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Both the finalists at the Asian Snooker 6-Red Championship had remained unbeaten throughout the tournament. So it was a question of who blinked first. Iran's Amir Sarkhosh did. He lost the final to Pakistan's Mohamed Asif 7-4 (43-0, 48-0, 48-12 12-36, 30-34, 34-31, 40-9, 0-41, 0-41, 54-4, 41-13). |
Asif started the final as if in a hurry, going 3-0 up without breaking a sweat. The body language of the two players after the third frame said it all. The 31-year-old from Faisalabad sipped into a can of cola while his opponent was trying to look for a way to breakfree from the stranglehold.
Hoping for a change of luck, Sarkhosh started from between the brown and green, instead of between yellow and green. Whether it was this switch or something else, Sarkhosh found himself winning a frame.
Sarkhosh slowed the game down too much for Asif's comfort, who is nicknamed 'Undertaker' for his aggressiveness in Pakistan's snooker circles. A few more frames and Sarkhosh had managed to claw back into the game with the score reading 5-4.
At this point, Asif's support system kicked in. His compatriot and
quarter-final opponent, Mohamed Sajjad, walked up to his seat and asked him to step out.
“Amir was in form, he was playing well. As a player, I understand a player's psyche. I felt taking Asif away from the table for a few moments will relax him a bit and also help him refocus on the job at hand.,” Sajjad told Gulf Times.
Sajjad was honest with his friend. Asif needed to play the same game Sarkhosh was playing. “I told him that he was trying to get done with and trying to go too fast. He needed to slow down.”
It worked. Asif took the next two games in a matter of minutes to win his first Asian 6-Red championship.
“I thank Allah for the glory. It is because of him that I have this opportunity and I am happy that I won the tournament. I am happy that I was able to win it for Pakistan,” Asif said. “Earlier this year, in the Asian tournament, I was going through a bad patch but then I have recovered well here. This tournament win has boosted my morale.”
Asked about the lull in his form in yesterday's final, he said: “It is difficult to keep the tempo of the game consistent. After all the opponent will also have some ideas, and will play his game too. He is a finalist. A very mature player. He has played well over the last year.
"It was always going to be difficult to beat him so fast. I played well in the first three games. He slowed the game down. Thanks to Allah, I was able to control my nerves and win it. I was 5-2 up and then he made it 5-4. These are moments which make it difficult for a player. It is always good to step out a bit, go away from the game a bit, get relaxed, in such situations,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Asif won the India-Pakistan contest 6-2 against Laxman Singh Rawat. Sarkhosh, meanwhile, got the better of UAE's Mohamed al-Joaker 6-4.
The Asian Snooker Team Championships start today and the final will be played on May 30. In all teams from 15 countries, including India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Thailand, Singapore, Jordan, Iraq, Mongolia, Kuwait, Iran, UAE, Hong Kong, China and two teams from Qatar will be competing.