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Pakistan whip India in Emirates snooker

A superb performance by Siddharth Rao notwithstanding, India lost 1-4 to Pakistan in the Emirates International Snooker championship in Dubai last night.

Siddharth defeated Farhan Mirza in the opening tie but all the other Indians failed to live up to expectations and could not match the Pakistanis.

Siddharth, a former national champion, gave a vintage performance and had superb runs all through.

The second match saw Saleh Mohammed of Pakistan beat back a stiff challenge from Dharminder Lilly, who opened up with a 2-1 lead with some fine potting. But Saleh was the more consistent of the two, and although the feisty Lilly made him fight, the Pakistani star took three frames in a row to win the match.

Pakistan sealed the encounter when 19-year-old Khurram Agha shocked former Asian champion Yasin Merchant. The two split the first four frames and when Merchant had a 62 to forge ahead 3-2, not many gave the Pakistani a chance. Agha, however, came back brilliantly to upset his seasoned rival.

Pakistan skipper Navin Pherwani accounted for Ashok Shandilya while Atif Bux beat Sarang Shroff.

In another match, Thailand beat the UAE 4-1.

UNI