-66, 75-23, 59 (59)-70 (50), 69-16, 31-71, 57-12); Azadipour bt Rahul Williams (Ind) 4-0 (78 (59)-47, 62-8, 72 (63)-52 (51), 85-19); Szubarczyk bt Ranveer Duggal (Ind) 4-3 (84-0, 53-68, 71-54, 38-51, 86 (85)-2, 7-92 (78), 62-26).