World Games: Cheung Ka-wai reaches snooker final, hunts Hong Kong’s first gold ever
- The 23-year-old Cheung overcomes Qatari opponent in straight games to book his place in the final
- The Hongkonger will take on Abdelrahman Shahin of Egypt for his biggest achievement
Snooker player Cheung Ka-wai hopes to become the first ever World Games gold medallist for Hong Kong after reaching the men’s final in Birmingham, Alabama on Saturday.
Against Ali Alobaidli of Qatar in a tense semi-final, the 23-year-old reigning Hong Kong champion made it three games in a row with a score of 89-41, 56-48, 72-40 to book a place in the gold medal match against Abdelrahman Shahin of Egypt.
All matches are played in a short-lived best-of-five format, requesting the players to fire on all cylinders as soon as they get to the table.
“This was a crucial match as both players were under pressure to reach the final,” coach Alan Wong said. “Now Cheung has made it and relieved his burden. He is now more relaxed and hopefully he can resume his normal standard in the final which he has so far failed to prove.”
Against Shahin in the final, Wong said his charge has never met the Egyptian in any singles encounter before. “All we know is Shahin has been playing very well in the Games and his shots are very accurate,” he said.
Shahin is a member of the Egyptian team that won the 2020 to 2022 Arab Games and made it to the World Games as winner of the Africa qualification.
Hong Kong has never won a gold medal at the World Games, the biggest sporting event outside the Olympic Games with the participation of non-Olympic programmes.