Mohammad Asif silences critics with title win

IBSF world champion defeats Iran’s Sarkosh 7-4 at 6-Red snooker final.

KARACHI: IBSF world champion Mohammad Asif added another feather in his cap by winning the 6-Red Asian Snooker Championship yesterday, defeating Iran’s Amir Sarkosh 7-4 in the final played in Doha, Qatar.

The match was a close encounter that ended with frame scores of 43-0, 48-0, 48-12, 12-36, 30-34, 34-31, 40-09, 0-41, 0-41, 54-04, 41-13 in Asif’s favour. He had earlier defeated India’s Laxman Rawat in the semi-final 6-2 with scores of 61-06, 71-0, 37-31, 27-31, 36-09, 01-68, 58-08 and 42-30.

Asif believed the title was the answer to all the critics who were questioning his ability to repeat his world championship performance.



“This 6-Red title is a reminder to all those people who thought my world championship effort was a fluke,” Asif told The Express Tribune. “There is immense pressure on a player when he becomes a champion as he is then expected to win every tournament he plays. That’s what happened to me and my game suffered, but eventually I pulled myself together.”

He added that he has been accused of being more interested in collecting cash rewards than on the game itself.

“I never relaxed after becoming world champion. I felt sad when my commitment to the game was being questioned. But now I think I’ve proven my worth and this victory will only push me to further concentrate on my game.”

Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association chief Alamgir Sheikh said he had always believed that Asif would stage a strong comeback after his defeat in the national championship and his subsequent exit in the last-16 at the Asian Championship.

“It’s a great achievement for Asif and great news for the nation that he has won two important titles despite limited resources,” said Sheikh.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2013