‘Overwhelmed’ Saleh clinches Asian snooker title

Afghanistan cueist downs Syria’s Al Kojah in one-sided final in Karachi.

KARACHI: Former Pakistan player Saleh Mohammad, who now represents his adopted country Afghanistan, was crowned the Asian champion on Friday after annihilating  Syria’s Omar al Kojah 7-2 at the Jubilee Insurance 29th Asian Snooker Championship final.

Saleh lost the opening frame but hit back with a break of 121 in the second to give a taste of things to come.

The cueist then clinched the third frame, which included a break of 57, but al Kojah recovered when he got a chance and won the fourth. However, that was the Syrian player’s last success as he stood and watched Saleh win the following five frames to clinch the best-of-13 final.

Saleh won with frame scores of 4-83, 121 (121)-14, 108 (57)-29, 57-61, 72-17, 75-50, 72-14, 64-41 and 75-45.



Saleh pocketed $7,000, while al Kojah took home $3,500. Losing semi-finalists, China’s Zhao Xin Tong, who earned another $1,000 for the tournament’s highest break of 136, and Iran’s Amir Sarkosh, got $1000 apiece.

However, there was disappointment for the hosts as none of the Pakistan players were able to progress beyond the quarter-final stage of the event.

Veteran pleased with win

The 39-year-old Saleh was ecstatic after winning the title, terming the feeling to return and win in Pakistan as amazing.

“It’s really special for me to come here and become the Asian champion,” Saleh told The Express Tribune. “The joy has been doubled by the fact that I triumphed in Pakistan because I have great memories of representing the country before I moved to Afghanistan. This is a feeling I can’t describe in words or convey to anyone. Only I know how it feels to come back to Karachi and win the title.”

Saleh made it to the semi-finals of the IBSF World Championship when he played for Pakistan and then bagged a bronze medal at the 2002 Asian Games in the team and doubles category.

In 2003, he forced his way into the final of the IBSF World Championship on the back of a 14-match unbeaten run only to be stunned by India sensation Pankaj Advani.

He then achieved one of the biggest feats in the game — racking up a perfect break of 147 in the 2008 Asian Championship against Vietnam’s Nguyen Nhat Thanh.

He added that he was overwhelmed by the reception he received in Pakistan. “The hospitality and love I received during this event never made me feel that I’m a former Pakistan player. The support made it easy for me to win.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 4^th, 2013.