Defending champion Mohammad Sajjad Butt —APP/File photo

KARACHI Reigning national champion Mohammad Sajjad of Punjab, together with top three seeds Khurram Agha, Naveen Perwani and Qasim Kamani — all from Sindh — notched up magnificent victories over their opponents on the opening day of 34th National Snooker Championship at the Karachi Gymkhana on Monday.

Fourth seed Sajjad, who had stunned all and sundry by capturing the elusive crown in his maiden appearance at the same venue last year, blanked Balochistan`s Abid Hussain 4-0. The score were 89-24, 89-6, 58-8, 92-15.

Similarly, top seed Khurram, second seed Naveen and third seed Qasim also had smooth sailing over their rivals, all hailing from Balochistan. All three local players were awarded the opening frames after their opponents turned up late for their fixtures. 
Khurram was home 4-0 against Naeem Jaffer, Naveen conceded the second frame to register 4-1 victory while Qasim whipped Kamran Shah 4-0.

Sindh`s Javed Ansari gave the spectators a delight when he toppled fifth seed Imran Shehzad of Punjab in the gruelling battle 4-3. Javed recovered twice to handout 82-28, 23-81, 30-59, 60-47, 1-74, 52-35, 74-19 defeat to seasoned cueist.

According to Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA), slight change has been made in group F following withdrawal of Sindh`s Mohammad Ishtiaq at the last moment. He has been replaced by local player Kamran Razzak.

Results

Mohammad Sajjad (Punjab) bt Abid Hussain (Balochistan) 4-0 (89-24, 89-6, 58-8, 92-15); Naveen Perwani (Sindh) bt Bahadur (Balochistan) 4-1 (first frame awarded to Naveen, 37-49, 95-8, 120-1, 71-2); Khurram Agha (Sindh) bt Naeem Jaffer (Balochistan) 4-0 (first frame awarded to Khurram, 83-1, 69-10, 82-10); Qasim Kamani (Sindh) bt Kamran Shah (Balochistan) 4-0 (first frame awarded to Qasim, 89-0, 66-31, 46-9); Vishan

Gir (Sindh) bt Umair Alam (Sindh) 4-2 (57-45, 40-75, 76-28, 64-65, 76-13, 67-58); Sultan Mohammad (Sindh) bt Kamran Razzak (Sindh) 4-2 (58-66, 55-10, 70-25, 65-58, 55-58, 58-48); Javed Ansari (Sindh) bt Imran Shehzad (Punjab) 4-3 (82-28, 23-81, 30-59, 60-47, 1-74, 52-35, 74-19); Raees Khan (Punjab) bt Shadab Baig (Sindh) 4-2 (63-20, 23-71, 54-41,

53-15, 26-60, 56-36); Rambel Gul (NWFP) bt Qadeer Butt (Punjab) 4-2 (69-15, 21-64, 52-62, 70-24, 62-18, 69-39); Sharjeel (NWFP) bt Mohammad Afzal (Punjab) 4-1 (45-61, 63-21, 64-22, 64-26, 73-12); Agha Bilawal (Sindh) bt Nauman Awan (NWFP) 4-3 (74-37, 49-57, 31-59, 81-58, 6-69, 85-68, 63-37); Inamur Rehman (NWFP) bt Asjad Iqbal (Punjab) 4-2 (36-69, 8-56, 55-32, 61-51, 63-42, 64-42); Mohammad Asif (Punjab) bt Mohammad Naeem (Punjab) 4-1 (43-51, 59-5, 58-20, 52-22, 53-52); Sohail Shehzad (Sindh) bt Saqib Butt (Punjab) 4-1 (76-56, 62-22, 43-34, 20-64, 66-10).