Sajjad, Asjad, Bilal in Asian Snooker Championship

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Mohammad Sajjad, Asjad Iqbal and Mohammad Bilal will be in action in the 33rd ACBS Asian Snooker Championship 2017 which gets underway in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday (today).

According to the draws of the event, shared by the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA), 67 cueists from 23 countries will be taking part in the preliminary rounds which will continue for four days. The knockout phase, starting with the round of 32, will commence on Wednesday.

The countries participating in the eight-day event are Afghanistan, Bahrain, China, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Syria, Taipei, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Sajjad, Pakistan’s reigning national champion, has been placed in the Group M, along with Li Yan (China), Khamis Alobaidi (Qatar), Ibrahim Adel (Iraq) and Jia Jun Ong (Singapore).

Asjad, who ended as the runner-up in the National Championship earlier this year, has been drawn in the Group P in the company of Lv Haotian (China), Husain Mahmood (Bahrain), Abdul Raouf Saigh (Saudi Arabia) and Shu Hung Lin (Taipei).

Bilal, who was the national champion last year, has earned direct entry in the competition and has been kept in the Group H with Lee Chun Wai (Hong Kong), Uzitogogtokh Davaasuren (Mongolia) and Khalil Busaif (Bahrain).

Mohammad Yousuf was the first Pakistani to clinch the Asian crown. He did it in his home city, Karachi, in 1998. Hamza Akbar emulated him 17 years later when he edged out India’s Pankaj Advani, in the final at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2015.

Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn of Thailand annexed the Asian title last year by outclassing Mohammad Shehab in the final, also in Doha, Qatar.