March 25, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 16, 1429

KARACHI, March 24: Top seed Saleh Mohammad and debutant Mohammad Sajjad stormed into the final of 33rd National snooker championship chalking up emphatic victories over their opponent’s in the pre-finals at Karachi Gymkhana on Monday.

Saleh who returned to the circuit in April last year after a layoff, conceded three frames in registering 6-3 triumph over 10th seed Raees Khan the scores being 47-57, 109-1, 64-57, 79-30, 61-66, 68-18, 33-86, 74-17, 69-27.

The highlight of his win was highest century break (109) which he scored in the second frame.

Earlier in the day he halted eighth seed Imtiaz Sarwer’s unbeaten run handing 5-3 defeat in quarter-final.

Punjab’s new find Mohammad Sajjad took a step closer to win maiden crown when he toppled second seed and losing finalist of 31st National’s, Imran Shehzad 6-4.

Sajjad fought tooth and nail to turn the tide his side after trailing down 2-3 and 3-4. He was home 54-55, 61-33, 62-30, 43-51, 19-84, 67-53, 41-83, 103-39, 62-11, 70-38.

He had sailed into the last four after disposing-off sixth seed Shehram Changezi 5-3 in all-Punjab quarter-final. Final scores were 1-91, 79-70, 64-25, 71-17, 41-54, 65-33, 30-62, 68-2.

Imran and Raees fought their way into the semis after ending pretensions of former national champion Khurram Agha and Atif Mughal respectively.

The winner will receive a purse of Rs80,000 while runner up will earn Rs50,000 from a total prize money of Rs2,26,000.

Meanwhile, both the finalists have ensured a ticket for Dubai to compete in the 24th Asian spectacle in May.

Results (quarter-finals):

Raees Khan (Pun) bt Atif Mughal (Pun) 5-1 (67-46, 69-25, 51-32, 16-77, 64-57, 65-44); Saleh Mohammad (NWFP) bt Imtiaz Sarwer (Pun) 5-3 (36-68, 84-22, 70-24, 42-64, 60-24, 27-67, 73-65, 66-18); Mohammad Sajjad (Pun) bt Shehram Changezi (Pun) 5-3 (1-91, 79-70, 64-25, 71-17, 41-54, 65-33, 30-62, 68-2); Imran Shehzad (Pun) bt Khurram Agha (Sindh) 5-4 (48-56, 83-46, 60-33, 61-53, 18-65, 13-78, 54-52, 33-68, 77-39).

Semi-finals: Saleh Mohammad (NWFP) bt Raees Khan (Pun) 6-3 (47-57, 109-1, 64-57, 79-30, 61-66, 68-18, 33-86, 74-17, 69-27); Mohammad Sajjad (Pun) bt Imran Shehzad (Pun) 6-4 (54-55, 61-33, 62-30, 43-51, 19-84, 67-53, 41-83, 103-39, 62-11, 70-38).

Tuesday’s fixtures (final):

Saleh Mohammad (NWFP) v Mohammad Sajjad (Pun) at 2.00pm