Snooker-China's Ding becomes first Asian to reach world final

April 30 (Reuters) - China's Ding Junhui became the first Asian player to reach the world snooker championship final after beating Scotland's Alan McManus 17-11 in Sheffield, England on Saturday. Ding, the world number 17, compiled seven century breaks in the match to set a world championship record and will play England's world number one Mark Selby or Marco Fu of Hong Kong in the best of 35-frame final, which starts on Sunday. Selby and Fu were level at 12-12 after the third session of their semi-final which included the longest frame in world championship history at the Crucible lasting over 76 minutes. "I wanted to make the final but I feel normal. The tournament hasn't finished yet," Ding told reporters. "I want to keep focused. Last season and this season, I didn't play good but in March and April I started to play well." Ding, 29, is a former world number one who claimed five ranking titles in 2013-14 to equal the record set by seven-times world champion Stephen Hendry. (Reporting by Ed Osmond; Editing by Ken Ferris)