Asif musters break of 138 as world snooker begins
KARACHI: Four Pakistani cueists — two men’s and as many master’s — returned victorious in the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF) World Snooker Championship which commenced at Doha on Saturday.
Former world champion Mohammad Asif blanked Egyptian Hisham Nadi straight 4-0. The highlight of his triumph was an excellent break of 138 in the second frame as he was home 82-33, 138-0, 76-24, 79-10. He also mustered a half-century break of 60 in the fourth frame.
Babar Masih also opened his account on a winning note when he sent Iceland’s Thorri Jensson packing 4-2. The scores were 59-56, 72-59, 78-21, 25-92, 12-72, 71-14.
Internationals Naveen Perwani and Imran Shehzad also conjured up convincing victories over their opponents in the master’s category.
While the former inflicted 3-0 (75-33, 92-31, 66-23) defeat on Iran’s Ali Bassiri, the latter thumped 3-1 over Christian Hochmayer of Austria with the scores being 39-73, 53-8, 79-32,78-27.
Results:
Master’s:
Naveen Perwani bt Ali Bassiri (Iran) 3-0 (75-33, 92-31, 66-23).
Men’s:
Mohammad Asif bt Hisham Nadi (Egypt) 4-0 (82-33, 138-0, 76-24, 79-10)
Saturday’s results:
Men’s:
Babar Masih bt Thorri Jensson (Iceland) 4-2 (59-56, 72-59, 78-21, 25-92, 12-72, 71-14).
Master’s:
Imran Shehzad bt Christian Hochmayer (Austria) 3-1(39-73, 53-8, 79-32, 78-27).
Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2016