ARACHI: Pakistan’s campaign in the Asian under-21 snooker championship being held in the Indian city of Chandigarh came to an end after national junior champion Mohammad Naseem Akhtar crashed out in the semi-finals on Thursday night.

Chinese Fan Zhengyi halted Naseem’s unbeaten run inflicting a crushing 5-1 defeat to set up an all-Chinese final.

Zhengyi bounced back after losing the opening frame to post commendable 64-67, 60-13, 103-28, 62-29, 69-9, 65-55 victory over his opponent.

It is pertinent to mention that Haris Tahir made his exit in the quarter-finals while the third Pakistani contestant Mohammad Rafiq could not go beyond the league matches.

Results:

Semi-final: Fan Zhengyi (China) bt Mohammad Naseem Akhtar 5-1 (64-67, 60-13, 103-28, 62-29, 69-9, 65-55).

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2017