Islamabad, Feb 20: Pakistan’s campaign in the Asian Men’s Snooker Championship suffered a major blow as Mohammad Asif and Shahid Aftab crashed out in the quarter-finals, marking the end of the country’s journey in the men’s event.
Asif’s exit came in a nail-biting 4-3 loss to Iran’s Amir Sarkosh. The match was an intense affair, with Asif staging a strong comeback after an early setback, even registering a century break. The battle remained evenly poised at 3-3, but Sarkosh, who had earlier eliminated Mohammad Sajjad, held his nerve in the decisive frame to book his place in the semi-finals.
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Meanwhile, Shahid Aftab faced heartbreak in a similarly close contest, losing 4-3 to Qatar’s Alialobaidli. After falling 2-0 behind, Aftab fought back impressively, winning three consecutive frames to take the lead. However, just when momentum seemed to favor the Pakistani cueist, Alialobaidli turned the tables in the final two frames, sealing Aftab’s fate and ending Pakistan’s senior men’s hopes in the tournament.
Pakistan’s struggles were not limited to the senior category, as young cueists faced mixed fortunes in the U-21 division. Hamza Ilyas put up a strong fight but fell 3-2 to Iran’s Tirdad Azadpour, while Hasnain Akhtar suffered a 3-0 defeat against India’s Dhruv Patel. However, Akhtar still managed to qualify for the next round, keeping his hopes alive.
On a brighter note, Ahsan Ramzan delivered an outstanding performance, comfortably defeating Iran’s Ali Lalehganidezaki 3-1 to secure his spot in the knockout stage.With the group stage now complete, Ramzan, Ilyas, and Akhtar have advanced to the last-14 knockout round, ensuring that Pakistan still has a fighting chance in the youth division.
