DOHA: Mohammad Asif launched his bid to become the first Pakistani cueist to win both the World Snooker Championship and Masters title on Thursday, dominating the group stage of the IBSF Master World Snooker Championship.

Asif — who won the record-equalling third world snooker title on Wednesday — outclassed Rajat Khaneja of India 3-0, with convincing frame scores of 117(66)-16, 73-15 and 118(105)-6.

The seasoned veteran followed up this victory with another dominating 3-0 [104(69)-33, 105-0(65), 72-30] triumph over Australia’s Steve Hanna, registering breaks of 69 and 65 in first and second frame, respectively .

With these wins, Asif, 42, qualified for the knockout stage.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2024