DOHA: Haris Tahir’s run at the Asian Snooker Championships ended in the semi-finals stage after he lost 3-5 to Iranian top seed Amir Sarkhosh at the Al Messila Resort on Wednesday night.

Sarkhosh had an 84-point break in the first frame, winning it 112-11 before the 21-year-old Haris fought back to take the second 66-55. They then split the next four frames — Haris coming from behind each time.

Sarkhosh had an emphatic 80-0 win in the third and a 63-25 win in the fifth but Haris levelled matters with 65-46 and 69-46 wins in the fourth and sixth.

But Sarkhosh then reeled in the next two frames 66-17 and 67-30 to come out on top in the best-of-nine clash and book a final clash against Indian defending champion Pankaj Advani.

Advani overcame Cheung Ka Wai of Hong Kong 5-3 (117-9, 65-17, 0-136, 42-88, 79-1, 0-113, 64-37, 68-14) in the other semi-final.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2021