Ding Junhui crashes out at snooker worlds quarterfinals

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China's Ding Junhui suffered a humuliating 13-5 defeat to Barry Hawkins in the quarterfinals of the World Championship at Sheffield's Crucible on Wednesday.

The 31-year-old Ding, who was behind 11-5 after the second session Tuesday night, lost a scrappy opening frame Wednesday morning and then was dominated by Hawkins, who won his fifth frame in a row with a break of 117.

Ding, who has won 13 ranking titles, will have to continute to wait before becoming the first Asian player to win the world title.

The Sheffield-based Chinese star said, "I missed too many chances in and around the black ball area. My position wasn't good. I didn't put enough pressure on Barry and he punished me heavily.

"Some days you play well, some days are different. I tried to play well and score heavily but what can I say? It wasn't working out there.

"Barry's got enough experience here. He's got a good record here and he'll have a lot of confidence to go on and win it.

"I believe I can still win this one day. I'll always keep up my hopes and I'll never give up. I'm a sportsman, I can't give up."

It was the fifth time for Hawkins to reach the semifinals since 2013. He has now won 18 matches at Crucible since 2013; no other player has won as many matches over the same period, including three-time champion Mark Selby.

"I was expecting a really tough game there from Ding, but I got a nice bit of momentum and to beat him 13-5 is a great result.

"I felt like he gave up in the end, his body language suggested that he didn't fancy the job today."

The 39-year-old now meets Mark Williams or Ali Carter over 33 frames on Thursday, Friday and Saturday for a place in the final.

"Mark Williams and Ali Carter are both great players. Ali is having a great tournament, he beat Ronnie O'Sullivan and is playing really well. Mark Williams has had the season of his life. It's going to be really tough against either player." 

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