Thai cueist Noppon Saengkham says he owes the recent upturn in his fortunes to consultations with a psychotherapist. Noppon, ranked No.72 in the world, became the only fourth Thai player ever to qualify for the last-32 final stage of the world professional championship at the Crucible in the 40-year history of the tournament. After his win, Noppon said: "The first 4-5 months of this season were very tough on me. Noppon, who is now guaranteed an 800,000-baht payday, said he had another reason to work hard as well. Noppon, a former world U21 champion, faces former world professional champion and No.1 Neil Robertson of Australia on Thursday morning (Thai time) in his first match.

Source: Bangkok Post April 15, 2017 23:26 UTC