World title for Thai Star
Noppon Saengkham withstood a late comeback by home favourite, Soheil Vahedi, to claim the IBSF world under-21 title with a 9-8 victory in Iran.
Noppon opened up a healthy 8-frames-to-four lead at one stage and missed a tough black to secure the win.
The Iranian took his chance, by potting a great long black to keep the match alive and keep the partisan crowd interested.
Vahedi, one of the most improved players over the past twelve months, was then able to relax and played his natural, attacking game to take frames 14,15 and sixteen to force a decider.
He reached the last four of the IBSF world championship in Austria last November and will surely put him amongst the favourites when the event takes place in India later this year.
Victory took the 18-year-old Thai player one step further after losing in the final of the Asian Under 21 event in April.
On that occasion he was beaten by Chinese hot-pot, Zhang Anda, but got the better of Zhang's fellow countryman, 19-year-old Liu Chuang in the deciding frame of their semi-final.
Chuang played Ronnie O'Sullivan at the Crucible in 2008 as a 17-year-old and he was hoping that a win in Iran might lead to return to the Sheffield venue, with a Pro Tour place up for grabs.
Despite a reduced field at the Kish Island event, with many countries choosing not to send their players to the middle eastern host country, the overall standard proved to be high, with Vahedi, 134 the highest of the tournament.
Thailand has consistently performed well in recent years in IBSF events, and currently holds both world and world under 21 titles. This must surely be a reflection of the structure that is in place, created by the Billiards and Snooker Association of Thailand under the watchful eye of its president, Mr Sindhu Pulsirivong.
