Snooker: Asif, Hamza bow out as Sajjad progresses

Top-ranked cueists experience mixed fortunes at snooker’s ranking event

KARACHI: Matters continue to go from bad to worse for former IBSF World Champion Muhammad Asif, as he was knocked out by Rambail Gul in the quarter-finals of the Langnese Ranking Snooker Championship after a 5-1 defeat here at the NBP Sports Complex.

The first three frames of the match were closely contested by the two players, but Rambail managed to resist Asif’s aggression, which laid foundation for his surprise victory with scores of 70-61, 51-42, 66-59, 80-17, 36-74 and 69-22.

Asif has not been able to repeat the top performances for which he is known for in the last several championships.

Meanwhile, Hamza Akbar – touted as the next big player by the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) – also went down 5-1 against experienced cueist Imran Shehzad, who won with a scoreline of 68-30, 08-75, 76-19, 90-43, 64-26 and 64-17.

“It’s really shocking how both Asif and Hamza have crashed out in the event,” a senior PBSA official told The Express Tribune.

“Asif has been a former world champion and top performances are expected from him. On the other hand, Hamza has been given around six international tournaments in the last 12 months and was even preferred over Imran in the IBSF World Championship, but he hasn’t lived up to the expectations.”

Abdul Sattar beat Muhammad Majid Ali 5-1, while Muhammad Sajjad defeated Sultan Muhammad 5-4 by scores of 09-64, 65-59, 102-14(81), 66-43, 0-75, 48-76, 04-66, 105-27(105) and 69-27.

In the semi-finals, Sajjad will take on Imran while Rambail will lock horns with Sattar in a best-of-11 frames matches.

 

 

 

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