Pakistani Cueists Progress to Round of 32 in IBSF World 6-Red Snooker Championship

MANAMA: Muhammad Asif, Shahid Aftab, and Ahsan Ramzan, representing Pakistan, showcased remarkable talent to qualify for the knockout stage of the IBSF World 6-Red Snooker Championship, taking place at the Crowne Plaza Bahrain. Their efforts ensured their advancement on Monday.

Each of the three athletes—Asif, Aftab, and Ramzan—secured their passage to the Round of 32 by triumphing in two of their three group encounters.

During the final matches of the group stage, Shahid Aftab prevailed over Scotland’s Ayaan Iqbal with a score of 4–1.

However, Ahsan faced defeat against India’s Paras Gupta, and Asif was overcome by India’s Aditya Mehta.

Despite these setbacks in their last group matches, both Asif and Ahsan successfully progressed to the round of 32 due to their prior victories.

Regrettably, Hasnain Akhtar, the fourth Pakistani participant, was unable to advance to the knockout phase following a loss in his final group match against a competitor from Saudi Arabia.

Notably, both Hasnain Akhtar and Ahsan Ramzan had previously advanced to the knockout rounds of the IBSF World under-21 snooker championship.

In the under-21 category, Hasnain demonstrated exceptional form by securing his third consecutive victory.

He triumphed over Romania’s David Nistor with a score of 3–0 in their third group match. With a perfect record of wins in all three group matches, Hasnain advanced directly to the Round of 16 in the under-21 championship.

Ahsan, the second Pakistani player in the World under-21 event, also secured a place in the knockout stage. Despite a loss in his final group match, he still qualified for the subsequent round.

In his concluding group match, Ahsan was defeated 3–1 by Hong Kong’s Lingyi Ryan Lee. Ahsan is now set to compete in the Round of 32.

It is worth mentioning that in the ongoing IBSF World Snooker events in Bahrain, Hasnain recently clinched the world under-17 championship, while Asif secured the title in the world six-red snooker championship last week.