Pakistan cueists off to dismal start

Sajjad loses both matches in Asian 6-Reds tournament.

KARACHI: Pakistan cueists were off to a poor start in the inaugural Asian 6-Reds Snooker Championship 2011 after losing three of the four matches played on the opening day.

Pakistan number one Imran Shahzad won the only match as Asian number one Mohammad Sajjad went down in both games in the tournament underway in Thailand.

Shahzad failed to overcome Thailand’s Uttapop Pakpoj and lost 5-1 before hitting back to beat Japan’s Yusuke Tanaka 5-1. Sajjad lost to Afghanistan’s Nadir Sultani in a closely-contested encounter 5-4 before being beaten comfortably by a home cueist Au Chi Wai 5-1.

In the first match, Pakpoj won the opening four frames 42-27, 38-9, 52-8, 40-15 to put Shahzad out of the game. The Pakistani cueist, however, won a close fifth frame 33-31 but the battle was soon over as Pakpoj sealed the victory in the sixth frame, winning it 43-0.

Shahzad’s poor run continued as he lost the first frame against Tanake before  hitting back hard to win the next five frames 36-24, 41-1, 60-0, 37-0, 43-11.

“It’s a very tricky format,” Shahzad told The Express Tribune. “If you lose the first two frames, the game gets out of hand. It doesn’t matter who you are playing against. You just need to hit form quickly as there is very little time to make a comeback. Before you know it, the game is over,” added the 32-year-old about the 6-Red format.

Meanwhile, Sajjad began with confidence, gaining a 3-2 lead, before Sultani took the upper hand. Sajjad fought back but the Afghan cueist clinched the decider 59-0. Sajjad’s dismal run continued as he won a lone frame in his loss to Thailand’s Au Chi Wai and faces a possible elimination in the first round if the cueist loses one of his matches today.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 15^th, 2011.