IBSF World Snooker Championships: Pakistan cueists continue winning form

All three claim victories to go one step closer to qualifying for knockout stages

KARACHI: Former champion Mohammad Asif continued his fine form at the IBSF World Snooker Championships, blanking Bahraini opponent Hesham Alsaqer 4-0 for his second consecutive victory in Doha, Qatar.

Asif, who mustered a break of 138 points while routing Egyptian rival Hisham Nadi in his opening match, registered a comfortable 73-0, 62-38, 74-09, 71-41 victory against the Bahraini on Sunday.

The 34-year-old, who won the amateur crown in 2012, smashed a break of 73 points in the first frame. He now faces Ali Alobaidli of Qatar today in his third match; a win will take him into the knockout stages.

Meanwhile, Babar Masih fought back after dropping the first frame to register a 4-1 win over Japan’s Tetsuya Kuwata for his second win in the event.

Kuwata stunned Masih with a 67-point break in the opening frame which he won 81-31. However, the Pakistani cueist held his nerves well to bounce back. He levelled the match by taking the second frame 82-40 and then used the momentum to claim three more frames — 63-26, 59-48 and 86-0 — on the trot to seal the match. Masih’s best showing came in last frame of the match where he scored a break of 85 points.

Pakistan’s third cueist, Muhammad Bilal, also won as he defeated Germany’s Felix Frede 4-1. Bilal’s victory of 84-15, 123-08, 87-01, 22-62 and 86-01 included three consecutive half-century breaks.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 22^nd, 2016.

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