Asif poised to top Group B in Asian Snooker

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Sajjad, Mohammad Bilal and Sohail Shahzad prevailed over their respective rivals on the second day of league matches in the 32nd Asian Snooker Championship 2016 in Doha.

According to the information made available by the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA) here on Monday, second seed Asif won both his second day matches, while Sajjad, Bilal and Sohail also overpowered their opponents to stay on course for the knockout stage of the eight-day competition.

A total of 58 cueists from 20 countries have entered the championship, divided into 12 groups.

Asif, the 2012 world amateur champion, defeated Abdul Lateef Al Fawal of Qatar 4-1 with the frame scores of 97-29, 79-40, 64-63, 25-79, 73-43 and returned to edge out Karam Fatima of Syria 4-3 with the frame scores of 69-62, 36-55, 80-40, 55-67, 34-72, 75-14, 62-45.

With three victories in as many games, Asif appears poised for topping the Group B, having whipped Khalid Alastal of Plaestine in straight frames in his first game.

His fourth and final league fixture will be against Omar Al Ajlani of Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan’s national champion Bilal, making his debut in the continental event, also boosted his chances of finishing at the top of the ladder in the Group C.

Having overwhelmed Baek Minhu of South Korea and Abdul Rehman Abdul Mohsin of Qatar in straight frames on the opening day, he overcame the dangerous Mohammad Shehab of the UAE 4-3 with the frame scores of 66-53, 33-99, 64-37, 0-69, 78-34, 9-65, 62-27.

He will take on Meylis Atayev of Turkemenistan in his final league outing.

Sajjad, a former world number two, consolidated his position in the Group J when he outclassed Mohammad Shamil Ameen of Sri Lanka 4-1 with the frame scores of 62-30, 64-41, 63-54, 35-56, 72-22.

He had opened his account by defeating Au Chi Chung of Hong Kong 4-2 on the opening day. His opponents in the remaining league fixtures will be Ahmed Saif of Qatar and Ahmed Janahi of Bahrain.

Sohail, the only Pakistani cueist to have been beaten on the opening day, made amends by blasting Adel Ibrahim of Iraq in straight frames with the scores of 87-7, 85-1, 94-14, 55-7. He compiled breaks of 55 and 57 in successive frames to complete a cakewalk victory.

He had been defeated 2-4 by Manan Chandra of India in his maiden outing in the Group D.

His remaining league matches will be against Lim Kok Leong of Malaysia and Ahmed Abdullah Asiri of Saudi Arabia.