Ahsan among three Pakistanis in Asian Snooker last-16
KARACHI: Despite suffering first blow two days after winning the world crown, Pakistan’s young sensation Ahsan Ramzan joined two compatriots in the last-16 of the Asian 6-Reds Snooker Championship in Doha on Monday.
Drawn in group ‘A’, Ahsan fell prey to Indian maestro Pankaj Advani 1-4 to finish runner-up behind his opponent and later rejuvenated his act to whip South Korean Hwang Chulho in the last-24 round.
Pankaj’s triumph was highlighted by a polished century break of 102 in the fourth frame as he won 73-38, 117-1, 1-106, 123-8, 58-54 to sneak into the pre-quarterfinals by virtue of finishing group champion.
Ahsan, 16, trounced his Korean opponent 4-1 (85-28, 70-63, 62-24, 16-60, 70-42) in his next match that also included a break of 82 in the opening frame.
His compatriots Mohammad Sajjad and Mohammad Asif topped their respective groups to earn a place in the last-16.
Sajjad blanked Thai Passakorn Suwannawat 55-5, 82-41, 72-66, 124-4 to emerge group ‘K’ champion while Asif survived scare for the second time as he won the fully stretched battle 53-28, 77-29, 0-59, 41-63, 58-24, 17-89, 71-60 to top group ‘L’.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani trio was engaged in the pre-quarterfinals at the time of filing this report.
Results:
Last-24 round: Ahsan Ramzan bt Hwang Chulho (South Korea) 4-1 (85-28, 70-63, 62-24, 16-60, 70-42).
Group stage: Pankaj Advani (India) bt Ahsan Ramzan 4-1 (73-38, 117-1, 1-106, 123-8, 58-54); Mohammad Sajjad bt Passakorn Suwannawat (Thailand) 4-0 (55-5, 82-41, 72-66, 124-4); Mohammad Asif bt Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn (Thailand) 4-3 (53-28, 77-29, 0-59, 41-63, 58-24, 17-89, 71-60).—Sports Reporter
Dortmund cut Bayern’s lead at top
BERLIN: Erling Haaland and Gio Reyna returned from injury Sunday as Borussia Dortmund cut Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga lead to seven points with a 1-0 win over Arminia Bielefeld.
Marius Wolfs first-half goal was enough for Dortmund to re-inject a measure of excitement into the title race with eight rounds left.
Dortmund still have a game in hand on Bayern and can further reduce the nine-time defending champions lead to four points on Wednesday with a win at Mainz in their postponed match.
With Haaland and Reyna back in action, Dortmund fans will feel anything is possible. Dortmund coach Marco Rose sent on the two stars in the 62nd minute for Donny Malen and Thorgan Hazard.
Reyna shot just wide in the 82nd after combining well with Haaland but neither was able to mark the occasion with a goal.
Dortmund had other injury concerns with Mats Hummels, Raphael Guerreiro and Marco Reus among those out, while Bielefeld was without six players and coach Frank Kramer due to Covid, Assistant coach Ilia Gruev filled in for Kramer.
Wolf scored in the 21st minute when he turned in Hazards cross after Jude Bellingham had found the Belgium forward in plenty of space on the right.
Meanwhile, Bayer Leverkusen lost 1-0 at home to
FC Cologne in their derby but the defeat was overshadowed by a serious injury to young Germany star Florian Wirtz.
Leverkusen said later that an MRI scan showed the 18-year-old Wirtz tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and will be out for several months.
Kingsley Schindlers second-half goal was enough to decide the game.
Also, Eintracht Frankfurt came from behind to beat Bochum 2-1 and RB Leipzig reclaimed fourth place with a 6-1 rout at last-place Greuther Furth.—AP
National Open Polo reaches semis stage
LAHORE: Diamond Paints and Newage Cable/Master Paints qualified for the semi-finals of the inaugural Mid-City President of Pakistan National Open Polo Championship here at the Jinnah Polo Fields on Monday.
In the other quarter-finals, Master Paints, FG Polo Team, HN Polo and Remounts will be in action on Wednesday to complete the semi-finals line-up.
Diamond Paints and Newage Cables/Master Paints topped their respective pools to qualify directly for the semi-finals.
Diamond Paints defeated HN Polo 11-9, thanks to
Max Charlton, who replaced injured Matias Vial Perez, and contributed eight goals. His team-mates Guy
Gibrat, Mir Shoaib Ahmed and Matias struck one goal apiece.
The day’s second match saw Remounts outclass DS Polo/Rizvi’s 11-5.
Mumtaz Abbas Niazi emerged as the star of the day for Remounts smashing five goals while his team-mates Simon Prado, Nico Roberts and ALD Imran Shahid contributed with two goals each.
The third and last match of the day saw Newage Cables/Master Paints outsmart Master Paints 9-7.
Gonzalo Deltour scored eight superb goals while the remaining one was struck by Raja Temur Nadeem.
—Sports Reporter
Lahore win Challenge Cup
LAHORE: Lahore Team won the Netracon Challenge Cup Golf title defeating Rawalpindi/Islamabad Team in the 18-hole contest here at the Lahore Gymkhana Golf Course on Monday.
Lahore Team captain Shahid Javed Khan obtained 15 winning points in the individual matches as against five points gathered by Rawalpindi/Islamabad Team and in the four ball matches Lahore Team collected seven points as against three by the opposing team.
Lahore Team emerged victorious with a splendid tally of 22 points while Rawalpindi /Islamabad could just manage eight points.—Sports Reporter
Punjab junior tennis starts today
LAHORE: The Sapphire Punjab Junior Tennis Championship starts here at the Punjab Tennis Academy, Bagh-e-Jinnah on Tuesday.According to tournament director Rashid Malik, players from across the province will be seen in action in different age group categories including boys U-18, boys U-18 doubles, girls U-18, boys U-16, boys U-14, boys U-14 doubles, boys/girls U-12, boys/girls U-10, U-8 and U-6.
Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2022