Going into the Indian Open Snooker Tournament as a wild card, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh had his return flight back home to Bangkok booked for Friday night. Sealing a quarterfinal berth was far from the 29-year-old's expectations. Un-Nooh's stay in Mumbai will last a few days longer as the rank outsider booked a place in the last eight with a 4-1 win over Jamie Jones of Wales on Friday.
Going into the Indian Open Snooker Tournament as a wild card, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh had his return flight back home to Bangkok booked for Friday night. Sealing a semifinal berth was far from the 29-year-old's expectations. Un-Nooh's stay in Mumbai will last a few days longer as the rank outsider is two wins away from the big prize after a 4-2 win over Mark Davis on Friday.
“I have to change my dates now. I didn't expect to last beyond three days in the tournament. My bags were packed for tonight. Guess my family will have to wait another day. I might buy a fresh ticket now,” said Un-Nooh with a chuckle. He saved the best for the last with a break of 123 in the fifth frame to seal the win. “I wasn't thinking much about the century break. I was concentrating on winning the match,” added the Thai who will now face R Walden in the semifinals.
From entering the tournament as a wildcard, Un-Nooh has now become the dark horse. The Thai cueist caused the upset of the competition beating defending champion and top seed Ding Junhui 4-3 to enter the second round. He made sure a win over the World No. 4 wasn't a fluke beating Belgian teenager Lucas Brecel 4-0 on Thursday. For Un-Nooh, being the underdog is his biggest strength. “The advantage of playing such high-ranked players is that I don't have anything to lose. I can play fearlessly and show my natural game,” said the winner of the 2008 IBSF World Snooker Championship.
Been on the tour since the past six years, Un-Nooh ranks his performances in Mumbai as his best. “I have been playing tournaments in Asia and Europe but always lost in the last 64 or round of 32. Even though I didn't expect to play the quarterfinals, I'm three matches away from doing something even I didn't expect,” said the World No. 61 who will break into the top-48 should he win the £50,000 prize money tournament.
Besides playing snooker, Un-Nooh is very much the family man in Sheffield where he's part of the snooker academy. “Practice some days goes to six hours and more. But then there are days where snooker takes a back seat and I take care of my three-year-old son and 14-month-old daughter,” says the Sepak Takraw fan. “I used to play that in my teenage years. It's a huge sport back home,” said the 2010 Asian Games Bronze medalist (team event).
After a tournament held in Bangalore in 2011, this is the Thai's second visit to India. He may not be too fond of the heat, but there's a certain delicacy that has caught on to Un-Nooh's palate. “I'm not much of a curry person. Chicken Tikka and Naan is my favourite. And I hate cold naan. Hot is good,” smiles the Thai.
Results (Quarterfinal): M Williams (WAL) bt R Milkins (ENG) 4-1; M White (WAL) bt C Wakelin (ENG); T Un-Nooh (THA) bt M Davis (ENG) 4-2; J Perry (Eng) lost to R Walden (ENG) 2-3
Semfinal lineup: T Un-Nooh vs R Walden; M Williams vs M White
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