Snooker: Drago, Delu withdraw from Indian Open

Flamboyant Maltese star Tony Drago and China's Yu Delu have withdrawn from the inaugural World Snooker Indian Open professional ranking tournament, commencing here Oct 14.

Drago's scheduled first round opponent World No. 9 Marco Fu from China received a walk-over while Delu was to play Englishman Mark Williams.

Drago, the 48-year old from Malta, is among the more popular players and is known for speed at the table. Currently ranked 82, Drago cracked a century in just 210 seconds during the 1995 UK Championship and finished a frame in mere three minutes in 1988 against Danny Fowler.

Delu, ranked 46, turned pro in 2011 and has a victory against compatriot and current World No.4 Ding Junhui at the 2012 German Masters.

The reasons for their withdrawal could not be immediately ascertained.

Ivan Hirschowitz of World Snooker said in response to an e-mailed query from IANS: "We do not always ask for this (reason for withdrawal) from the player. A player will usually be fined pounds 250 for withdrawing from a tournament."

The Indian Open has attracted some of the top players of professional snooker circuit, including the four times World champion John Higgins World No.1Neil Robertson, besides two top Indian players, Pankaj Advani and Aditya Mehta.