VICTOR CHANDLER WORLD POOL CHAMPIONSHIP

Cardiff International Arena / Day 8 - Saturday July 8th
Quarter Final Results - Comment & Quotes

Fong Pang Chao (Tai) bt Johl Younger 11 -1

Fong Pang Chao of Chinese Taipei, a semi-finalist in '99, became the first player through to the semi finals of the Victor Chandler World Pool Championship here at the Cardiff International Arena as he defeated surprise package Johl Younger of Australia 11 - 1.

The match was marred though by a controversial incident towards the end when Chao clearly answered a call on his mobile phone much to the disgust of Younger and the crowd. The conversation seemed to be brief but it was the second incident involving Chao in as many days. Yesterday, he was accused of 'sharking' German player Oliver Ortmann by deliberately moving his head in Ortmann's eyeline just as the German was about to shoot.

Speaking after the match Chao offered the following statement, " Somebody called me on the phone but there was no answer. As for yesterday, my head movement was unintentional although I did move it. That is no excuse for a top player to miss an easy shot though."

Chao will now have to answer to the World Pool Association, the game's governing body, who are in attendance in Cardiff. They will meet in an emergency session later today to decide what, if any action will be taken prior to Chao's semi-final match on Sunday afternoon.

Chao, known as the 'Cold Faced Killer' in world pool circles is certainly one of the class acts here in Cardiff. He first came to prominence in 1993 when he won the World Title and throughout the 90's and the 32 year-old from Kaohsiung City is certainly at least second favourite for the Championship.

The match itself turned out to be a cruise for Chao as he kept the young Australian in his chair for long periods. One moment of controversy occurred towards the end of the game as Chao appeared to take a call on a mobile phone, hidden in the pocket of his cue case.

For the 22 year-old Younger, it was a disappointing finish to what has been a fantastic week. An unknown at the outset of the tournament, he has now created a name for himself in world pool.

Commented Johl, " The ball I missed in the first rack basically told the whole tale of the match. He played well, keeping me in my chair, so everytime I got to the table I was cold. That incident with the telephone was very rude, outrageous even but that's what you get sometimes," perhaps alluding to Thursday's incident.

Johl continued, " I'm happy with my showing this week. I think I pleasantly surprised myself as I don't play a lot of 9-Ball but I think the time has come for me to give it a proper shot so I will be looking to play in the USA and Asia.

" Snooker is my No.1 game and I stayed in Scotland in 1999, playing with John Higgins and I reached 150 or so in the world rankings. I guess my highlight of the Championship was beating Dominic Dale live on TV."

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