Upcoming Abbas Yusufali kept his fine form to win the Dar es Salaam Gymkhana Club (DGC) Cargo Star Snooker tournament staged at the club over the weekend.
Yusufali had to overcome a stiff competition from Khuzema Kilango of Annadil Burhani club before sealing a 3-1 frame victory in the thrilling best-of-five frame final.
The first frame was evenly contested and both players showcased great skills as they looked to get off to a good start. It was Yusufali who got it perfect when he sank the black to take the first frame. Kilango came back strongly in the second frame and eventually edged the proceedings to level the score.
Yusufali who was playing his first ever Division A final took charge of the third frame and went on to win a nerve-shredding fourth frame fourth and seal the victory. Yusufali was delighted to add another title to his cabinet, which includes two Division B titles that he won last year.
“The tournament was very tough, all my opponents including Akili Akberali, Manisha Khattar and Mohamed Patiwa proved very tough to play against. “Kilango gave me a good challenge… all frames were tight as we went to blacks to win. But am happy to lift the title in the end,” Yusufali said.
Patiwa won third place without hitting the ball after his opponent Dilip Mandalia of Upanga Club failed to turn up for their match. In Division B, Abraham Sykes triumphed against Zully Ladha of Upanga Club by 2-0 frames in the final match to ensure host players full dominated the three-week long event.
Third place went to Hasmukh Mandalia of Upanga. The winners were awarded trophies by DGC Chairman Dioniz Malinzi, on behalf of Minister for Information, Youth, Culture and Sports, Fenella Mukangara.
Snooker captain Firoz Yusufali expressed his gratitude to participants as well as sponsors who, for the fourth year in a row, have made the tournament possible.
Kenneth D’souza, whose company sponsored the event, pledged their commitment towards the development of snooker in the country and said they will carry on supporting the event. The tournament attracted a total of 42 players.
By MBONILE BURTON, Tanzania Daily News
