KARACHI: Promising Mubashir Raza, who has reached his career-best fifth ranking, had a flying start winning two matches so does unseeded local cueist Abdul Sattar as third seed Mohammad Naseem Akhtar and eighth seed Mohammad Ahsan Javaid lost their fixtures in the third national ranking snooker championship at Karachi Gymkhana on Friday.

Mubashir, who had surprised many in August by reaching the 11th NBP Cup final where he lost to veteran Mohammad Asif 7-8 in a marathon battle, first sent former national champion Shahid Aftab packing 4-1 (58-9, 15-64, 66-0, 62-6, 43-22) in the morning session and later accounted for Hamza Ilyas straight (69-57, 89-21, 93-4, 73-19).

Sattar recorded the first major upset while getting the better of Naseem Akhtar (56-39, 88-0, 57-4, 91-4) followed by a 4-2 triumph over Mohammad Majid Ali (81-11, 68-53, 0-102, 30-82, 75-19, 65-23) to consolidate his position in group ‘C’.

Meanwhile, the top four seeds – Asif, Zulfiqar, Asjad and Bilal — chalked up emphatic victories over their respective opponents.

Asif humbled Shaikh Mohammad Mudassir 4-1 (70-66, 75-28, 39-81, 78-34, 71-8) while Zulfiqar carved out a 4-1 (46-57, 75-48, 66-60, 60-39, 76-7) victory over Sultan Mohammad.

Asjad demolished Agha Bilawal straight 68-34, 64-11, 57-20, 78-27 while Bilal overwhelmed Hamza Ilyas 48-43, 77-0, 65-2, 76-0.

Defending champion Babar Masih, who has slipped in the rankings, won his group opener straight against Haris Tahir. He won the duel 74-56, 101-4, 59-14, 68-0.

Results:

Mohammad Bilal (Punjab) bt Mohammad Hamza Ilyas (Punjab) 4-0 (48-43, 77-0, 65-2, 76-0); Mubashir Raza (Punjab) bt Shahid Aftab (Punjab) 4-1 (58-9, 15-64, 66-0, 62-6, 43-22); Sohail Shahzad (Sindh) bt Rashid Aziz (Punjab) 4-2 (56-44, 25-52, 56-69, 61-25, 93-1, 67-43); Zulfiqar A. Qadir (Sindh) bt Sultan Mohammad (Sindh) 4-1 (46-57, 75-48, 66-60, 60-39, 76-7); Asjad Iqbal (Punjab) bt Agha Bilawal (Sindh) 4-0 (68-34, 64-11, 57-20, 78-27); Abdul Sattar (Sindh) bt Mohammad Naseem Akhtar (Punjab) 4-0 (56-39, 88-0, 57-4, 91-4); Mohammad Majid Ali (Punjab) bt Mohammad Shahbaz (Punjab) 4-1 (67-14, 56-63, 69-8, 81-57, 58-16); Mohammad Ijaz (Punjab) bt Abu Saim (Punjab) 4-2 (92-24, 41-72, 19-66, 80-14, 94-6, 73-0); Mohammad Asif (Punjab) bt Sheikh Mohammad Mudassir (Punjab) 4-1 (70-66, 75-28, 39-81, 78-34, 71-8); Imran Shahzad (Punjab) bt Mohammad Ahsan Javaid (Punjab) 4-2 (47-59, 82-37, 62-0, 30-67, 76-56, 70-1); Mohammad Sajjad (Punjab) bt Ali Haider (Punjab) 4-2 (73-27, 41-70, 59-38, 58-43, 53-78, 49-37); Babar Masih (Punjab) bt Haris Tahir (Punjab) 4-0 (74-56, 101-4, 59-14, 68-0); Abdul Sattar (Sindh) bt Mohammad Majid Ali (Punjab) 4-2 (81-11, 68-53, 0-102, 30-82, 75-19, 65-23); Mubashir Raza (Punjab) bt Mohammad Hamza Ilyas (Punjab) 4-0 (69-57, 89-21, 93-4, 73-19)

Saturday’s fixtures:

At 10am: Mohammad Bilal (Punjab) vs Rashid Aziz (Sindh); Mubashir Raza (Punjab) vs Ahsan Ramzan (Punjab); Sohail Shahzad (Sindh) vs Mohammad Hamza Ilyas (Punjab); Zulfiqar A. Qadir (Sindh) vs Abu Saim (Punjab)

At 12noon: Mohammad Asif (Punjab) vs Imran Shahzad (Punjab); Mohammad Ahsan Javaid (Punjab) vs Ali Haider (Punjab); Mohammad Sajjad (Punjab) vs Sheikh Mohammad Mudassir (Punjab); Mohammad Ijaz (Punjab) vs Babar Masih (Punjab)

At 2pm: Asjad Iqbal (Punjab) vs Abdul Sattar (Sindh); Mohammad Naseem Akhtar (Punjab) vs Mohammad Shahbaz (Punjab); Mohammad Majid Ali (Punjab) vs Agha Bilawal (Sindh); Haris Tahir (Punjab) vs Sultan Mohammad (Sindh)

At 4pm: Mohammad Sajjad (Punjab) vs Imran Shahzad (Punjab); Ali Haider (Punjab) vs Shaikh Mohammad Mudassir (Punjab); Sohail Shahzad (Sindh) vs Shahid Aftab(Sindh); Ahsan Ramzan (Punjab) vs Rashid Aziz (Punjab).

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2019