MANAMA: Pakistan’s snooker fortunes took a compelling turn at the IBSF World Snooker Championship as Ahsan Ramzan battled into the Under-21 pre-quarterfinals here at the Crowne Plaza hotel on Tuesday, setting up an all-Pakistan clash against already qualified Mohammad Hasnain Akhtar.

Meanwhile, Shahid Aftab and Mohammad Asif also confirmed their last 30 berths in the 6-red event.Ahsan — the second youngest world amateur champion — battled through the last 30 round as he prevailed 3-2 over India’s Shayan Razmi after a gripping clash.

After losing the first frame 44-88, Ahsan levelled with a 59 break [68(59)-26]. Razmi took the third frame with a 33 break [36-66(33)], but Ahsan responded strongly, winning the fourth frame aided by a 36 break [91(36)-37] and sealing the decider 61-19.

The 6-Red event saw mixed results but successful qualification for three national cueists.

Asif, the reigning Masters champion, suffered a surprise 0-4 defeat to India’s Aditya Mehta [28-39, 0-43, 5-50, 0-70(70)). Despite this loss, Asif advanced to the knockout round based on his earlier results.

National Champion Shahid secured a solid 4-1 victory over Scotland’s Ayaan Iqbal.

The 43-year-old Shahid won the tightly contested opening frame 43-42, dominated the second 52-0, lost the third 5-38 but closed out the match by winning the fourth frame 44-25 and sealing it with a 35 break in the fifth [43(35)-0].

The 19-year-old Ahsan was defeated 2-4 by India’s Paras Gupta in his final group match (43-0, 31-33, 6-34, 26-40, 58-0, 21-35).

Hasnain, the Under-17 world champion, also lost his match 2-4 to Saudi Arabia’s Ahmed Aseeri [32-33, 30-47, 55-30, 0-37(33), 44-18, 15-34), ending his 6-Red campaign.Despite these losses, both Asif and Shahid qualified for the 6-Red last 30 knockout stage. Ahsan also progressed to this knockout round based on his overall group performance.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2025