Pakistan cueist Shahid Aftab secured a resounding 3-0 victory over India’s Manan Chandra in the Group B match of the IBSF World Masters Snooker Championship here at the Crowne Plaza Bahrain on Monday.
Shahid, who has already booked his spot in the knockout stage after winning his first two matches against Egypt’s Mohamed Noweir and Kuwait’s Abdullah Alyousef on Sunday, continued his dream run by outfoxing India’s Chandra, who also won both his opening fixtures.
The in-form Pakistan cueist started the clash on a high as he registered a 68-point break to seal the opening frame by 90-17.
Chandra offered a notable fight in the subsequent contest but still ended up on the losing side as Shahid Aftab won the second frame 59-46.
The third frame, which turned out to be the last of the game, saw Shahid completely dominating Chandra as he clinched it by the score of 105-17, courtesy of a 48-point break.
The victory helped Shahid Aftab to conclude his group-stage campaign with a three-match winning streak.
On the other hand, Pakistan’s seasoned cueist Muhammad Asif suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of India’s Brijesh Damani in their Group C clash.
Damani dominated throughout the one-sided contest, winning it by the scoreline of 66-39, 66-0, 79-41 to stay unbeaten by the end of the group stage.
Notably, Asif had a desired start to his IBSF World Masters Snooker Championship campaign by winning the first two matches comprehensively on the opening day.
He began the day with a 3-0 victory over Oman’s Haitham Bin Ali, with frame scores of 89-33, 69-4, and 53-6.
Asif registered a break of 61 in the first frame and a 46 in the second, underlining his control over the table throughout the match.
He followed it up with another dominant 3-0 win against Ireland’s Jay Chopra, taking the frames 68-33, 79-14, and 67-16.
Although he did not post any major breaks in this match, Asif maintained consistent scoring and tactical discipline to seal a comprehensive victory.