Sajjad, Bilal off to winning start in Asian Snooker Championship

KARACHI: The duo of Mohammad Sajjad and Mohammad Bilal got Pakistan off to a flying start in the 33rd ACBS Asian Snooker Championship 2017 as they overcame their respective rivals on the opening day of the eight-day continental event which cued off in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday.

Sajjad, the reigning national champion, came from behind to start his campaign on a winning note while Bilal was ruthless in downing his rival in straight frames. Pakistan’s third participating cueist, Asjad Iqbal, was due to play opening game later in the evening.

Placed in the Group M, Pakistan’s premier cueist and a former world number two, Sajjad staged a magnificent comeback to overpower Ja Jin Ong of Singapore after seven-frame battle winning it 4-3.

The Singaporean appeared poised to win the game after taking 3-1 lead but Sajjad controlled his nerves to turn the tables decisively. In his remaining league matches, he will be taking on Li Yan (China), Khamis Alobaidi (Qatar) and Ibrahim Adel (Iraq).

Bilal, who was the Pakistan champion last year, having earned direct entry in the competition, showed his class right away by whipping Khalil Busaif of Bahrain in straight frames with the scores of 64-3, 104-2, 57-7, 74-38 in the Group H opener. He will be up against Lee Chun Wai (Hong Kong) and Uzitogogtokh Davaasuren (Mongolia) in his other league matches.

Asjad, having been drawn in Group P, was due to begin his campaign with a duel against Abdulraouf Saigh of Saudi Arabia late on Saturday evening, while his opponents in the remaining league matches will be Lv Haotian (China), Husain Mahmood (Bahrain) and Shu Hung Lin (Taipei).

A total of 67 cueists from 23 countries have entered the preliminary rounds which will continue for four days. The knockout phase, starting with the round of 32, will commence on Wednesday.

The 23 participating countries 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 United Arab Emirates (UAE).