COLOMBO, July 5: Thailand’s Issra Kachaiwong sailed into the final of 22nd Asian snooker championship on Wednesday but Pakistan’s hope Khurram Agha and Imran Shahzad made their exit after losing their quarterfinals on Tuesday night.

Kachaiwong entered the final in style when he demolished Boon Aun Keith of Singapore 5-1 with the aid of two stunning century breaks of 104 and 120 in the second and third frames.

28-year-old from Bangkok was at his brilliant best as he came from 13-56 behind to take third frame 57-56 and another break of 61 saw him taking 4-1 lead.

He sealed the fate of the pre-final by grabbing decider 59-50 as his opponent watched helplessly. This was Kachaiwong's third century break after having carved tournament's highest break in the quarterfinal.

Sixteen years old debutant Chinese from Beijing, Yuan Li, halted Khurram's five straight victories with a commanding 5-1success while Imran went down to Boon Aun Keith of Singapore by identical margin.

Showing touch of softness and looking emotionless, Li started with a break of 49 to win the first frame after he was put in a tight position by Khurram. Yuan Li added another break of 55 in the fourth frame.

Thailand's Issara Kachaiwong ended the quarter-final in a blaze of glory when he smashed a spectacular clearance break of 137 while routing Chinese Kaisheng Cao 5-1.

Muhammed Shehab of United Arab Emirates (UAE) once again proved his metal when he dropped two frames against Habib Subah of Bahrain before overcoming his rival with his superior potting and brilliant cue control. He was due to meet Yuan Li of China in the semi-final later in the evening.

The final and playoff for third place would be played on Thursday with winner getting US$2,500, runner-up US$12,000, third place US$600 and fourth placed US$300 in addition to US$100 dollars for the highest break.

Results (semifinals): Issara Kachaiwong (Thailand) bt Boon Aun Keith (Singapore) 5-1 (53-91, 112-16, 124-04, 57-56, 85-01, 59-50). Quarterfinal results: Yuan Li (China) bt Khurram Agha (Pakistan) 5-1 (83-53, 55-21, 23-56, 75-31, 71-30, 75-06; Boon Aun Keith (Singapore) 5-1 (18-69, 80-42, 73-46, 75-49, 86-0, 54-33); Issara Kachaiwong (Thailand) bt Kaisheng Cao (China) 5-1 (77-44, 67-16, 60-27, 56-08, 31-65, 137-0; Muhammed Shehab (UAE) bt Habib Subah (Bahrain) 5-2 (60-59, 08-69, 63-13, 68-36, 7-64, 61-01, 68-41).—APP