Asian Snooker Championship: Shaharam stuns Malaysia’s top cueist

Books quarter-final clash with Hamza as Asif exits regional event

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Shaharam Changezi knocked out Malaysia’s top cueist Moh Keen Hoo from the 31st ACBS Snooker Championship on Tuesday, beating him 4-0 in their last-16 clash in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Shaharam did not hit big breaks in any frame but managed to come out on top as he won with scores of 70-34, 72-21, 71-36 and 70-36.

“My match against Moh was an exhilarating experience because the crowd was on his side, and I relish opportunities like this,” Shaharam told The Express Tribune. “The hall erupted with cheers whenever he potted the ball, and was struck dumb when I did the same. This win has given me confidence and now my aim is to do something big in the event.”

Earlier, Shaharam had made a great recovery in his last-32 match against India’s Manan Chandra as he came back from 3-1 down to win the encounter 4-3 by scores of 8-53, 44-71, 65-13, 7-57, 98-34, 72-13 and 75-20.

He will now face compatriot Hamza Akbar in the quarter-finals after the latter survived a scare against UAE’s Khalid alKamali in his last-16 match but won 4-3 with scores of 78-55, 76-12, 60-26, 50-69, 44-66, 01-69 and 102-0.

Besides Shaharam’s achievement, Hamza’s 4-3 win over former IBSF World Champion Muhammad Asif was the highlight of the day as the youngster defeated the veteran with scores of 23-97, 73-7, 46-75, 80-29, 66-2, 14-76 and 68-0 in their last-32 match.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association President Alamgir Sheikh attended the IBSF Board meeting, courtesy of being the head of the host nation for the upcoming IBSF World 6-Red and Team Championships, which are scheduled to be held in August in Pakistan.

It was decided in the meeting that an increase in entries would be allowed for the participating countries in the women, men and masters events and that the championship will be played on 16 tables.

Furthermore, it was proposed that Maxime Cassis, the vice-president of IBSF, will be visiting Karachi soon to assess the overall arrangements for the world championship in Karachi.

 

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.