KUALA LUMPUR: Lim Kok Leong created history by becoming the first Malaysian to reach the semi-finals of the World Amateur Snooker Championship in Antalya, Turkey, on Thursday.
The 27-year-old overcame Polish challenger Antoni Kowalski 4-2 (87-7, 101-0, 0-88, 98-0, 32-77, 87-24).
Kok Leong will face Pakistan's Babar Masih later today for a place in the final.
The other semi-final pits Robin Hull of Finland against last year's runner-up, Amir Sarkhosh of Iran.
Kok Leong was elated to go one better than his previous best of last eight in Doha, Qatar, in 2017.
The only other three Malaysians to have made it that far were Yong Kien Foot (Malta, 1992), Sam Chong (England, 1995) and Moh Keen Hoo (Syria, 2010).
"Now that I have come this far, I want to try to go all the way to win it," vowed Kok Leong,
Kok Leong already had one world title to his name, having won the World Amateur Team Championship with Keen Hoo in Karachi, Pakistan, in 2015.
But an individual crown would certainly mean even more to Kok Leong as he looks to join the illustrious list of past winners that includes English legend Jimmy White, Hong Kong's Marco Fu, Scotland's Stephen Maguire and Thailand's James Wattana.
Chooi Yew Wah was the other Malaysian in action last night but he was beaten 4-1 (38-70, 90-0, 67-34, 59-26, 65-57) by Latvia's Rodion Judin in the last 16.