Khalid Kamali made a stunning 130 break on his way to a 4-3 victory over Ahmed Al Jalaad of Jordon and the gold medal in the youth singles competition at the Seventh Arab Snooker Championships last night.
The 20 year old's total clearance in the third frame of the best-of-seven final was both the highest break of the entire tournament and the best the young Emirati has ever made.
"It is the finest moment of my career," said Kamali, who was playing in front of his home supporters at the Dubai Snooker Club.
"I have won gold medals before but this holds a special place as the competition was far tougher than it had been ever before.
"I had made up my mind before the final [that I would] go in and try win the hearts of the local fans more than the match itself. I am happy that I succeeded in winning both.
"There was a time towards the end of the match that had me biting my nails, but I am relieved now that I have crossed the finish line ahead of the others."
Kamali took the tight first frame, but then conceded the second to allow his opponent to tie the score at 1-1.
The Emirati showed his true potential in the third frame with his wonderful century break.
A spectacular long pot on the first red put him on course for a mesmerising display that led to his total clearance of 130.
Then there was of dramatic twist in the fourth frame.
With scores tied at 38-38, Al Jalaad missed an angular shot on the last pink to concede six penally points.
When asked to replay the shot from the same spot, he fluked the pink and then had a similar stroke of good luck on the last black while attempting a safety which allowed him to steal the frame.
Kamali took the fifth frame but Al Jalaad won the sixth to level the scores at 3-3 in a match that was both high quality and hard fought.
Urged on by his home support Kamali held his nerve to snatch the deciding seventh frame and capture the gold medal for the UAE.
Earlier yesterday the UAE B-team went 2-1 to Kuwait in their group match. Saif Al Kitbi won his game, but Marwan Ibrahim and Ahmed Abdulqader both lost.
The country's A-team will be in action today in the quarter-finals.
Mohamed Shehab and Mohammed Al Joaker both won their games on Wednesday night to give them a 2-1 victory over a tough Syrian team including the men's the singles finalists Omar Al Kojah and Karam Fatima. Eissa Ali Sayed conceded his game to Fatima.
The result assured UAE A a place in the last eight of the team event, which gets underway this afternoon with the first match starting at 3pm at Dubai Snooker Club.
* Agency
Follow us
[ @SprtNationalUAE ]
