Amit cruises to semifinals, routs Iranian

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan – Rubilen Amit thumped Iran’s Parisa Mangli, 7-1, to roll into the semifinal round of women’s 10-ball singles in the fifth Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG)  at the Ashgabat Olympic Complex here yesterday.

Amit came out strong following a 7-2 rout of Thi Ngoc Huyen of Vietnam in the quarters, winning the first five racks. Mangli took the next but the Filpina ace regained her form and took the next two to dominate their race-to-seven encounter.

She guns for a finals berth against Taiwan’s Wei Tzu-Chien, who also trounced Yunmi Lim of South Korea, 7-2.

The other semis match pits China’s Chen Siming and Taiwan’s Chou Chieh-Yu.

Amit, the 10-ball World Championship champion in 2009 and 2013, actually assured herself of a bronze medal with her win, which matched her podium finish during the 2013 AIMAG in Incheon, South Korea.

“Hopefully, I could get intot he finals to help the team win more golds,” said Amit. “But it’s not going to be easy. The Korean is also good and even if I win, the other semis pairing is also a tough match.”

But while Amit sustained her form, Warren Kiamco and Johann Chua struggled and fell to China’s LV Haotian and Liu Haitao, 9-4, in the men’s 9-Ball Pool Scotch doubles semifinal.

Kiamco and Chua settled for the bronze.