Snooker: Off the mark in World Championship

Pakistani cueists open their accounts after earlier losses.

KARACHI: Following a shaky start at the IBSF World Snooker Championship, Pakistan cueists Imran Shahzad and Mohammad Asif Toba bounced back with impressive victories on the second day of the event in Bangalore, India.

According to the details made available, Shahzad and Toba, who lost their opening-day matches, outclassed their opponents to stay alive in the event. Pakistan’s top-ranked player Shahzad was the first to win, beating South Korea’s Byoung Hwa Ro 4-0.

The Lahore cueist, who narrowly lost to a Polish opponent earlier, relied less on luck this time and was aggressive right from the start. Making his intentions clear, Shahzad took the first frame 72-2 and then hit a 52-point break in the second frame to win it 105-15. He improved on that in the third, with a break of 73, to win it 98-7 before sealing the victory by taking the fourth frame 74-25.

Meanwhile, Toba, who lost against an Afghan opponent, also looked better than the opening day as he thrashed Heinz Beggel of Germany 4-0. Toba opened with a 72-2 win and took the next three frames 110-1, 68-15 and 61-58 to register the win.

However, it was the Pakistani-turned-Afghan cueist Saleh Mohammad who stole the limelight on the second day with a superb 141-point break as he trounced Russia’s Vladimir Bykov. The veteran cueist struck the break in the second frame of the match as he won 49-29, 141-0, 66-34 and 105-14.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 30^th, 2011.