Whirlwind Jimmy White suffers Crucible heartache
Jimmy White's bid to qualify for the 2008 World Championship ended by neck injury
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Monday, 10, Mar 2008 10:08
Six-times World Championship finalist Jimmy White will not return to the Crucible this year after losing in the final qualifying round.
An injured neck put paid to the 45-year-old's attempts to qualify for the 26th World Championships as he lost 10-3 to Mark King at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.
"I came here playing to a really high standard in practice but on the journey up north I cricked my neck and this is one game you can't play with a cricked neck," said a disappointed White.
"It's so frustrating because I've worked really hard for this. I've got no idea how I did it, maybe it was the excitement and the tension of being involved here, but it's sickening."
King raced out to a 5-0 advantage and held an 8-1 lead at the end of the morning session. Although the Whirlwind rallied slightly in the afternoon, winning the first two frames to make it 8-3, it proved too little, too late.
"I'm in agony. I'd rather be bleeding somewhere than have this. I couldn't cue properly and I didn't hit a safety the way I wanted to all day," White said of his injury.
"This is a real kick in the teeth. It's like having clamps on my neck and when you get over a shot someone squeezes them.
"I'm not saying I would've won without it but at least I'd have had a proper chance."