Hossein Vafaei overcame a mystery injury to reach the last 32 of the BetVictor Welsh Open with a 4-2 victory over Fan Zhengyi.
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Iran's Vafaei first noticed the injury in his neck before last week's BetVictor Championship League and it has got steadily worse, spreading through his shoulder, left arm and into his hand. But he has battled through the pain and tonight's victory could be crucial to his season as it keeps him on track to qualify for next month's World Grand Prix in Hong Kong.
"I thought about pulling out but I have to play for the people who support me, even if I am struggling they want me to win," said Vafaei, who made a top break of 73 tonight as he set up a meeting with Ali Carter. "I have been to the doctor but he just gave me pain-killers which didn't really help. Tonight I was losing control of my bridge hand, it was just dropping down and my shoulder felt very heavy. Hopefully I can visit my doctor in Iran and they will be able to find out what's wrong and get me ready for the rest of the season.
"I'm proud and happy to win tonight. I haven't had a good season, it's hard to find a balance between snooker and the rest of your life. Sometimes you lose form and then you have to start again from zero. I just want to finish the season well."
Luca Brecel remained in the hunt for a first individual title since his Crucible triumph 21 months ago as he beat Stuart Carrington 4-2. From 2-0 down, Brecel won four frames in a row with top runs of 96 and 99.
Chris Wakelin recovered a 3-1 deficit to beat Michael Holt 4-3, making a vital 54 in the decider. Wakelin now meets Jack Lisowski, who raced to a 4-0 win over Joshua Cooper in 52 minutes with breaks of 100, 106 and 111.