COLOMBO: Pakistan’s cueist Mohammad Asif and Sri Lanka’s Thaha Irshath will clash in the final of the third SAARC Snooker Championship on Friday after winning their respective semi-final matches on Thursday.

Asif, a three-time world amateur champion, defeated compatriot Mohammad Naseem Akhtar 5-3 [21-60, 53-30, 76(72)-50, 37-91, 81(50)-49, 59-22, 0-131(102), 72-15], in an all-Pakistan semi-final. Asif compiled breaks of 72 and 50 in the match. Naseem also registered a sublime break of 102 in the seventh frame, but it ultimately proved to be in vain.

In the other semi-final, Irshath edged out Nepal’s Ankit Man 5-3, with breaks of 78, 66 and 58.

Earlier in the quarter-finals, Naseem had beaten Kamal Chawla of India 4-2, while Man had ousted home player Susantha Botheju 4-3.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2025