Muhammad Asif became the first Pakistani to win the IBSF World Snooker Championship for the third time as he defeated Iran's Ali Gharahgozlou 5-3 in the final at the Qatar Billiards & Snooker Federation headquarters in Doha on Wednesday.
He is only the second person to win the championship for the third time; he is now tied for the IBSF record with India's Pankaj Advani.
The final was a precarious game, in which Asif 5 frames and Ali chasing him, 70-25, 7-87(84), 82(56)-8, 106(106)-08, 82-12, 43-91(58), 0-118, 93(80)-4.
"I am feeling grateful and amazing throughout the tournament and winning the title for the third time is just the result I wanted," Asif told this correspondent after lifting the IBSF World Championship trophy. "I have tied the record with Pankaj now, so that is good. I am the first Pakistani to win this title three times now but only the second in the world. It is a good feeling because everyone comes to win.
"For me the tournament was great, I could feel it in my game that I was finding my flow at the right moment, and I feel good mostly because I was able to hit seven or eight centuries. I am proud of that because no other cuiest has done that.
"I even managed to break 100 twice in a single match too, which was a great high for me."
He had to bounce back in the tournament in the qualifiers. He also had a tough group stage, but it was in the knock-out stages that he shined bright.
In the semifinal as well he defeated a former World 6-Red Champion Michael Georgiou 5-3.
"The younger players pose a threat at times (referring to Georgiou and Ali), I am getting older now, so in every game, I had ve bring in extra. I have to work on trying to play like I used to play 10 years ago for example. The energy has to be there. As one gets older the skill level also deteriorates, but I have worked so hard to prepare for this tournament.
"The older you get the more pressure you feel to match the younger lot. One has to keep a positive mindset too despite the myriad hurdles.
"I worked very hard for this tournament. I trained eight to 10 hours a day at times, but a minimum of seven to six hours each day before coming to Doha."
It is a massive feat given that the Pakistani government or the sports authorities and commercial sponsors do not support the cueists, leaving them with meager resources to carry on with their careers.
"The challenges are there constantly, not just for me but for every player in Pakistan. Like even with the departmental jobs, they demand us to come to work and do office jobs, and then the problem arises when we do not get enough time to really hone our skills and play the sport we got hired for.
"The question comes down to our survival. But I am just taking this success in, and I just want to send the message out to the government to pay attention. We have so much talent but no resources or support. Yet we bring these accolades to the country," said Asif.
He dedicated his win to his parents: "I want to dedicate this win to my parents. It is their prayers that help me succeed. My entire family prays for me and supports me, but it is my parents who are at an age where I feel their prayers and time are even more precious."
Pakistan fielded three cueists including Asif, Asjad Iqbal, Ahsan Ramzan, Awais Muneer, and Muhammad Naseem Akhtar.
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