Dubai: Shehab just nodded in disbelief each time Supoj Saenla of Thailand completed his visit on the table.
Supoj was in the 'zone' as many of the top sportsmen will agree.
Every time Shehab missed, Supoj punished him and punished him severely. Consistency was the deciding factor in their match and Shehab should take home a lesson or two from his Thai opponent.
Saenla, who was staring at defeat at the hands of Habib Subah, trailing 2-4 in the pre-quarterfinal match, now finds himself in the semifinals, with a well deserved win.
Seasoned campaigner
Whatever the form Supoj was in, a 5-0 whitewash was the least expected result of this quarterfinal match, especially after the form Shehab displayed in taking Mohammad Yousuf of Pakistan to the cleaners in the pre-quarterfinal match.
This was the general view of most players, for Shehab himself is a seasoned campaigner, having undergone various coaching stints at the Academy in Sheffield.
His time as a professional has done a world of good to his game, taking him from an ambitious rookie, to a thorough bred contender for most Asian events.
Other than this one-sided affair, each of the other three quarterfinals was decided in the final frame.
The most exciting of them all was the one where Khurram Agha (Pakistan) got the better of Alok Kumar (India), after trailing 2-4. With the match level at 4-4, the decider went Khurram's way.
Khurram, playing in front of his home crowd, did not relax, despite the immense pressure and fired in the decisive blue ball.
Jin Long of China got the better of Keith Boon of Singapore and I got the better of Liu Chuang of China.
