Bangalore: Even in times of adversity, Yasin Merchant is not one to show any emotions. But on Thursday, he was as clumsy as a novice.
His cue slipped from his normally steady hands and then the chalk dropped. It was only natural, for the veteran cueist had just played his last competitive match in the IBSF World Snooker Championship at the KSBA.
Thursday, December 1 will surely go down in Indian snooker annals as one of the eventful days as one of its favourite sons took the final bow at the very place he shot into prominence as a teenager close to three decades ago.
In the round of 32, Merchant went down 4-5 to 2002 champion Steve Mifsud. Down 1-68 in the decider and needing two snookers to put it past the Aussie, Merchant thought for a fleeting second to walk across and congratulate the winner, but the fighting streak in him - or probably the thought that this was going to be his last match - made the champion cueist try and stay alive in the match. But soon he realized it was an exercise in futility.
The Times Of India