Asif, Bilal enter Snooker Cup final

IBSF world champion whips Shehzad in semi-final.

KARACHI:

IBSF World Champion Mohammad Asif will lock horns with Mohammad Bilal today in the best-of-15-frame final of Langnese 4th Ranking Snooker Cup.

Asif was back to his best, thrashing Imran Shehzad 6-1 while Bilal shocked Babar Masih, who himself was on a giant-killing spree in the event with a 6-3 victory.

Imran, who had been playing well of late, had no answer against Asif and lost with a scoreline of 91-31, 80-04, 71-10, 67-51, 73-28, 57-69 and 64-34.

Meanwhile, Masih’s superb run was cut short by Bilal, who won by 99-14, 64-34, 15-61, 77-37, 92-07, 71-13, 31-68, 31-70 and 123-0.

Masih had been a revelation in the tournament, beating almost every top player of the country who came across him in the ongoing competition. However, his luck ran out against Bilal yesterday.



World champion Asif stated that the final is of immense importance for him, keeping in mind that he has to leave for Latvia next week to defend the crown he won last year in Bulgaria.

The Faisalabad-based played added that he intends to finish the event on a winning note that will help him go into the world championship against top-ranked
amateur cueists from around the world confidently.

“I’ll come out with all guns blazing in the final because I want to win it in order to boost my confidence,” Asif told The Express Tribune.

“When you are heading into a big event where you have to defend your crown, it’s necessary to enter it with your confidence sky-high. That would be possible  only by winning this ranking event.”

The Pakistan contingent for the world championship will also include Mohammad Sajjad, Imran Shehzad and Shahid Aftab besides Asif.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 24^th, 2013.

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