Snooker World Games 2013: Aditya Mehta's Gold Calls World Rankings into Question

Aditya Mehta recorded a stunning 3-0 victory over Liang Wenbo of China to win gold at the Snooker World Games in Cali, Colombia.

The Indian star, who won silver and bronze medals at the 2010 Asian Games, was on top form throughout the five-day tournament and easily defeated his opponent in the final.

Following his victory, Mehta tweeted:

But how did the man ranked No. 74 in the world, according to Snooker.org, manage to win such a prestigious event?

On his way to comfortably defeating world No. 35 Wenbo in the final, Mehta also beat No. 64-ranked Dechawat Poomjaeng and world No. 19 Joe Perry.

Prior to this fine achievement, his best performance at a rankings event was reaching the last 16 of a tournament in Chengdu, China, last year.

For a player who has struggled to make much of an impact on the world stage so far, Mehta's victory brings into question the validity of the current world rankings system.

Englishman Perry, who won the Yixing Open earlier this year, was expected to beat Mehta with ease in the quarter-finals but surrendered a 2-1 lead to lose 3-2.

Undoubtedly this shock result spurred Mehta on during his semi-final, where he convincingly disposed of Poomjaeng, a man ranked 10 places above him, by three frames to one.

But it was the final itself that gave the biggest indication that the world rankings may need a rethink.

Wenbo, ranked No. 35 in the world, was completely outclassed by the man from Mumbai, going down 3-0 without much of a fight.

On paper, the 2009 Beijing International Challenge winner should've wiped the floor with his opponent—a sign that the world rankings may require a more dynamic, all-encompassing format to truly represent the form of the world's best players.

Whatever the reasons for Mehta's impressive victory, if he keeps playing like that, he's sure to finish the season much higher than No. 74 in the world.