Ukrainian teenage snooker star Iulian Boiko hoped his Welsh Open first-round victory over Liam Davies would "cheer people up back home" after securing his first second-round berth of the season, at the Celtic Manor Resort, in Newport. Despite all the turmoil going on in his own country, the 16-year-old fought back from 3-0 down to battle past 15-year-old Wales amateur Davies 4-3, to set up a meeting with Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen.
But the Kyiv-born pro admitted afterwards it had been tough to focus on the match, with most of thoughts on his homeland following the Russian invasion. After his win, he told the BBC: “It has been very difficult with such terrible things going on.
"It's really difficult to focus on your game. I just don't care because you realise there are things so much more important than that Even at 3-0 down I was thinking about all the people back home."
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Boiko revealed his family and friends are safe back in the Ukraine capital, but he is concerned about their future wellbeing. He said: "They are safe for now, but the city and the whole country is under attack and nobody knows what is going to happen next.
"It's a full-scale war, it's terrifying. I can't do anything about it, but just keep fighting and playing and hopefully my game will cheer people up back home.”
He says the support he and the rest of the Ukraine population have received is heartwarming, adding: “All Ukrainian people can see the support and they really appreciate it. I have got a lot of messages from people offering help or just supporting us and it means a lot during such tough times. I really appreciate it, too.”
World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association chair Jason Ferguson has revealed that there a number of other Ukraine players in the UK, including world junior champion Anton Kazakov, who are currently being looked after. He said: "They are being cared for at one of the academies, where they can train and carry on playing snooker
"Snooker is a very close, tight family wherever we are in the world and we want to look after our own."
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