COLOMBO: Pakistan’s challenge at the Asian 6-Red and Team Snooker Championship narrowed dramatically on Tuesday as defending champion Awaisullah Munir and seasoned campaigner Mohammad Sajjad suffered defeats in the knockout stages. However, the nation’s hopes remain alive as the experienced Mohammad Asif battled through to the semi-finals in Colombo.

The day brought mixed fortunes for the Pakistani contingent. Asif, the nation’s most decorated cueist, successfully navigated two rounds to secure his place in the final four.

He first overcame Cambodia’s Neang Tola in the pre-quarterfinals with a convincing 5-1 victory. After dropping the opening frame (16-27), Asif found his rhythm, winning the next five frames [48-25, 35-32, 52-9, 43(39)-25, 40-10] to advance comfortably.

Asif — who won the SAARC Championship in January — then faced Malaysia’s Lim Kok Leong in a riveting quarter-final.

The 42-year-old Pakistani star started strongly, taking a commanding 3-0 lead with the help of an excellent 67 break in the first frame [67(67)-0], followed by wins in the second (43-21) and third (27-19).

The Malaysian fought back, claiming the fourth frame with a 31 break [5-59(31)] and edging the fifth frame after a break exchange [32(32)-41(34)].

Asif steadied the ship to win the sixth frame (38-25), but Lim responded emphatically with a 68 clearance [0-68(68)] to force an eighth frame. Asif held his nerve in the decider, winning 41-21 to seal a 5-3 victory and book his semi-final spot.

In stark contrast, the defending champion Awais­ullah saw his title defence come to an end in the last-16 stage against Ming Wa Man of Hong Kong.

The 31-year-old Munir found himself in deep trouble early on, losing the first four frames [37-0, 74(74)-0, 41(36)-5, 32-24].

Displaying fighting spirit, Awaisullah staged a remarkable comeback, winning the next three frames (41-26, 43-22, 36-4) to cut the deficit to 4-3. However, his resurgence was halted in the eighth frame, which Man won convincingly (43-0) to claim a 5-3 victory.

Sajjad’s journey also concluded in the pre-quarters. The 40-year-old suffered a heavy 5-0 defeat at the hands of Singapore’s Sunny Wang.

Sajjad was unable to gain a foothold in the match, losing the frames [24-22, 32-15, 43-20, 44-42, 39-11]. The close fourth frame was particularly crucial, but Wang secured it to maintain his momentum and complete the whitewash.

Asif will now face Malaysian cueist Thor Chuan in the last-four clash on Wednesday.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2025