KARACHI: Five cueists who are among the top eight, fell prey as the second day of the third national ranking snooker championship witnessed an upset galore at the Karachi Gymkhana billiards hall on Wednesday.

After three players were caught on the wrong foot on the opening day, the trend continued as top seed Mohammad Asif, fourth seed Mohammad Bilal, fifth seed Mohammad Ijaz, seventh seed Aakash Rafique and eighth seed Asjad Iqbal tasted defeats at the hands of outsiders.

Former national champion Mohammad Asif Toba created quite a stir registering 4-2 victory over his namesake Mohammad Asif in group A match in the second session.

Toba, who was home 4-2 over Sohail Shehzad in his opening fixture, continued his winning sequence with an emphatic 63-62, 64-9, 21-60, 72-38, 1-68, 68-12 win.

The 2014 national champion, Toba, hogged limelight winning his third straight match later over Agha Bilawal 4-1 which envisaged a century break of 115 in the fourth frame besides 79 in the second. The scores were 54-38, 79-0, 21-67, 124-1, 74-11.

Another former national champion Shahid Aftab sent Bilal packing 4-2 in group D encounter. Aftab, who struggled to whip Sultan Mohammad 4-3 on Tuesday, conjured up 61-22, 1-92, 52-2, 39-43, 59-17, 60-3 victory over his opponent that includes two breaks of 52 and 60 in the first and sixth frames.

Aftab went on to annex his third match routing Haris Tahir 4-2 (27-97, 41-59, 74-20, 66-48, 56-14, 69-30) to strengthen his position.

The National Bank Cup champion Mohammad Ijaz suffered back-to-back defeats to be out of contention with three defeats so far. First, he lost to Ali Haider in the fully stretched match 63-60, 60-14, 74-40, 56-72, 10-67, 65-67, 63-24 and then went down 2-4 to Sultan Mohammad 69-8, 6-75, 0-125, 61-47, 57-10, 94-20.

.The national under-21 runner-up Mohammad Shahbaz demonstrated awesome form when he blanked seventh seed Aakash Rafique straight 89-18, 77-57, 66-38, 69-32.

Sohail Shehzad coasted to 4-2 victory over Asjad with the scores being 74-48, 61-54, 23-76, 67-15, 24-64, 60-18.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Majid Ali hammered the highest break todate of 118 while removing Mohammad Ahsan Javaid 4-2. His break came in the third frame as he won the duel 52-60, 50-51, 118-0, 59-26, 64-22, 66-40.

Results:

Asjad Iqbal (Punjab) bt Sirbuland Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) 4-1 (50-46, 60-16, 50-59, 73-18, 67-33); Mohammad Shahbaz (Punjab) bt Aakash Rafique (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) 4-0 (89-18, 77-57, 66-38, 69-32); Zulfiqar A. Qadir (Sindh) bt Umair Alam (Sindh) 4-1 (62-36, 42-65, 69-44, 54-40, 58-33); Ali Haider (Punjab) bt Mohammad Ijaz (Punjab) 4-3 (63-60, 60-14, 74-40, 56-72, 10-67, 65-67, 63-24); Mohammad Asif Toba (Punjab) bt Mohammad Asif (Punjab) 4-2 (63-62, 64-9, 21-60, 72-38, 1-68, 68-12); Babar Masih (Punjab) bt Sharjeel Mehmood (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) 4-3 (89-1, 22-77, 0-75, 68-43, 59-50, 35-63, 69-47); Mohammad Majid Ali (Punjab) bt Mohammad Ahsan Javaid (Punjab) 4-2 (52-60, 50-51, 118-0, 59-26, 64-22, 66-40); Shahid Aftab (Punjab) bt Mohammad Bilal (Punjab) 4-2 (61-22, 1-92, 52-2, 39-43, 59-17, 60-3); Sohail Shehzad (Sindh) bt Asjad Iqbal (Punjab) 4-2 (74-48, 61-54, 23-76, 67-15, 24-64, 60-18); Aakash Rafique (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) bt Khurram H. Agha (Sindh) 4-1 (81-20, 72-49, 16-52, 77-21, 67-0); Zulfiqar A. Qadir (Sindh) bt Rambel Gul (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) 4-2 (19-91, 55-47, 73-0, 63-30, 7-66, 78-56); Sultan Mohammad (Sindh) bt Mohammad Ijaz (Punjab) 4-2 (69-8, 6-75, 0-125, 61-47, 57-10, 94-20); Mohammad Asif Toba (Punjab) bt Agha Bilawal (Sindh) 4-1 (54-38, 79-0, 21-67, 124-1, 74-11); Sharjeel Mehmood (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) bt Mohammad Naseem Akhtar (Punjab) 4-2 (48-82, 71-48, 33-68, 74-36, 73-48, 84-7); Mohammad Ahsan Javaid (Punjab) bt Abdul Sattar (Sindh) 4-2 (43-82, 62-10, 66-1, 67-1, 8-70, 41-6); Shahid Aftab (Punjab) bt Haris Tahir (Punjab) 4-2 (27-97, 41-59, 74-20, 66-48, 56-14, 69-30).

Thursday’s fixtures:

At 10am: Sohail shehzad (Sindh) v Sirbuland Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Khurram H. Agha (Sindh) v Mohammad Shahbaz (Punjab), Rambel Gul (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) v Umair Alam (Sindh), Sultan Mohammad (Sindh) v Ali Haider (Punjab).

At 12noon:Asjad Iqbal (Punjab) v Mohammad Asif Toba (Punjab), Aakash Rafique (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) v Sharjeel Mehmood (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Zulfiqar A. Qadir (Sindh) v Mohammad Ahsan Javaid (Punjab), Muhammad Ijaz (Punjab) v Shahid Aftab (Punjab).

At 2pm: Mohammad Asif (Punjab) v Sohail Shehzad (Sindh), Babar Masih (Punjab) v Khurram H. Agha (Sindh), Mohammad Majid Ali (Punjab) v Rambel Gul (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Bilal (Punjab) v Sultan Mohammad (Sindh).

At 4pm: Agha Bilawal (Sindh) v Sirbuland Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Naseem Akhtar (Punjab) v Mohammad Shahbaz (Punjab), Abdul Sattar (Sindh) v Umair Alam (Sindh), Haris Tahir (Punjab) v Ali Haider (Punjab).

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2018