Ahsan, Mudassir share limelight as U21 Snooker begins

KARACHI: Ahsan Ramzan and Shaikh Mudassir, by winning both their matches, shared the limelight on the opening day of the 13th Seagold National Junior Under-21 Snooker Championship 2021 which cued off at the PSB Complex in Lahore on Friday.

According to the information provided by Tournament Director, Naved Kapadia, Ahsan and Mudassir, both of them from Punjab, emerged triumphant in both their outings to virtually book their spots for the quarter-finals.

Ahsan, having annexed the national Under-17 title at the same venue a few days ago, extended his brilliant form into the under-21 competition as he registered breaks of 53 and 69 in his first match and followed it up with breaks of 69 and 85 in his second game.

A total of 16 cueists, divided equally in four groups, have entered the preliminary rounds whose matches will be completed on Saturday (today).

There are four participating cueists each from Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. There are a couple of entrants each from Balochistan and Islamabad.

The winner of the event, besides collecting a handsome purse of Rs50,000, will also earn the right to represent Pakistan in the IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship 2021 scheduled to be held later this year.

Results: Ahsan Ramzan (Pjb) bt Muhammad Rafiq (Pjb) 3-0 (71-42, 76-1, 73-18); Zohaib Mustafa (Isb) bt Zunair Khan (Sindh) 3-1 (49-36, 49-63, 66-15, 61-41); Shaharyar Khan (Sindh) bt Muhammad Rizwan (Bal) 3-1 (47-41, 32-52, 77-45, 72-0); Shaikh Mudassir (Pjb) bt Kamran Albert Masih (KP) 3-2 (59-71, 72-48, 56-14, 45-79, 75-21); Zubair Tahir (Pjb) bt Munsifudin Alaudin (KP) 3-2 (17-63, 66-34, 59-86, 72-28, 59-12); Asad Khan (Sindh) bt Jahanzaib Jahangir (Bal) 3-0 (67-32, 72-24, 56-7); Muhammad Shahzad (Pjb) bt Umar Ismail (Sindh) 3-1 (16-59, 63-23, 60-52, 90-1); Sajjad Abdullah (KP) bt Usman Waheed (Isb) 3-2 (70-38, 23-46, 32-61, 61-7, 75-15); Muhammad Rafiq (KP) bt Zunair Khan (Sindh) 3-0 (62-29, 67-20, 45-29); Ahsan Ramzan (Pjb) bt Zohaib Mustafa (Isb) 3-1 (104-4, 113-13, 9-56, 64-40); Muhammad Rizwan (Bal) bt Kamran Albert Masih (KP) 3-0 (56-8, 69-31, 64-46); Shaikh Mudassir (Pjb) bt Shaharyar Khan (Sindh) 3-1 (64-22, 68-31, 35-62, 63-38).