DING JUNHUI’S dream of becoming the youngest ever Crucible champion is over — as the man who holds that record knocked him out of the 888.com World Snooker Championship on Saturday.

Stephen Hendry scored a convincing 13-7 victory to reach his 17th quarterfinal in Sheffield and first since 2005. The Scot now faces Ryan Day and is playing his best snooker of the season as he mounts a challenge to add to his record haul of seven world titles.

Ding turned 21 April 1, so this was his last chance to eclipse Hendry’s mark as the youngest holder of the famous trophy. The young Chinese ace was rated a favorite for this match, but did not find his game until it was too late at 10-2 down.

Hendry played superbly over the first 12 frames, and though he took longer than he would have liked to cross the winning line, his performance will make a real impression with the rest of the field. The 39-year-old has shown, with wins over Mark Allen and Ding, that he is still capable of handling the best of snooker’s emerging talent.

(SD-Agencies)