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Snooker: Hendry says delaying return to avoid embarrassing himself

Coral UK Championship

(Reuters) - Seven-times world snooker champion Stephen Hendry, who retired in 2012, said he has delayed his return to the professional circuit to avoid embarrassing himself.

The 52-year-old was set to play in a Pro Series tournament in Milton Keynes from Wednesday after accepting a two-year tour card in September.

However, he pulled out of the event due to a lack of sharpness and may now look to next month's Welsh Open.

"The aim is to possibly play at the Crucible (in the World Championship in April) so I would have to play in something before those qualifiers," Hendry told the British media.

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"The Welsh Open in February could be an option now. The Pro Series is played over two phases, this month and in March. I requested to play in March and said when I entered it I would withdraw if I was drawn to play in January.

"I'm just not ready and haven't played. I would embarrass myself. I might do that in March, but I definitely would this month."

Hendry turned professional as a 16-year-old and won his first world title in 1990.

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)