President Alvi felicitates Muhammad Asif on winning snooker championship

ISLAMABAD - President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday telephoned World Snooker Champion Muhammad Asif and felicitated him on winning the championship.

The President called the need to promote the sport of Snooker in the country and discussed the problems faced by the players.

Pakistan’s Mohammad Asif clinched the title of IBSF World Snooker Championship in Antalya, Turkey on Saturday.

The top Pakistani cueist outclassed his Filipino opponent 8-5, completing the best-of-15 frames triumph with scores of 68-35, 88-0, 69-17, 28-73, 5-118, 93-0, 69-1, 72-57, 10-93, 77-04, 21-65, 54-66 and 68-51.

Asif, who hails from Faisalabad is now a two-time champion at the event as he had also lifted the title in 2012.

Earlier, he had made it to the final after defeating his Thai opponent Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn in the semifinal on Friday. He had won the semifinal fixture with a score of 88-41, 65-20, 86-35, 54-02, 73-17, 69-51 and 78-77.

Asif Dedicates Award To Kashmiris

Mohammad Asif, who reached Pakistan after the championship, talking to reporters at Karachi airport said that he has dedicated his award to Kashmir. 

He added that his victory was not just his win alone, but one for all of Pakistan.

"We always ask the government to support the game," Asif said, adding that he was hopeful that the incumbent government will support snooker.