Iranian snooker player Hossain Vafaei hopes he can bring some happiness to his nation during his emotion-filled run at the world championship that has already seen him oust the sport鈥檚 No. 1 player, Judd Trump.
Vafaei, the world No. 32 nicknamed the 鈥淧rince of Persia,鈥� said he has been 鈥渁ll over the place鈥� mentally in recent months during the , questioning whether he should even be competing in tournaments.
Yet he decided he wanted to 鈥渇ight for my people鈥� and came through qualifying to reach the world championship at the in Sheffield, where he thrashed former semifinalist Si Jiahui 10-3 in the biggest upset of the first round.
On Monday, Vafaei secured perhaps the biggest victory of his career by keeping his cool in a final-frame decider to beat Trump 13-12 and reach the quarterfinals for the first time.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know (whether) to be happy. I don鈥檛 know (whether) to be sad,鈥� Vafaei said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what to do.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just, this is the only thing I can do. With my cue, I can do something for them to make them happy at least. To show that the Iran flag is there … and you still can鈥檛 raise it.鈥�
Vafaei said he has found it hard to focus on snooker because of concerns about the safety of his family during the war.
鈥淚 was getting sometimes sad, with what鈥檚 happening,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd I don鈥檛 want to open up, but yes, I decided to fight, fight for my people, and all the Iranians all over the world.
鈥淎nd hopefully I can make them happy.鈥�
Asked how he felt about representing a wider cause than just being a sportsperson, Vafaei said: 鈥淚 am not thinking about all this. Everything I am doing is from the bottom of my heart. There are lots of things going on (in Iran). Even if I win the trophy, it鈥檚 nothing.鈥�
Vafaei will take on Wu Yize of China in the quarterfinals starting Tuesday.
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