LAHORE: Defending champion Imran Shehzad and Shahid Shafiq reached the final of the second Jubilee Insurance National Masters (40+) Snooker Championship here on Wednesday.

Imran and Shahid, both of Punjab, recorded comfortable victories in their respective semi-finals.

Imran toppled Mesam Zaidi of Sindh 5-1. After faltering in the first frame, Imran made a brilliant comeback chalking up a convincing 27-70, 90-20, 59-22, 64-37, 76-34, 80-01 victory.

In the other last-four match, Shahid ousted Sindh’s Naveen Perwani 5-2. While remaining in commanding position throughout the semi-final, Shahid registered a 63-36, 66-48, 45-62, 66-13, 70-20, 16-81(60), 70-24(58) triumph. The only moment of enjoy for Naveen came in the sixth frame when he hit a break of 60 to win it with a wide margin of 81-16.

Earlier in the day, the quarter-finals were also decided in which three matches remained close affairs.

Mesam Zaidi was stretched to full distance before he overpowered Mohammad Nadeem of Punjab 4-3 (67-05(60), 43-58, 20-65, 37-49, 68-09, 63-06, 69-19(54)).

In other exciting quarter-finals, Naveen carved out a 4-3 win against Khurram Agha of Sindh and Shehzad Shafiq of Punjab subdued a spirited Fawad Hussain.

Punjab’s Imran Shehzad had an easy 4-1 sailing against Atif Baig, also of Punjab, in the fourth quarter-final.

The final will be played on Thursday.

Results:

Quarter-finals:

Mesam Zaidi (Sindh) bt Mohammad Nadeem (Punjab) 4-3 (67-05(60), 43-58, 20-65, 37-49, 68-09, 63-06, 69-19(54)); Imran Shehzad (Punjab) bt Atif Baig (Punjab) 4-1 (42-61, 79-15, 61-42, 67-27, 55-37); Naveen Perwani (Sindh) bt Khurram Agha (Sindh) 4-3 (10-81, 65-24, 78-0, 28-72, 26-54, 64-19, 67-42); Shehzad Shafiq (Punjab) bt Fawad Hussain 4-3 (57-19, 63-28, 31-64, 35-54, 61-22, 06-58, 82-01)

Semi-finals:

Imran Shehzad (Punjab) bt Mesam Zaidi (Sindh) 5-1 (27-70, 90-20, 59-22, 64-37, 76-34, 80-01); Shahid Shafiq (Punjab) bt Naveen Perwani (Sindh) 5-2 (63-36, 66-48, 45-62, 66-13, 70-20, 16-81(60), 70-24(58))

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2018