Seven-time champion Stephen Hendry beaten by nephew of ex-wife in World Championship qualifying
- Rob McCarthy
- 6 April 2023
Seven-time champion Stephen Hendry's bid to reach a first World Championship since 2012 has ended in the first round of qualifying.
The 54-year-old Scot was beaten 10-4 by Englishman James Cahill, who is the nephew of Hendry's former wife.
Hendry made the 777th century of his career against Cahill but said he played "too many bad shots" in the match.
"It is still a very distant dream in the future that one day I'll walk out at the Crucible again," he told World Snooker.
"It is very doubtful and huge odds against, but that is the dream."
Meanwhile, Ireland's Ken Doherty, the 1997 world champion, beat 12-time women's world champion Reanne Evans in Sheffield.
Cahill now faces China's Lei Peifan in the second round, while 53-year-old Doherty takes on England's Hammad Miah.
Three-time women's champion Ng On Yee of China lost 10-8 to England's Michael Holt, despite making a break of 115 at the English Institute of Sport.
The World Championships get underway in Sheffield from April 15-May 1.
