Muhammad Asif shines in opening match at World Games’ snooker event
Pakistan’s seasoned cueist Muhammad Asif made a strong start to his World Games 2025 snooker campaign, defeating China’s Xiaolong Liang in straight frames in his opening group-stage match on Sunday.
Competing in Group B, Asif displayed complete control throughout the best-of-three contest, winning 2-0. He took the first frame 79-50, before sealing the victory with a dominant 77-24 win in the second.
He will next face Germany’s Alexander Widau on Monday in his second group match.
The men’s snooker competition at this year’s World Games features 12 players, divided into four groups of three, with the top two from each group advancing to the quarter-finals.
The 2025 edition of the World Games officially began on Friday in Chengdu, with over 4,000 athletes from more than 100 countries competing across 34 sports disciplines, including cue sports.
Snooker, which was first introduced at the World Games in 2001, has once again drawn attention, with 12 of the world’s top amateur players vying for gold.
Asif, a former IBSF World Champion, qualified for the Games by winning the 2024 IBSF World Men’s Snooker Championship in Doha, where he overcame Iran’s Ali Gharahgozlou in a tightly contested final, edging him 4-3.
The 36-year-old also added another feather to his cap last month by lifting the IBSF World Masters Snooker Championship title in Bahrain, defeating India’s Brijesh Damani in another close-fought 4-3 final.
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