LAHORE: Former masters world champion Moha­mmad Yousuf earned the feat of making the first century break in the second Jubilee Insurance National Masters (40 plus) Snooker Championship as four major upsets were recorded on the opening day here on Saturday.

Unseeded Imran Shehzad of Punjab defeated second seed Khurram Agha 3-1 and unseeded Faisal Rogatia of Sindh stunned third seed Noman Awan of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Similarly, Punjab’s Mohammad Shahid toppled fourth seed Saeed Bangulzai of Balochistan and Mohammad Nadeem, also of Punjab, earned victory against fifth seed Ahmed Naqvi from Islamabad.

Meanwhile, Yousuf was in peak form to eliminate the challenge from Arshad Ali Qureshi of Islamabad as the former completed a straight 3-0 victory.

In a highly thrilling encounter, Naveen Perwani of Sindh fought hard to overcome Punjab’s Khawaja Rizwan 3-2 (41-58, 76-08(71), 31-65, 63-41, 66-36).

Results:

Shehzad Butt (Punjab) bt Mukhtar Khan (Sindh) 3-1 (56-29, 12-50, 64-54, 66-21); Imran Shehzad (Punjab) bt Khurram Agha (Sindh) 3-1 (29-63, 62-54, 65-29, 57-16); Faisal Rogatia (Sindh) bt Noman Awan (Punjab) 3-1 (61-48, 63-33, 35-55, 68-31); Mohammad Shahid (Punjab) bt Saeed Bangulzai (Balochistan) 3-0 (73-09, 68-33, 99-51); Mohammad Nadeem (Punjab) bt Ahmed Naqvi (Islamabad) 3-0 (55-26, 61-54, 56-07); Naveen Perwani (Sindh) bt Khawaja Rizwan (Punjab) 3-2 (41-58, 76-08(71), 31-65, 63-41, 66-36); Fawad Hussain (Punjab) bt Rashid Mehmood (KP) 3-0 (65-10, 62-15, 54-44); Mujtahid Ali Shah (KP) bt Sunny Shahani (Sindh) 3-1 (76-07, 50-44, 41-61, 60-32); Saeed Ahmed (Balochistan) bt Zafar Iqbal (KP) 3-1 (71-25, 58-59, 62-11, 50-4); Saeed-ur-Rehman (KP) bt Noor Hussain (Balochistan) 3-0 (58-09, 58-38, 70-09); Shahid Shafiq (Punjab) bt Manzoor Ahmed (Balochistan) 3-0 (96-01(76), 70-24, 67-20); Mesan Zadi (Sindh) bt Amanullah (KP) 3-0 (59-10, 55-32, 46-22); Mohammad Yousuf (Sindh) bt Arshad Ali Qureshi (Islamabad) 3-0 (69-35, 89-34, 116-16(110); Mohammad Atif Baig (Punjab) bt Mohammad Yousuf Jr (Balochistan) 3-0 (85-24, 56-08, 61-24); Qadeer Butt (Punjab) bt Shadab Baig (Sindh) 3-1 (60-34, 57-29, 42-71, 84-59); Irfan Kareem (KP) bt Haji Saqib (Balochistan) 3-0 (78-34, 59-32, 57-48).

Sunday’s fixtures:

Saeed Ahmed (Balochistan) vs Mukhtar Khan (Sindh), Saeed-ur-Rehman (KP) vs Imran Shehzad (Punjab), Manzoor Ahmed (Balochistan) vs Faisal Rogatia (Sindh), Mesan Zadi (Sindh) vs Mohammad Shahid (Punjab), Qadeer Butt (Punjab) vs Mohammad Nadeem (Punjab), Irfan Kareem (KP) vs Khawaja Rizwan (Punjab), Arshad Ali Qureshi (Islamabad) vs Rashid Mehmood (KP), Mohammad Yousuf Jr (Balochistan) vs Sunny Shahani (Sindh), Shehzad Butt (Punjab) vs Zafar Iqbal (KP), Khurram Agha (Sindh) vs Noor Hussain (Balochistan), Noman Awan (Punjab) vs Shahid Shafiq (Punjab), Saeed Bangulzai (Balochistan) vs Amanullah (KP), Ahmed Naqvi (Islamabad) vs Shadab Baig (Sindh), Naveen Perwani (Sindh) vs Haji Saqib (Balochistan), Fawad Hussain (Punjab) vs Mohammad Yousuf (Sindh), Mujtahid Ali Shah (KP) vs Mohammad Atif Baig (Punjab).

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2018