So near yet so far

Pakistan’s Snooker World Cup campaign ends.

KARACHI:

Pakistan cueists were left ruing their luck as Republic of Ireland won the last frame in their encounter against Wales to progress to the quarter-finals of the PTT-EGAT Snooker World Cup in Bangkok, Thailand. Pakistan will now make their way back home after finishing third behind Wales and Republic of Ireland in Group A.

Despite registering a 3-2 win against Egypt earlier in the day, Pakistan, who had to rely on the outcome of the other Group A match, were eliminated after finishing with 10 points while Republic of Ireland, by virtue of winning their last frame against top-seeds Wales, ended up with 11.

Mohammad Sajjad and Pakistan number one Shahid Aftab had earlier put their team in contention after winning a close match against lowly-ranked Egypt.

After Aftab suffered a 65-30 defeat against Wael Talat in the first frame, Sajjad levelled the tie and beat Yasseral Sherbani 57-10.

However, Egypt hit back in the doubles frame to gain a 2-1 lead before Sajjad and Aftab won their last two frames.

While Sajjad outplayed Talat 79-48, Aftab beat Sherbani 72-22 to seal the 3-2 win but in the end it was not enough to take Pakistan through to the last-eight. Sajjad and Aftab beat Ireland in the first game before succumbing to successive losses against Germany and Wales before winning their last match.

‘Cueists failed to impress’

According to the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) President Alamgir Sheikh, Pakistan cueists tried hard but should have won against Germany.

“We would have progressed to the knock-out round if we had won against Germany,” Sheikh told The Express Tribune. “After defeating Ireland, the players had gained enough confidence to continue with their form but I think that it went downhill for us. I am extremely upset with them because they had the potential to progress in the tournament.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 16^th, 2011.