Khalid Kamali finds way to the Arab Snooker finals

Dubai // The UAE's Khalid Al Kamali will be the centre of attention on Thursday as he plays in the youth singles final at the Seventh Arab Snooker Championships. The diminutive Emirati was in fine form as he defeated the high-flying Qatari Ali Al Obaidli 4-2 in his semi-final on Wednesday. Al Kamali had breaks of 41, 57 and 69 - the highest in the Under 21 event so far - as he kept his opponent at bay in the last two frames to wrap up the match. But the pressure will be on the youngster when the best-of-seven final against Ahmed Al Jalaad of Jordan gets underway at 3.30pm at the Dubai Snooker Club. Firstly he will have to cope with the expectations of a demanding home crowd and he will also have to deal with the psychological disadvantage of having already been beaten by Al Jalaad in their first-round clash earlier in the tournament. Al Jalaad scored a 4-2 victory over Omar bin Sultan of Oman in his semi-final. There was a spate of other encouraging results for the UAE on Wednesday following the lopsided 5-0 win by Omar Al Kojah of Syria over compatriot Karam Fatima in men's singles final on Tuesday night. The UAE A-team were buoyed by a fine display of potting by Mohammed Al Joaker , who made the first century break of the championships in his victory over Ali Al Shamrani of Saudi Arabia. The team format for the tournament requires three players from each side to square off for the best-of-seven frame matches. On the next table, Mohamed Shehab scored breaks of 57, 60 and 62 to rout Abdulrauf Saigh 4-1 to give the UAE an unassailable 2-0 lead over the Saudis. Abdulrahman Saif then completed the whitewash with a 4-1 victory over Ahmed Sarhan, giving the host country a realistic chance of making it to the quarter-finals from Group A. The UAE A-team were to play their second group match against the title favourites Syria late Wednesday night. In other men's team event matches, Egypt defeated Iraq 3-0 and Bahrain sustained a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Qatar. The team competition continues on Thursday with the first match getting underway at noon. Follow us

Khalid Kamali finds way to the Arab Snooker finals

Young Emirati rolls into the Under 21 finals with a 4-2 win over Qatari Ali Al Obaidli. Next up is Ahmed Al Jalaad of Jordan, who has already beaten him once.