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| September 21, 2005 | Wednesday | Sha’aban 16, 1426 |
Atiq to meet Khurram in final showdown
KARACHI, Sept 20: Sixth seed Atiq Latif Bux and seventh seed Khurram Agha cruised into the final of the KC Ian Fyfe memorial snooker championship after winning their pre-finals in contrasting styles at the Amir Bux billiards hall, Karachi Club on Tuesday.
While Atiq was stretched to limits by fifth seed Imran Shehzad before chalking up 5-4 win in the gruelling three and a half hour battle, Khurram dropped only two frames in registering 5-2 victory over Shehram Changezi.
The match lasted 120 minutes.
The best of nine frames final between Atiq and Khurram will be played on Wednesday at 2.00 pm.
The winner will take home Rs40,000 while the runners-up will get richer by Rs20,000. The losing semifinalists will be awarded Rs10,000 apiece while the losing quarterfinalists receive a sum of Rs5,000 each.
Top guns, reigning national champion, Saleh Muhammad, Muhammad Yousuf, Naveen Perwani and Abu Saim failed to advance to the knockout stage.
At the end of group matches, Punjab’s Shehram Changezi topped Group ‘A’ followed by Imran Shehzad, Muhammad Yousuf and Abu Saim.
Atiq Latif Bux secured top slot in Group ‘B’ with Khurram Agha finishing runner-up. Saleh Muhammad, winner of two ranking tournaments earlier this year, had to settle for third place while Naveen who recently retained Latif Masters title had to be content with fourth position.
The match between Atiq and Imran was fought neck and neck and the former recovered three times after going into deficit to turn the tables on his opponent.
Atiq romped home with a 87-24, 23-67, 60-63, 80-45, 65-69, 68-49, 18-63, 83-1, 80-29 win. He cracked two half century breaks of 55 and 57 in the third and eighth frames.
Khurram, on the other hand, had no difficulty outwitting Shehram Changezi 5-2. Having represented Pakistan in the World and Asian championships, Khurram slammed two brilliant breaks of 55 and 79 in the first and seventh frames and won 88-15, 44-61, 76-40, 23-80, 69-62, 64-21, 79-0.
Results:
League matches: Saleh Muhammad bt Atiq Latif Bux 4-1 (79-34, 41-66, 84-26, 72-69, 63-59); Khurram Agha bt Naveen Perwani 4-1 (104-63, 66-9, 22-70, 73-4, 67-65); Shehram Changezi bt Imran Shehzad 4-2 (64-27, 60-86, 0-86, 20-81, 66-27, 66-42); Muhammad Yousuf bt Abu Saim 4-3 (30-80, 68-56, 66-38, 20-86, 88-34, 30-66, 64-17); Naveen Perwani bt Saleh Muhammad 4-3 (49-60, 61-47, 67-26, 16-64, 0-86, 90-1, 71-54); Atiq Latif Bux bt Khurram Agha 4-1 (75-29, 89-42, 88-18, 0-78, 87-45).
Semifinals: Khurram Agha bt Shehram Changezi 5-2 (88-15, 44-61, 76-40, 23-80, 69-62, 64-21, 79-0); Atiq Latif Bux bt Imran Shehzad 5-4 (87-24, 23-67, 60-63, 80-45, 65-69, 68-49, 18-63, 83-1, 80-29).
Wednesday’s fixture: Khurram Agha v Atiq Latif Bux at 2.00 pm.
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