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COLOMBO: Pakistan’s season campaigner Mohammad Asif stormed into the semi-finals of the Asian 6-Red Snooker Championship with an emphatic 5-3 victory over Malaysia’s Lim Kok Leong on Tuesday.
The two-time IBSF World Champion remained dominant throughout the quarterfinal. In the opening set, Asif outplayed Lim Kok with a 67-point break.
Lim Kok replied with resilience in the second frame, but Mohammad Asif held firm, leading with a 43-21 in the second set.
The Malaysian counterpart responded with great anticipation in the third frame; however, the Pakistani cueist clinched the set and led 3-0.
Leong showcased his best performance in the crucial must-win frame, beating Asif 68-0. However, he was unable to extend the match to a deciding frame, as Asif clinched the eighth frame 41-21, ultimately achieving a decisive 5-3 victory.
Mohammad Asif will now face Malaysia’s Thor Chuan Leon in the semi-final tomorrow.
Earlier, Pakistan’s most successful cueist, with five international accolades, Asif, defeated Cambodia’s Neang Tola 5-1.
The two-time IBSF world champion shook off a sluggish start after dropping the first frame 27-16 but bounced back in clinical fashion, winning five frames on the trot to seal the pre-quarterfinal with ease.
The frame-wise scores were: 16-27, 48-25, 35-32, 52-9, 43-35, and 40-10.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s other cueists faltered in the knockout stage. Awais Munir lost 5-3 to Hong Kong’s Ming Wa Man, while former IBSF World No.2 Mohammad Sajjad was blanked 5-0 by Singapore’s Sunny Wang.
Notably, Asif launched his Asian 6-Red Ball Championship campaign with a decisive 4-1 victory, also against Cambodia’s Neang Tola, during the group stage.
It is worth noting that the seasoned cueist lifted the 3rd SAARC Snooker Championship title earlier this year in Colombo, where he didn’t drop a single frame in the final against Sri Lanka’s Thaha Irshath
READ: Mohammad Asif qualifies for Asian 6-Red Championship quarter-final
