Hyderabad, Nov 25 (IANS) Alfred Burden of England won the World snooker championship trophy, but it was the opponent whom he beat in Wednesday’s final, Igor Figueiredo of Brazil, who emerged the hero.
The fact that there were more fans mobbing the 32-year old and ever-smiling Brazilian than the brash Londonner reflected the popularity or rather the lack of it of Burden, whose brashness and arrogance did not win him many friends.
Tuesday morning, Burden caused a buzz by using foul language when his semi-final encounter against Phillip Williams was halted when he took a 4-0 lead, as per regulations that called for the match to be played over two sessions with a break when a player wins four frames.
However, the referee for the match, B.A Devaiah, did not lodge an official report or complaint, and Burden got away scot free.
In the second session of the final Wednesday evening, Burden, after winning the 14th frame for a 8-6 lead, threw his cue on the table and left the arena for a break without informing referee Ajay Rastogi who promptly warned the Englishman when he returned to the table.
During the match, Burden repeatedly got up from a shot to ask Figueiredo to sit down in his chair, something that did not go down well with the spectators, not to mention his pump-fisting act that is not associated with the sport.
It is another matter that Burden won the trophy on merit, but he was anything but a popular champion. He dismissed his opponent as ‘lucky’ without even complimenting the Brazilian’s pluck and brilliant, if inconsistent, potting, and he reluctantly agreed to meet the waiting reporters for ‘not more than five minutes’.
i have your article and i am disgusted with what i have read. i conducted myself in a professional manner throughout my stay , i had time for everyone in india and stayed behing after the final match for 1 1/2 hours signing autographs for everyone and having photographs taken with whomever wanted one and giving interviews including in my winners speech on the podium complimenting igor on what a great player he is and how fantastic he played in the final , as for saying i was an unpopular winner this is obviously only your opinion as i have already been invited back to india for at least 3 other events. im deeply disappointed with this article as it is very personal and very untrue as any one who knows me would tell you it doesnt even sound like you are talking about me. alfie burden