Qatar’s Ali al-Obaidli stayed unbeaten on Day One of the Asian 6 Reds Snooker Championship at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation Hall yesterday.
The 26-year-old won both his matches yesterday, first beating Ashraf Abu Alhaj of Jordan 5-3, before beating Abdulkarim Maksoud of Syria 5-1.
In both the Group C games, al-Obaidli bounced back from losing the first frame before gathering himself to post victories.
Also in Group C, Pakistan’s Babar Masih, one half of the Asian Team Snooker Championship-winning team, carried his momentum into this tournament too, beating Alhaj and Maksoud 5-2 and 5-3 respectively.
Mohsen Bukshaisha and Ahmed Saif were the other two Qatar players to post victories on the opening day.
While 41-year-old Bukshaisha beat Pakistan’s Mohamed Majid Ali 5-2, Saif won by the same scoreline against Vietnam’s Thai Van Nam.
Masih’s partner from the Asian Team Snooker Championship, Mohamed Asif, too kept his slate clean with two victories.
Asif beat Iran’s Ehsan Heydari Nezhad 5-2 in his first game yesterday, before easing past Jordan’s Arafat Rizik 5-1 later in the day.
The three-day team championship culminated with a thrilling final between India’s Pankaj Advani and Malkeet Singh, and Masih and Asif on Friday.
In-form Masih led the charge in the final as they edged out the Indian team, which also had Manan Chandra in the ranks, 3-2.
Masih’s compatriot Mohamed Bilal too was top of his group with two victories from as many games. Bilal, who along with Mohamed Majid Ali, had made it to the semi-finals of the team event, beat Muneeb al-Juboori of Iraq 5-2, before winning 5-1 against Jordan’s Moath Almajali.
In Group A, India’s Varun Madan too had two victories but was in second spot behind Bilal on account of frame difference. Madan too beat al-Juboori and Almajali, but lost six frames in all.
Kamal Chawla picked up a 5-3 win over Sri Lanka’s Mohamed Fazil, while Thailand’s Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon edged out India’s Ishpreet Singh Chadha 5-4.
The 6 Reds tournament will conclude on September 25.