Pakistan’s cueist Mohammad Asif in motion throughout the World Video games in Chengdu, China, on August 10, 2025. — Reporter
Pakistan’s seasoned cueist Muhammad Asif made a robust begin to his World Video games 2025 snooker marketing campaign, defeating China’s Xiaolong Liang in straight frames in his opening group-stage match on Sunday.
Competing in Group B, Asif displayed full management all through the best-of-three contest, successful 2-0. He took the primary body 79-50, earlier than sealing the victory with a dominant 77-24 win within the second.
He’ll subsequent face Germany’s Alexander Widau on Monday in his second group match.
The lads’s snooker competitors at this 12 months’s World Video games options 12 gamers, divided into 4 teams of three, with the highest two from every group advancing to the quarter-finals.
The 2025 version of the World Video games formally started on Friday in Chengdu, with over 4,000 athletes from greater than 100 nations competing throughout 34 sports activities disciplines, together with cue sports activities.
Snooker, which was first launched on the World Video games in 2001, has as soon as once more drawn consideration, with 12 of the world’s high newbie gamers vying for gold.
Asif, a former IBSF World Champion, certified for the Video games by successful the 2024 IBSF World Males’s Snooker Championship in Doha, the place he overcame Iran’s Ali Gharahgozlou in a tightly contested remaining, edging him 4-3.
The 36-year-old additionally added one other feather to his cap final month by lifting the IBSF World Masters Snooker Championship title in Bahrain, defeating India’s Brijesh Damani in one other close-fought 4-3 remaining.
