RIYADH: Pakistan’s teenage duo, Ahsan Ramzan and Mohammad Hasnain Akhtar, produced stunning performances on Saturday during the ACBS Asian 15-Red Under-21 and 6-Red Men’s Snooker Championship, advancing to the knockout stage.

Defending Under-21 champion Ahsan haven’t dropped a single frame yet in the championship while Hasnain also won all three of his fixture in the event.

Ahsan, the world amateur champion in 2022, showed his class with a 3-0 demolition of Suhail Saeed of UAE. Hasnain, meanwhile, edged past Hong Kong’s Langyi Ryan Li 3-2 in a thrilling encounter.

The 18-year-old Ahsan secured the first frame 91-6 and made a 50-plus break in the following frame to take a two-frame lead. Ahsan wrapped up the victory in the next frame with a clinical 75-38 victory to secure a berth in the next round.

Meanwhile, Hasnain went 2-1 down but held his nerves to stage a brilliant comeback against Ryan Li to win the clash 69-43, 41-65, 7-76(76), 75-24, 63-35 and ensure his progress in the knockouts.

Awaisillah Munir and Asjad Iqbal, Pakistan’s other cueists, also kept their winning runs intact with impressive wins in the 6-Red event.

Awaisullah defeated Mohomed Rikaz of Sri Lanka 33-11, 66-0(65), 16-54(54), 39-04, 39-05 and Ziyad Alqabbani of Saudi Arabia 44-05, 33-14, 33-18, 36-32 while Asjad thrashed Saudi Arabia’s Fawad Alsalmi 50-08, 41-09, 52-01, 49-0.

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2024