Neck injury let Mark Selby down against Barry Hawkins in Round 1 of 2012 World Snooker Championship
Snooker world witnessed another major upset in the opening round of the 2012 World Snooker Championship where the 2012 Snooker Shootout winner, England’s Barry Hawkins ousted the 2011 Shanghai Masters snooker event winner and the World Number one, compatriot
Mark Selby by an easy score line of 10-3. The match up was expected to be a piece of cake for Selby but it turned out to be Hawkins’ show in the end.
Selby was still suffering from his neck injury which did not let him play some certain important shots during the game which cost him the match.
The Jester from Leicester was one of the top contenders to win the Championship and event Selby himself was confident of a superb run in the tournament. However, things did not go into the Englishman’s favour and he tumbled down easily at the hands of Hawkins.
Due to a neck injury, Selby had to pull out of the penultimate event of the snooker calendar, the 2012 China Open snooker tournament when he was scheduled to play against the Chinese cueman, Ding Junhui.
His appearance in the 2012 World Snooker Championship was a bit doubtful before the event started but the Leicester cueman showed up but was not able to perform up to expectations.
In his post match interview with World Snooker, Selby said, “I've got a bulging disc at the top of my spine and there are shots I can't play because of the pain. I can't play with the rest because I get excruciating pain in my arm.”
He added, “Ten days ago it looked as if I would have to pull out, so I'm pleased that I was at least able to play and try my best. There's never a good time for something like this to happen, but I wish it had been earlier in the season.”
Meanwhile, Hawkins will play against the Welsh Dragon, Matthew Stevens in the second round of the 2012 World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. It will be interesting to see how Hawkins manages to carry his winning momentum forward
in the tournament.
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