Shane Hurndell
Top Hawke's Bay women's snooker player Ramona Belmont is quietly celebrating her first taste of post-section qualifying at world championship level.
Napier's Belmont was the second-best of four qualifiers in her section at the world women's championships in the Netherlands yesterday. She finished section play with seven wins and two
losses.
"After missing out on post-section play at my previous three world championships this was a huge thrill. I couldn't celebrate too much because the focus now is to do as well as I can in post-section play," Belmont said.
In her final section game Belmont, who is representing Oceania at the champs but was the only Kiwi woman to qualify, beat Finland's Aino Pehkonen 3-2 after trailing 2-0. Superior safety play from Belmont in the fifth frame proved the difference between the pair.
Before beating Pehkonen, Belmont lost 3-2 to the top qualifier in her section Reanne Evans of England. Belmont said that although she lost it had been her best performance in section play.
She was scheduled to play her first post-section match this afternoon. Five of the seven Kiwis, including Belmont, at the world championships have qualified for post-section play. The others are all three Kiwis in the senior men's section - former professional Dene O'Kane of Auckland and the Capital City pair of Hernry Killian and Harry Haenga and Haenga's son Daniell Haenga in the open men's section.
When the championships end on Saturday Belmont will travel to Austria, where she will represent New Zealand in the world women's nine ball championships.
