Snooker: Toba crashes out of ranking event

Snooker association concerned with cueist’s poor show.

KARACHI: Asif Toba, one of the two cueists chosen to represent Pakistan at the World Snooker Championship later this month, suffered an early exit at the Del Monte Ranking Championship following a dismal show in the group stages of the event underway at the Southend Club.

Toba confirmed his place for the global event in India after finishing second in the national standings following last month’s ranking event. However, the cueist failed in the ongoing tournament with four losses from six matches to go out of contention for a place in semi-finals.

After remaining winless on the tournament’s opening two days, his victories against Mohammad Asif and Shahid Aftab provided
little consolation.

The Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) has expressed concerned at Toba’s performance but said the cueist will not be replaced for the event in Bangalore.

“Toba has disappointed us with his performance,” the PBSA Secretary Munawar Sheikh told The Express Tribune. “However, Toba was selected for the World Championship because he was number two at the time we sent the entries.

“Now we don’t have any choice but to arrange a short camp to help him regain his form.” On the other hand, Imran Shahzad, who will also feature in the World Championship, was beaten 4-2 by the experienced Naveen Perwani after losing to the unheralded Sharjeel Mehmood. After winning his first three matches, the Pakistan number one suffered twin defeats but kept his semi-final hopes alive with a 4-0 win over Abdul Sattar.

Meanwhile, Asif became the first player to book a place in the the last-four after finishing with five wins in six matches.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 18^th,  2011.