Muhammad Asif reaches Asian 6-Red Snooker Championship semifinals

KARACHI: Pakistan's Muhammad Asif defeated Malaysia's Lim Kok Leong with a 5-3 win in a best-of-nine frames match to reach the semi-finals of the Asian 6-Red Snooker Championship in Colombo.

Asif dominated the early stages, winning the first three frames with scores of 67-0, 43-21, and 27-19, establishing a commanding 3-0 lead. Lim mounted a comeback, taking the fourth frame 59-31 and the fifth 38-32 after capitalising on Asif's missed black ball, narrowing the deficit to 3-2.

The Pakistani player regained momentum by clinching the sixth frame 38-25, but Lim responded strongly in the seventh, shutting out Asif 68-0.

The tightly contested eighth frame saw both players battling evenly until the final moments, when Lim fouled on a crucial pink ball, allowing Asif to pot it and seal the victory 41-21.

The final scoreline reflected Asif's resilience: 67-0, 43-21, 27-19, 31-59, 32-38, 38-25, 0-68, and 41-21.

In the semifinals, Asif will face another Malaysian opponent, Thor Chuan Leong, as he continues his quest for the title in the tournament.

Earlier, Pakistan's two other cueists, Mohammad Sajjad and Awais Munir were knocked out of the tournament in the quarter-final stage.