Pakistan’s Ace Cueist Mohammad Asif hit again on Friday and secured another career-defining victory by sending India’s Brijesh Damani pack in a 4-3 cliffhanger at the IBSF World Masters Championship in Bahrain.
Asif went on to the final with an impressive 4-2 win over India’s Manan Chandra in the semi-finals on Thursday at Crowne Plaza Bahrain.
The fight began as a calm, measured exchange, but soon turned into a tense, back and forth battle for nerves between the two experienced cueists.
Asif broke back and spiked the first two frames with clinical precision, but Damani had other plans. The young Indian cueist surprised Asif by winning the next three and mounting the pressure square on the Pakistani champion.
With the scoring of 2-3, Asif found its rhythm again. He smooths things out on three and all and then turned up the heat in the decision and closed the fight with a commanding frame to seal the title.
The final scores were: 98-37, 75-55, 00-80, 49-52, 41-64, 91-29, 78-9-one testimony of how tense and unpredictable the fight was.
This victory marks Asif’s sixth world title. Over the years, he has picked up three individual world crowns and two team championships – and with this latest trophy he has cemented his place among the sport’s elite.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Hasnain Akhtar got the title of IBSF World U17 Snooker Championship with a dominant display in the final and defeated Wales’ Riley Powell in a one -sided meeting on Friday.
Hasnain upper-classed his Welsh opponent with a straight frame of victory and secured the last 4-0. The 16-year-old Pakistani cueist produced frame score of 86-7, 73-35, 50-31 and 98-4, showing its class and tranquility on the global scene.
The match, which was officiated by Bahrain’s Nadhem Ahmed, so Hasnain deliver two notable breaks of 44 and 67 respectively in the first and fourth frames under emphasized his control throughout the match.
Powell struggled to make an impact when Hasnain never let him get back in his signature rail.
With this victory, Hasnain has become the first Pakistani player to win the IBSF World U17 snooker Championship. He adds this title to his growing list of accolades after he also won the Asian U21 championship earlier this year.
