KARACHI: Pakistan’s Mohammad Sajjad won back-to-back matches to sail into quarter-final and keep his country in contention for glory in the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF) 6-Reds snooker championship in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt, on Friday.

Sajjad, a former national champion, first removed Indian Laxman Rawat 4-1 (45-0, 53-9, 75-0, 28-40, 37-5) in the last-32 round and then sent Afghanistan’s Mohammad Rais Senzahi packing by the identical score line of 4-1 the scores being 0-60, 41-14, 51-0, 57-0, 49-15.

Meanwhile, the defending champion pair of Sajjad and Mohammad Asif swept aside Australia two 3-1 to advance into last-16 round of the team championship on Thursday evening.

The Pakistani pair recovered after a shaky start to post 1-64, 88-63, 62-6, 80-20 victory over the Australian opponents. The victorious team is now slated to meet Egypt 13 in the last-16 fixture.

Results:

6-Reds:

Last-32 round: Mohammad Sajjad (Pakistan) bt Laxman Rawat (India) 4-1 (45-0, 53-9, 75-0, 28-40, 37-5).

Last-16 round: Mohammad Sajjad (Pakistan) bt Mohammad Rais Senzahi (Afghanistan) 4-1 (0-60, 41-14, 51-0, 57-0, 49-15).

Team event:

Last-32 round: Pakistan bt Australia two 3-1 (1-64, 88-63, 62-6, 80-20).

Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2014