Daily Times

Seasoned cueist Asjad Iqbal added another feather in his cap when he overcame fighting compatriot Mohammad Bilal in fully stretched final by 7-6 frames to win the inaugural South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) Snooker Championship in Dhaka, Bangladesh the other day. An employee of National Bank of Pakistan, Asjad kept his patience to post an exciting 69-40, 68-33, 55-41, 35-91, 33-64, 56-62, 68-24, 61-41, 71-43, 66-73, 46-58, 34-68, 71-69 win in the epic seven-hour title clash to the delight of Bangladesh fans. It is pertinent to mention that the Asjad-Bilal pair have captured the World Snooker Team Cup by getting the better of India 3-1 in the final at Doha on July 2. The Sargodha-based Asjad had a brisk start taking 3-0 lead in the best of 13 final but Bilal drew level by winning the following three frames. Asjad again surged 6-3 as Bilal fought back for the second time to time to make it six-all. Asjad finally won the nerve-tingling decisive frame to lay his hands on the title. Asjad received a purse of $2,500 and winning trophy while Bilal fetched $1,500 and runner-up trophy at the presentation. Meanwhile, honorary life chairman of the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Federation (PBSF) Asghar Valika has hailed the performance of Pakistani cueists in the Dhaka event for making it an all-Pakistan affair. “Both cueists deserve accolades for doing the country proud once again,” he added.