KARACHI: Highly talented Mohammad Faheem overcame some anxious moments to subdue top seed Abdul Raheem 6-4 in the all-Punjab final to land his maiden national junior under-21 snooker title at Movenpick hotel on Saturday.

Junior international Faheem recovered thrice before coasting to an emphatic victory and turning the tables on his opponent in the best of 11 frames final of Jubilee Insurance seventh national junior snooker championship.

Faheem was home 67-59, 15-72, 7-108, 70-16, 25-67, 67-46, 51-73, 74-32, 78-36, 78-27.

But prodigy Raheem, who is Punjab junior No 1, caught the eye with his abilities and earned distinction of compiling highest break of 108 – the first century break of the competition, in the third frame of the final.

“I was confident and looking forward to bid adieu to the juniors category on a winning note which I accomplished,” the 20-year-old cueist, who hails from Sahiwal, told Dawn soon after the triumph.

Having featured in the IBSF world junior under-21 snooker event at Fujairah last year where he lost to compatriot Mohammad Majid Ali in the last-32 round, promised to hit headlines with sheer hard work in future also.

“Playing the final has given me enough confidence and I’ll deliver the goods in the coming years,” Raheem, 17, a Rawalpindi-based Xth Grade student, told Dawn.

By attaining top two slots, Faheem and Raheem have earned tickets for representing the country in the Asian and world under-21 snooker championships later this year.

The above two cueists along with losing semi-finalists – Mohammad Nouman Iqbal and Amir Tariq – will be eligible to get wild cards in all the national ranking snooker events during the ongoing year.

Faheem shot into lead taking the opening frame 67-59 but lost his grip losing the next two 15-72, 7-108 to trail 1-2 in the match. The last frame includes an elegant break of 108. Faheem drew level two-all by taking the fourth 70-16.

Again he lost the fifth 25-67 only to bounce back and neutralise the lead three-all winning the next 67-46. Faheem went into arrears third time suffering 51-73 defeat but he fought with vigour and claimed the following three frames 74-32, 78-36 and 78-27 to win the battle.

Faheem earned a winning purse of Rs50,000 and winners trophy while Raheem fetched Rs25,000 and runners-up trophy from managing director of Jubilee Insurance Tahir Ahmed.

Also present at the prize distribution ceremony that followed the final were Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Federation (PBSF) president Alamgir Shaikh along with other committee members Jawaid Karim, A. Khalil Bachani, Abdul Rashid Lehra (Jambo), and Mirza Mansoor Ahmad, general manager of Movenpick.

Final result:

Mohammad Faheem (Punjab) bt Abdul Raheem (Punjab) 6-4 (67-59, 15-72, 7-108, 70-16, 25-67, 67-46, 51-73, 74-32, 78-36, 78-27).

Referee: Shabbir Hussain Daruwala.

Published in Dawn January 11th , 2014

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play