‘Wonder boy’ Naseem clinches U21, U18 titles

KARACHI: Naseem Akhtar of Punjab continued his purple patch by also clinching the Under-21 title, after having annexed the Under-18 crown, in the twin junior national snooker tournaments being held at the PSB Complex in Islamabad.

According to the details made available by the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA) on Thursday, the 16-year-old Naseem, hailing from the town of Sahiwal, won the Jubilee Insurance 9th National Under-21 Snooker Championship 2017 by outclassing Haris Tahir in the all-Punjab final.

Naseem, playing like a millionaire, dominated the best of 11-frame to win it 6-1 with the scores of 80-40, 42-70, 56-47, 85-10, 71-54, 76-4, 51-41. He showed no signs of nerves in the title clash despite confronting more experienced opponent.

The 18-year-old Haris, coming from Lahore, having finished runner-up the last year as well, was unable to come to terms with his prolific rival who succeeded in sustaining his top form throughout the twin national junior events.

The prize distribution ceremony of both the tournaments was held later in the afternoon in which cash awards of Rs 260,000 were disbursed among the outstanding performers.

The Director General of the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), Akhtar Nawaz Ganjera, was the chief guest on the occasion. He was welcomed in the arena by the newly elected PBSA President, Munawwar Hussain Shaikh, alongwith his predecessor, Alamgir Anwar Shaikh.

Naseem, having performed exceptionally well to be referred as the wonder boy of the week, became richer by Rs105,000 as he was presented Rs50,000 each for winning the two tournaments besides registering the highest break of 70 in the Under-18 event which was contested by 32 cueists.

Haris, who ended runner-up in the Under-21 competition, earned the distinction of chalking up the highest break of 75.