IBSF World Individual Championship: Sajjad stunned by lower-ranked opponent
2014 runner-up falls in last-64 along with Sattar as Asif ploughs on
Prior to Wednesday’s loss, Sajjad had won all his group matches, conceding just four frames in the process. PHOTO COURTESY: IBSF
KARACHI:
Pakistan’s Mohammad Sajjad suffered a shock exit from the IBSF World Individual Snooker Championship as he was defeated 4-0 in the last-64 by Iraq’s Ali Jalil Ali in Hurghada, Egypt on Wednesday.
Sajjad had finished the last edition of the competition as runner-up and was determined to win the title this time around.
The veteran had played well throughout the group stages, but as per reports from the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) officials present in Egypt, the eighth seed was hardly up to mark in Wednesday’s match.
IBSF World Championships: Sajjad’s winning streak continues in Egypt
Ali, seeded 57th, dismissed Sajjad with a scoreline of 70-49, 69-51, 78-39 and 69-22.
PBSA President Alamgir Sheikh expressed his disappointment with Sajjad’s early exit, especially to a lower-ranked opponent.
“To be honest, we considered Sajjad our best shot for the title [out of the four other cueists] so his loss is certainly a big blow to us,” Sheikh told The Express Tribune from Hurghada. “If I had to judge his game today, I would say he was only playing 40% of what he is capable of. Earlier, Shahram lost in the last-88 so it hasn’t been a good tournament for Pakistan so far.”
Temperature takes toll: Changezi bows out of World Championship
Meanwhile, Abdul Sattar also lost to Germany’s 19-year-old Lucas Kleckers with a similar scoreline of 4-0, which left Mohammad Asif as Pakistan’s sole hope in the event.
Lone-hope Asif moves into last-32
Former IBSF World Champion Asif was the only player from Pakistan to advance to the last-32 stage after beating Wales’ Alex Taubman 4-1 on Wednesday.
The match did not start off in the 32-year-old’s favour as Taubman won the first frame, but the Faisalabad-based cueist took charge from thereon, eventually triumphing with scores of 43-81, 78-8, 77-47, 60-43 and 74-15.
IBSF world event: Changezi maintains winning streak
He will now take on Scotland’s Michael Collumb for a place in the last-16.
“Asif is our only chance now and I feel he can do it,” said Sheikh. “But he would need to raise the bar, as matches only get tougher with each round. We hope he’s saving his best for this stage of the championship.”
Published in The Express Tribune, November 19th, 2015.
Pakistan’s Mohammad Sajjad suffered a shock exit from the IBSF World Individual Snooker Championship as he was defeated 4-0 in the last-64 by Iraq’s Ali Jalil Ali in Hurghada, Egypt on Wednesday.
Sajjad had finished the last edition of the competition as runner-up and was determined to win the title this time around.
The veteran had played well throughout the group stages, but as per reports from the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) officials present in Egypt, the eighth seed was hardly up to mark in Wednesday’s match.
IBSF World Championships: Sajjad’s winning streak continues in Egypt
Ali, seeded 57th, dismissed Sajjad with a scoreline of 70-49, 69-51, 78-39 and 69-22.
PBSA President Alamgir Sheikh expressed his disappointment with Sajjad’s early exit, especially to a lower-ranked opponent.
“To be honest, we considered Sajjad our best shot for the title [out of the four other cueists] so his loss is certainly a big blow to us,” Sheikh told The Express Tribune from Hurghada. “If I had to judge his game today, I would say he was only playing 40% of what he is capable of. Earlier, Shahram lost in the last-88 so it hasn’t been a good tournament for Pakistan so far.”
Temperature takes toll: Changezi bows out of World Championship
Meanwhile, Abdul Sattar also lost to Germany’s 19-year-old Lucas Kleckers with a similar scoreline of 4-0, which left Mohammad Asif as Pakistan’s sole hope in the event.
Lone-hope Asif moves into last-32
Former IBSF World Champion Asif was the only player from Pakistan to advance to the last-32 stage after beating Wales’ Alex Taubman 4-1 on Wednesday.
The match did not start off in the 32-year-old’s favour as Taubman won the first frame, but the Faisalabad-based cueist took charge from thereon, eventually triumphing with scores of 43-81, 78-8, 77-47, 60-43 and 74-15.
IBSF world event: Changezi maintains winning streak
He will now take on Scotland’s Michael Collumb for a place in the last-16.
“Asif is our only chance now and I feel he can do it,” said Sheikh. “But he would need to raise the bar, as matches only get tougher with each round. We hope he’s saving his best for this stage of the championship.”
Published in The Express Tribune, November 19th, 2015.