Sporting Digest: Snooker

Ali Carter collected the first title of his career at the Benson & Hedges Championship in Malvern yesterday after defeating Simon Bedford 9-4 to collect a pounds 5,000 first prize and a wild card invitation to next year's B&H Masters. The Essex professional can now look forward to a meeting with Steve Davis and a guaranteed pay-day of pounds 10,000.

BENSON & HEDGES CHAMPIONSHIP (Malvern) Semi-final: S Bedford (Eng) bt G Ponting (Eng) 6-4. Final: A Carter (Eng) bt S Bedford 9-4.

IBSF WORLD AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP (Port Moresby, PNG): Group A: M Wieberg (Swe) bt S Kumar (Fiji) 4-0; G Baker (PNG) bt K Leo (PNG) 4-3; D Lilley (Eng) bt C Wei Ku (Taiw) 4-1. Group B: C Kwok Ming (HK) bt J Lum (Fiji) 4-0. Group C: D Carre (Fr) bt R Ng (PNG) 4-2; P Weiguo (HK) bt L Simmonds (Eng) 4-2. Group D: D Lin (Chin) bt M Street (Eng) 4-1; T Wong (HK) bt G Moss (PNG) 4-0. Group E: C Konaris (Cyp) bt A Bade (PNG) 4-1; C Lim (Sing) bt N Samarawickram (S Lanka) 4-1; T Thien (Malay) bt A Simoi (PNG) 4-1. Group F: C Kieong (Macao) bt P Fong (PNG) 4-1; J Canny (Irl) bt P Fong (PNG) 4-1. Group G: S Dhellemme (Fr) bt H Lahari (PNG) 4-0; T Gleeson (Rep Ire) bt V Toka (PNG) 4-0; T Gleeson (Irl) bt W Talaat (Eg) 4-2. Group H: S O'Neill (N Ire) bt J Virtanen (Fin) 4-3; C Ming Hung (Taiw) bt C Schulz (PNG) 4-0; A Shandilya (India) bt R Goggins (Irl) 4-3.