IBSF U18 World Championship: Raheem’s dream run ends in last-four

Pakistan youngster suffers 4-1 defeat at the hands of Hong Kong’s Ming

KARACHI: Pakistani cueist Abdul Raheem’s dream run in the inaugural IBSF U18 World Championship came to a halt on Saturday when he succumbed to a 4-1 defeat against Hong Kong’s Ming Tung Chan in the semi-finals in St Petersburg, Russia.

Raheem, who was in excellent form throughout the competition and won several matches with impressive margins, could not match Ming’s prowess in the last-four encounter. Ming got off to a winning, racing to a 1-0 lead before Raheem hit back to level the game 1-1.

However, he was helpless to prevent Ming from winning the next three frames on the trot, losing 75-32, 01-79(55), 93-30(60), 63-15 and 72-39.

Earlier, he had beaten Wales’ Tyler Rees 4-3 in the quarter-finals in a tough battle.

Compatriot Saqib had already fallen in the last-32 stage, and Raheem’s semi-final loss wrapped up Pakistan’s campaign in Russia.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2015.

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