Ex-snooker star Thorne in coma

LONDON: Former snooker star Willie Thorne has been put in an induced coma in a Spanish hospital following respiratory failure, it was announced Tuesday. The 66-year-old Englishman, who twice reached the World Championship quarter-finals, said in March he was suffering from leukaemia.

Last week Thorne was taken to hospital with low blood pressure. A GoFundMe page set up to help pay for his treatment has raised more than two-thirds of its 30,000-euro ($34,000) target After being a mainstay in top-16 throughout the late 1980s and early 90s, Thorne became a snooker commentator for BBC. The 1985 UK Championship runner-up has previously spoken of his struggles with a gambling addiction that saw him battling bankruptcy.