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However, to the sheer surprise of lovers of the game, the final turned out to be a one-sided affair with Sajjad having a cakewalk over Asjad. He won the battle 72-55, 100-6, 79-42, 122-8, 80-57, 67-43, 62-58, 8-72, 7-70, 85-7 in convincing fashion.
Sajjad had sprung a surprise in 2008 when he landed the national title in his maiden appearance. However, he surrendered the crown when he went down tamely to Mohammad Asif in the final the following year.
“I was confident of regaining the crown and despite losing 3-4 to Imran Shehzad and a tough semi-final victory (6-4) over Sohail Shehzad, managed to overcome all hurdles smoothly,” a jubilant Sajjad told Dawn soon after the final.
He was, however, full of praise for Asjad who, according to him, performed remarkably throughout the event.
Asjad, 19, is said to be the find of the event and has made rapid progress in a short span of time. He attributed his success to the training he has received from his mentor (Sajjad) in his home town Sargodha during the last two years.
The 26-year-old Sajjad piled up four efficient breaks of 53, 117, 76 and 66 in the second, fourth, fifth and tenth frames.
At the outset, he raced to seize a 7-0 lead in the best of 15 frames final. At that stage he relaxed conceding the following two frames only to bounce back and complete the rout grabbing the tenth frame.
Sajjad received a purse of Rs50,000 and winners trophy from Sindh Sports Minister, Dr Mohammad Ali Shah, amidst applause. He also fetched highest break cash prize of Rs5,000. Asjad got Rs30,000 award and runner up trophy.
Meanwhile, the former national junior champion got a boost when his entry was confirmed for the Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship being held in the Indian city of Indore from April 7 to 15.
Reigning national junior champion Mohammad Ahsan Javaid and losing finalist Mohammad Ishtiaq are the two other players who have earned automatic qualification by virtue of finishing No 1 and 2 in the national junior event held in January.
Results
Final Mohammad Sajjad (Punjab) bt Asjad Iqbal (Punjab) 8-2 (72-55, 100-6, 79-42, 122-8, 80-57, 67-43, 62-58, 8-72, 7-70, 85-7).
