China’s Ding Junhui suffers upset defeat against compatriot Jin Long in 2012 Haikou World Open
One of the hot favourites to win the 2012 Haikou World Open, China’s Ding Junhui had to say goodbye to his dreams as he faced a major upset defeat at the hands of young compatriot Jin Long by the score line of 5-1 in the first round.
After winning the crucial 2012 Welsh Open final against the World Number one Mark Selby by the score line of 9-6, the Chinese Sensation was pretty confident and was aiming to hit the trophy in the 2012 World Open too. He had home crowd all on his back but
his amateur opponent, his own country fellow Jin Long ended his hopes and crushed him easily by the score line of 5-1.
While speaking to the World Snooker after his victory over the veteran, Long said, “I made some mistakes but had a little more luck and Ding didn't grab his chances. He was feeling the pressure as I led at the interval and I tried to take it easy and try
my best. Ding is a great player and hard to beat so I am very happy indeed with the victory!”
Long made his way into the first round of the 2012 World Open after making a marvellous appearance in the wild card round of the tournament against the Englishman, Sam Baird. The 30-year-old Chinese defeated Baird by 5-3 to set up Junhui clash at the Haikou
Stadium in Hainan Island; Beijing.
Baird was also considered the one to get into the televised stage of the tournament but Long proved his class to silence the critics.
Long’s first round encounter against the 2012 Welsh Open champion was an unexpected victory for him. The Jinzhou potter was confident after winning against Baird and played impressively against someone who is far more experienced at the baize than him.
At the end of the first session, Long was leading the game by 3-1 and Junhui needed a massive comeback to get his position back into the game. However, the Star of the East failed to capitalise in the second session and tumbled down instantly.
Long successfully triumphed over compatriot with some stunning clearances and booked his place in the second round of the 0212 World Open where he will play against Scotland’s Stephen Maguire or England’s Robert Milkins.
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