Pakistani cueists suffer setbacks at world snooker

DOHA: Pakistan’s quartet endured a difficult day at the IBSF World Snooker Championship, with three players suffering defeats and only one securing a victory on Sunday.

Awaisullah Muneer, Moha­­­mmad Naseem Akh­tar and Mohammad Asif lost their fixtures, while Asjad Iqbal was the lone bright spot for Pakistan as he beat Iran’s Milad Fath­pour Kashani 4-2.

Awais­ullah was whitewashed 4-0 by South Korea’s Yongjun Park. Awai­­­­sullah wasn’t able to maintain his breaks as Park sealed an easy win.

Mohammad Naseem Akhtar pushed Iran’s Tirdad Azadipour to the limit but ultimately lost 4-3. Naseem crafted a break of 90 in the second frame, but Azadipour’s consistency paid off.

Asif also suffered a close 4-2 loss to England’s Har­vey Chandler. Asif crafted breaks of 64 and 74, but Chandler’s breaks of 71, 109 and 64 in the first, second and fourth frame, sealed the win.

All four Pakistani players have one match left in the group stage.

Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2024