Pakistan’s snooker prodigy Hamza Ilyas has qualified for the semi-final of the World U21 Snooker Championship on Saturday in Saudia Arabia.
Hamza managed to beat India’s Dharav Patel 4-2 after a thrilling fight in the quarter-final.
With the victory, the 17-year-old not only booked his place in the semi-final where he will face Germany’s Alexander Widau but also ensured a medal in the championship.
Earlier, Ahsan Ramzan lost 3-4 against Liam Davies of Wales in a nail-biting quarter-final match.
In the pre-quarter-finals on Friday (July 14), Ahsan defeated India's Rayaan Razmi 4-2 while Hamza stunned Hong Kong's Lee Chun Fung 4-0 and made it to the quarter-finals.
Both cueists won two out of three group matches and qualified for the pre-quarter-finals.
Born in 2005, Ahsan won the Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship in Iran by defeating hosts' Malad Pourali by five-two in the final this June.
It is pertinent to mention here that the young snooker sensation Ahsan impressed the world with his precision in the IBSF Snooker World Championship 2022 as he orchestrated an astounding comeback in the final against Iran’s Amir Sarkhosh from 4-2 down to eventually triumphing 6-5 and became the second-youngest cueist to seize the prestigious title.
Furthermore, Ahsan is only the third snooker player from Pakistan to win the international amateur world title after Muhammad Yousaf, who achieved the feat in 1994.
Ahsan has already won the national U17, U18 and U19 titles, while he ended up as runner-up in the U21 championship.
Faizan Lakhani Faizan Lakhani is Deputy Editor (Sports) at Geo News.