CHRIS Melling was in philosophical mood after his 10-1 thrashing by Chinese opponent Li Hang in the first qualifying round of the Betfred World Championship at Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield.
The 36-year-old Keighley potter lost the first eight frames against the 24-year-old from Beijing, who included breaks of 113, 88, 74, 73, 70, 64, 54 and 52 in the match.
'The Magician' replied with 89, which helped him win the ninth frame, and 55, which was not enough for him to win the tenth as Hang made that 54.
World No 92 Melling tweeted of the world No 60: "It'll be amazing if he isn't top 24 in three years. Sorry to let everyone down."
Of the first session, Melling added: "Not much I could do as Li Hang played brilliant and punished any mistake I made."
Hang then also defeated Gary Wilson 10-7 before facing Stuart Carrington in a final qualifying round match which finished last night.
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