Pakistan’s Ahsan cruises into IBSF U-21 Snooker quarterfinal

Monitoring Desk

MANAMA: Pakistan’s Ahsan Ramzan delivered an impressive performance to defeat compatriot Hasnain Akhtar and advance to the quarterfinals of the IBSF World under-21 snooker championship at the Crowne Plaza Bahrain.

In the pre-quarterfinal match, Ahsan overcame Hasnain with a convincing 4–1 victory. The frame scores were 70–54, 107–0, 0–72, 106–32, and 64–8. Meanwhile, both Ahsan and Shahid Aftab have also booked their places in the pre-quarterfinals of the IBSF World 6-Red Championship. Earlier, in the round of 32 of the under-21 Championship, Ahsan advanced by defeating India’s Shahyan Razmi in a tense and closely contested match.

Trailing 1–2, Ahsan showed remarkable composure and skill to rally back and secure a 3–2 win. The frame scores were 44–88, 68–26, 36–66, 91–37, and 61–19. With that victory, he set up an all-Pakistan clash in the Round of 16 against Hasnain Akhtar.

Hasnain, the reigning World under-17 snooker champion, had earned a direct spot in the round of 16 after topping his group in the preliminary stage. The two young talents then faced off for a place in the quarterfinals, where Ahsan ultimately prevailed.

In the IBSF World 6-Red Championship, Muhammad Asif, Shahid and Ahsan all secured places in the knockout stage after winning two out of three matches in their respective groups. On the final day of group play, Shahid defeated Scotland’s Ayaan Iqbal 4–1 to confirm his place in the Round of 32.  However, Ahsan was beaten by India’s Paras Gupta, and Asif suffered defeat at the hands of India’s Aditya Mehta. Despite their losses in the final group games, both Ahsan and Asif advanced to the knockout round due to earlier victories.

The fourth Pakistani participant in the event, Hasnain Akhtar, was unable to progress to the knockout stage after losing his final group match to a player from Saudi Arabia.