Shahbaz, Tahir to fight for final berth in U21 Asian championship

Beat compatriot Naseem, Syria’s Ahadad respectively to enter semis

KARACHI: Pakistani youth continues to dominate the U21 Asian Snooker Championship as Muhammad Shahbaz and Haris Tahir will face each other in one of the semi-finals of the event in Myanmar.

Shahbaz pulled off a major upset by defeating the IBSF U18 World Champion and Pakistan's best junior seed Naseem Akhtar 5-3 in the quarter-final, while Haris outplayed Syria's Yazan Ahadad 5-1 to book his birth in the last-four on Friday.

Naseem’s defeat was a major blow for Pakistan and unlucky in terms of the draw as he faced Shahbaz in a thrilling match.

"It would've been great if we two Pakistani players went to the final," Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association official and referee Naveed Kapadia told The Express Tribune from Myanmar. "But our players have done exceptionally well. Shahbaz pulled off an upset really; Naseem was the semi-finalist in U21 event last time.”

Kapadia, however, believes the match would be exciting. “I feel it is going to be an exciting match between Haris and Shahbaz,” he said.

According to Kapadia, both players are in good spirits and both are capable of winning, however, Haris takes points on experience.

"Haris is definitely more experienced, but Shahbaz is coming in with a lot of spirit and confidence after defeating Naseem. The quarter-final wins were important for both of them,” he said.

On the other hand, the other semi-final sees Myanmar's Aung Phyo and Thailand's Pongsakorn Chongjairak competing for a place in the final, and Kapadia think the Thai cueist has a better chance of winning.

"It'll be interesting,” he said. “So far we feel Chongjairak is doing very well and Thai players are very good in most cases. Pakistani players need to do what it takes to win, and they have the ability to take the gold.”

The final of the championship will be played on Saturday.