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Ding shatters HK dream of snooker gold medal

It was supposed to be a team effort, but world number four Ding Junhui of China decided to single-handedly spirit the snooker gold medal out of Hong Kong's reach in the men's doubles event.

Marco Fu Ka-chun and Chan Wai-ki had to settle for the silver medal after losing 3-1. There was nothing disgraceful in defeat, for the Hong Kong duo had watched a master in action - Ding's style and skill even leaving his teammate Tian Pengfei an onlooker. 'Ding is a great talent,' said Fu. 'He punished us every time we made a mistake.'

Fuwill hope to avenge this defeat in the men's team event. Fu, Chan and Fung Kwok-wai combined to beat Malaysia 3-1 to book their berth in the final, where they will be up against Ding and China, once again. Hong Kong will have to somehow find a way to get past the mesmerising Ding.

The 19-year-old made two telling breaks in the best-of-five frames doubles final as China ran away with the gold. With the scores level at 1-1, China's wizard of the green baize made a decisive 47 break to win the crucial third frame 72-37. At this point, both teams were playing cat-and-mouse snooker, with caution being the key word.

At one stage, with the cue ball amid a sea of reds, neither side was willing to be adventurous. It got to a point where the referee had to ask for a ruling from the chief official as both teams continued to kiss the reds with the cue ball.

Hong Kong's Chan finally took it upon himself to break the deadlock, and it only resulted in Ding cleaning up the table to give China a 2-1 lead. He then showed his mastery, crafting a superb break of 126 in the fourth with the Hong Kong pair, and a small crowd at the Al Sadd Sports Club, sitting back and watching in admiration.

'He was too good for us. He is a fantastic player. But I'm happy that we still won a silver medal,' said Hong Kong Olympic Committee president Timothy Fok Tsun-ting.

Hong Kong had got off to a flying start when they won the first frame on the black ball 66-64. But it was all China after that.

Ding celebrated the victory by deliberately fouling, hammering the black ball off the table. He was the alpha male at the table, and he had feasted on the reds to give China a crushing victory.

Ding, who recently emulated former world champions Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins by winning three ranking titles before his 20th birthday, is also hot favourite to defend his singles crown.

'I only won the singles title in Pusan four years ago, and I'm happy to be able to win a gold with my teammate here,' said Ding. 'Hong Kong defended well and made it difficult for us. Winning the second frame was important for us.'

Fu said he was looking forward to the team final. 'I feel I'm playing pretty good. It will be a tough match in the team event. China is a world-class outfit, but hopefully this time we will be able to pull it off,' Fu said.

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