T J Dowling and Robert Murphy led the Irish challenge as the world under-21 snooker championships begin in ernest in Carlow today. Dowling, the national champion, scored a 4-2 victory on Saturday to end the hopes of fellow Irishman David Forde and emerged from Group D.

And in Group E, Robert Murphy won by a similar scoreline over Austrialian Alan Mahoney to reach the last 16. However, James Linehan lost.