Both men were relying on other results going their way, hoping for the top performers to lose in order for the Pakistanis to progress. Asif edged-out Qatar’s Bashar Hussain Abdulmajid 4-3 despite being down 2-0 while Pakistan number two Sultan eased past local cueist Mohsin Khamis Abdulrahman 4-1.
However, India’s Aditya Mehta and Syria’s Karam Fatima went through at the expense of Asif in group A while Sultan lost out in the race for the knockouts to India’s Pankaj Advani and China’s Rouzi Miamati in group C.
Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) Secretary Munawwar Sheikh, who travelled with the players as manager, was not pleased with the cueists’ show.
“They didn’t play up to the mark, especially Sultan because he hardly made a break of over 50,” Sheikh told The Express Tribune from Qatar. “Asif played well but was unlucky that he couldn’t beat his main rivals. He should shoulder some of the blame too because he had chances where he could’ve finished well against Mehta and Fatima.”
Meanwhile, Sultan admitted his inability to score big breaks was a concern.
“I don’t know what went wrong as I wasn’t able to make big breaks,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 27th, 2012.
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