KARACHI Yasin Merchant, a former Asian champion from India, rounded off his group engagements on a winning note when he subdued Pakistan's Mohammad Asif 4-1 in the IBSF World Snooker championship in the Indian city of Hyderabad on Thursday.

This was Asif's second defeat in five matches the previous being 3-4 to Mario Fernandez.

On the other hand, Yasin, who turns 44 on Dec 17, had four wins and a defeat 3-4 to his credit which he had suffered at the hands of Steve Misfud.

Yasin, one of a great exponent of the game with two Asian titles under his belt, had a brisk start, taking the opener with a clearance of 134-0. Pakistan No 2 Asif, however, recovered from the jolt and neutralised the score one-all taking the next frame 58-23. However, the seasoned Indian cueist didn't allow his opponent any further room, picking up the next three frames 69-38, 64-16, 108-16 to wrap up the match.

Result Yasin Merchant (India) bt Mohammad Asif (Pakistan) 4-1 (134-0, 23-58, 69-38, 64-16, 108-16).