Asian Team Championship: Pakistan cueists buckle under pressure

Asif, Iqbal suffer 3-0 thrashing at the hands of India in semi-final

KARACHI: Pakistan’s hopes of winning the Asian Snooker Team Championship title ended yesterday as Pakistan (1), comprising Mohammad Asif and Asjad Iqbal, were beaten 3-0 by India in the semi-final played in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Pakistan will bring home a bronze medal courtesy their semi-final appearance, which resulted in a whitewash with scores of 73-16, 83-25, 92-08.

Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) President Alamgir Sheikh termed the national squad’s overall performance ‘poor’ despite the cueists reaching the last-four round.

Pakistan (2) had crashed out in the quarter-finals, while the players failed to cross the last-eight stage in the Asian 6-Red Championship as well.





“We’re not satisfied with this semi-final performance at all as Asif and Iqbal played poorly in the most important match,” Sheikh told The Express Tribune.

“The players aren’t performing as well as we expect them to. It wasn’t like the Indian team played really well, but it was a case of playing badly on our part. The overall campaign has been a disappointment to be honest,” he added.

6-Red Snooker Championship: Two Pakistanis advance to Asian quarter-finals

The PBSA had already dropped veteran Mohammad Sajjad from the Pakistan squad as Iqbal was selected ahead of him. Asked whether the same could happen with Asif in future events, the former IBSF world champion, Sheikh said the executive board will take a decision on the matter.

However, he stressed that it was time to encourage the youngsters and give them exposure since they are the future.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 26^th, 2016.

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