Ahsan Ramzan falls but Asif reaches Asian snooker semi-finals
KARACHI: World Champion Ahsan Ramzan’s hopes to add individual shorter version title to his tally were dashed when he made an unceremonious exit in pre-quarters of the Asian 6-Reds Snooker Championship at Doha the other day.
Indian Ishpreet Singh Chadha sent Ahsan packing 4-2. The former won the encounter 28-81, 74-46, 79-15, 65-23, 17-71, 98-0.
Country’s top cueist Mohammad Sajjad also met the same fate when he was blanked by world championship runner-up Amir Sarkhosh of Iran 101-0, 73-29, 72-42, 67-1 in the quarters.
Earlier, Sajjad had advanced into the last-eight after notching up 4-2 victory over Myanmar’s Win Ko Ko with the scores being 65-39, 48-60, 71-23, 70-91, 117-16, 74-34.
Mohammad Asif who had survived two scares in group stage, made his way into the last-four winning back-to-back knockout matches and ensuring a bronze.
First he subdued UAE’s Khalid Kamali 4-2 (65-39, 48-60, 71-23, 70-91, 117-16, 74-34) and then accounted for Bahrain’s Habib Sabah 4-1 (68-22, 22-78, 76-5, 67-11, 72-9).
He is pitted against Amir in the semis.
Results:
Quarter-finals: Mohammad Asif bt Habib Sabah (Bahrain) 4-1 (68-22, 22-78, 76-5, 67-11, 72-9); Amir Sarkhosh (Iran) bt Mohammad Sajjad 4-0 (101-0, 73-29, 72-42, 67-1).
Pre quarter-finals: Mohammad Asif bt Khalid Kamali (UAE) 4-2 (85-20, 98-29, 50-74, 68-17, 31-88, 66-29); Mohammad Sajjad bt Win Ko Ko (Myanmar) 4-2 (65-39, 48-60, 71-23, 70-91, 117-16, 74-34); Ishpreet Singh Chadha (India) bt Ahsan Ramzan 4-2 (28-81, 74-46, 79-15, 65-23, 17-71, 98-0).
Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2022