Tahir continues winning ways

Youngster leads Group F after winning three straight matches

KARACHI: Haris Tahir added to his winning streak on day two of the 2017 ACBS Asian U21 Snooker Championship in Chandigarh on Tuesday.

Tahir, the leader in Group F, defeated Hong Kong’s Ming Wa Man 4-2.

The Lahore-based teenager took the first frame 76-59 but lost the following two 39-66, 52-63 only to bounce back in the next three frames 69-31, 55-20, 58-39 to register his third win in the competition.

The 17-year-old has won 12 frames and lost only three in his three matches so far, thanks to his 4-0 and 4-1 wins over Saudi Arabia’s Ayman Alamri and India’s Digvijay Kadian respectively.

A day earlier, Naseem Akhtar had brought down Hong Kong’s Yun Fung Tam 4-3 in a close match in Group F.

Akhtar drew first blood, taking the first frame 59-11 before Tam equalised 77-2. Akhtar reclaimed the lead in the third (70-25) but again found Tam was equal to it as the fourth frame went 113-12 in favour of the Hong Kong native.

The fifth and sixth frames followed similar pattern — Akhtar winning 57-17 and then losing 77-0 — before the Pakistani held his nerve in the final frame and triumphed 62-33.

Later on, Akhtar also bested Thailand’s Narongdat Takantong 4-2 to soar to the top of his group's points table.

Muhammad Rafiq, however, has had a tough time so far in the tournament as he has lost both of his Group B matches — the first one a 4-0 humbling to Philippines’ Jefrey Roda and the second a 4-2 defeat at the hands of India’s Ishpreet Singh Chadha.