KARACHI: The third national ranking snooker cup that marks culmination of the season explodes into action at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex on Saturday.

Taking the previous two ranking events of the year into account, it promises to provide thrill and excitement to the spectators.

Mohammad Asif Toba won the 39th National Snooker Championship by registering an emphatic 8-4 victory over promising Hamza Akbar in the final earlier this year. The triumph earned Toba Pakistan No 1 ranking.

Despite being knocked out in the NBP Cup in quarter-final, Toba managed to retain No 1 slot. The NBP Cup ended in a blaze of glory for Mohammad Sajjad who carved out 8-5 victory over seasoned Imran Shahzad in the all-Punjab final.

Former world amateur snooker champion Mohammad Asif is struggling with his form as he made exit in pre quarters of the NBP Cup. Presently, he is trailing at ninth ranking. After his giant killing performance in the world event at Bangalore recently, Sajjad is expected to come up with another spectacular form in the event.

A total of 16 matches spread over four sessions, are on card for the opening day.

Saturday’s fixtures:

At 10am: Zulfiqar A. Qadir (Sindh) v Shahid Aftab (Punjab), Abu Saim (Punjab) v Amir Tariq (Punjab), Shahram Changezi (Islamabad) v Mo-hammad Ishtiaq (Sindh), Mohammad Asif (Punjab) v Babar Masih (Punjab).

At 12noon: Mohammad Asif Toba (Punjab) v Mohammad Imran (Punjab), Mohammad Sajjad (Punjab) v Abdul Raheem (Punjab), Imran Shehzad (Punjab) v Mohammad Haris Nadeem (Sindh), Asjad Iqbal (Punjab) v Mohammad Faheem (Punjab).

At 2pm: Mohammad Majid Ali (Punjab) v Sultan Mohammad (Sindh), Aakash Rafique (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) v Rambel Gul (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Yousuf (Punjab) v Khurram Agha (Sindh),

Yasir Shehzad (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) v Mohammad Bilal (Punjab).

At 4pm: Abu Saim (Punjab) v Rambel Gul (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Sohail Shehzad (Sindh) v Abdul Raheem (Punjab), Abdul Sattar (Sindh) v Mohammad Haris Nadeem (Sindh), Hamza Akbar (Punjab) v Mohammad Faheem (Punjab).

Published in Dawn December 6th , 2014