It looks as if Liu Song and Marco Fu will not be part of the 48-man line-up for next month’s UK Championship as both players are already committed to playing in the Asian games in Doha, Qatar.
Fu was seeded through to York but Liu won three matches to qualify, coming from 8-6 down to beat Drew Henry 9-8 in the last round.
The Chinese authorities are forcing Ding Jun Hui to miss the Betfred Premier League play-offs for the Games so are unlikely to show leniency towards his compatriot.
Should Liu receive ranking points and prize money if he doesn’t take his part in the final stages draw?
And should Henry feel miffed that he has been beaten in the final qualifying round by a player who was never going to go to York?
5 comments:
UPDATE: Fu has officially withdrawn; Song's position is as yet unknown
Dave,
I hate to keep harping on about this issue, but surely the WPBSA had an idea that these players may have to pull out of qualifying/televised stages of the UK, when it comes to booking venue/annoucing date of tournament to the public/media.
Didn't Shokat Ali do the same 4 years ago?
I just cannot see how conflict arises when there are hardly enough tournaments to justify a clash. You cannot make this stuff up if you tried.
It is similar to John Higgins 2 years ago, when he beat Maguire in the British Open final, only to be knocked out the UK 3 days later by Ricky Walden. He lambasted the WPBSA at the post-match press conference that day and they still haven't taken note. Oh well...
Thanks, Joe
Liu Song's name has now been removed from the list of Chinese players for the Asian Games, which suggests he has been allowed to play in the UK Championship after all.
Dave
Liu Song isn't on my list of players for China in Asian Games and to the best of my knowledge (which is sparse!) never was, so it wouldn't have been a problem for him.
The other players who could have been affected depending on their qualifying performance in UK were Shokat Ali (Pakistan), Liang Wenbo (China) and Tian Pengfei (China).
Marco Fu has of course withdrawn from the UK and Ding has withdrawn from Premier League, and still faces am overnight race from Doha to York, should he reach the Singles Final in the Snooker in Doha.
...Janie... Live in Doha!
Hello Janie
Liu Song was listed as part of the Chinese team on the Asian Games website until two days ago
I've seen the pics on GSC - I'm not jealous at all
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