Asian 6-Red Snooker Championship: Awais Munir begins title defence with two wins

Defending champion Awais Munir made a strong start to his title defence at the Asian Six-Red Snooker Championship, registering two impressive victories on the opening day to qualify for the pre-quarterfinals.

Munir, who won two of his three group matches, was joined by compatriots Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Sajjad, who also triumphed in their respective matches on the first day of the tournament in Sri Lanka.

In his Group A opener, Munir overcame Macau’s Chi Kin Chan 4-2, with frame scores of 1-53, 41-11, 38-6, 9-38, 49-0, and 57-0, sealing the final frame with a 52-point break.

He continued his dominance in his second match, defeating Bangladesh’s Ziaur Rahman Azad with a maximum 75-point break. The frame scores were 65-0, 47-17, 59-8, and 75-0.

Meanwhile, IBSF World Champion Muhammad Asif began his campaign with a 4-1 victory over Cambodia’s Neang Tola, with frame scores of 37-17, 47-0, 9-59, 44-0, and 39-9.

Muhammad Sajjad also delivered a commanding performance, sweeping Bahrain’s Khalil Busaif 4-0 (46-15, 34-21, 48-17, 46-13).

Munir will now face India’s Pushpender Singh in the next round, while Asif and Sajjad are set to play two more group-stage matches each.

For the unversed, Munir recently won the Asian Six-Red Snooker Championship held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on July 2, 2024, after defeating Hong Kong’s Nansen Wan.

Munir secured a 6-3 victory, with the match tied at 2-2 before he won three consecutive frames to take a commanding 5-2 lead.

Although Nansen staged a brief comeback in the eighth frame, Munir demonstrated excellent control and potting in the ninth to clinch the title. The final frame scores were: 0-65, 35-26, 27-36, 38-20, 0-65, 13-46, 8-60, 34-0, 27-40.