Dubai: Mohammad Al Joker, the UAE’s most experienced player, continued his unbeaten run while teammate Eissa Ali Hashmi recorded his second win in three outings on the third day of the 33rd Asian Confederation of Billiards Sports (ACBS) Men’s Snooker Championships being held in Doha.
After winning his first two matches against Syrian teenager Yazan Al Haddad and Taipei’s Hsin Ting Chen, Al Joker managed to get the better of experienced Qatari, Abdul Mohsin 4-1 in a late Sunday night encounter. Al Joker held his own to win 71-19, 72-57, 31-54, 40-25 and 65-18 to set a mouth-watering clash with unbeaten Dharminder Lilly of India on Tuesday.
So far, the Indian has three straight wins to his credit including a 4-1 result against Hsin, 4-2 against Al Haddad and a 4-0 taming of Mohsin on Monday morning.
Al Hashmi also struck a good strain for a second win from three outings with a 4-0 drubbing of Jordan’s Ebrahim Mahmoud. After a slow start that saw the UAE player trailing early, Al Hashmi won 59-45, 63-11, 78-29 and 58-38 and brighten his chances for the knockout stages of the competition.
Coached by Mohammad Abdullah, the UAE has four players participating in Doha including the experienced Shehab and Al Joker along with Al Hashmi and 24-year-old Khalid Al Kamali, who was due to play in his Group B match against Ko Htet of Myanmar later on Monday. UAE national champion Shehab was also scheduled to be in action on Monday night with a Group A match against Myanmar’s Aung Phyo.
The 33rd ACBS Men’s Snooker Championships has attracted a total of 66 players, who have been divided into 16 groups for the preliminary round matches that will be held daily till April 25 after which the knockout rounds of 32 and 16 will be held. The quarter-finals and semi-finals will be worked off on April 27 and the final on April 28.
RESULTS
Mohammad Al Joker bt Abdul Mohsin 4-1 (71-19, 72-57, 31-54, 40-25, 65-18); Eissa Al Hashmi bt Ebrahim Mahmoud 4-0 (5-9-45, 63-11, 78-29, 58-38).