KARACHI: Punjab’s Haris Tahir continued his sublime form and confirmed a berth in the pre-quarter finals of the NBP 48th National Snooker Championship here at the NBP Sports Complex Snooker Arena on Tuesday.
Haris, who upset former national champion Shahid Aftab on Monday, edged Sharjeel Mehmood of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 4-3 [80-51, 27-69(68), 61-28, 09-66(65), 139-0(115), 32-57, 66-27(65)] during their round-robin match.
Haris made a century break in the fifth frame of the match to take a 3-2 lead before he wrapped the triumph in the seventh frame following a break of 65.
Islamabad’s Abdul Javed also registered a century break in his 4-1 [68-04, 51-70, 85-39, 65-53, 118-16(105)] victory over Zulfiqar A. Qadir of Sindh.
Sindh’s Sohail Shahzad got a walkover win over defending champion Sultan Mohammad, who couldn’t participate due to illness.
The 11-year-old cueist Mohammad Sahil from Sindh succumbed to two back-to-back defeats against provice-mate Rizwan Hashmi (4-2) and Shah Khan of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (4-1).
Results (round-robin): Fazal Umar (Sindh) bt Mohammad Hasnain (Sindh) 45-41, 54-43, 32-58, 56-16, 4-61, 51-08; Ali Hamza (Sindh) bt Rambail Gul (KP) 43-73, 73-24, 06-77(77), 47-64, 101-24, 53-45, 60-09; Rizwan Hashmi (Sindh) bt Mohammad Sahil (Sindh) 52-42, 46-88, 42-52, 67-22, 60-15(54), 68-49); Abdul Sattar (Sindh) bt Farhan Noor (Punjab); 65-46, 77-01, 82-20, 0-96(91), 49-70, 76-09; Ali Raza (Sindh) bt Zafar Iqbal (Islamabad) 79-14, 27-66, 0-80(79), 54-74, 61-30, 61-45; Zulfiqar A. Qadir (Sindh) bt Abdul Rehman (Punjab); 83-41, 83-14, 73-0(73), 42-67, 29-92(80), 59-29; Sohail Shehzad (Sindh) bt Sultan Muhammad (Sindh) Walk over; Mohammad Ijaz (Punjab) bt Fawad Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) 74-24, 68-18, 58-16, 39-62, 65-08; Haris Tahir (Punjab) bt Sharjeel Mehmood (KP) 80-51, 27-69(68), 61-28, 09-66(65), 139-0(115), 32-57, 66-27(65); Babar Masih (Punjab) bt Jahanzaib (Balochistan) 119-13, 78-20(74), 95-0(67), 78-07; Mohammad Asif (NBP) bt Farhan Noor (Punjab) 55-56, 22-67(60), 108-18(57), 58-06, 53-18, 77-42; Shah Khan (KP) bt Mohammad Sahil (Sindh) 45-0, 15-59, 108-8(68), 74-73, 59-35; Zaib Khan (Balochistan) bt Mohammad Hasnain (Sindh) 31-71, 76-12, 30-65, 83-01, 74-29, 26-84, 81-0(78); Mohammad Sajjad (NBP) bt Zafar Iqbal (Islamabad) 67-31, 46-51, 80-0(80), 64-58, 02-58, 89-0(59); Abdul Javed (Islamabad) bt Zulfiqar A. Qadir (Sindh) 68-04, 51-70, 85-39, 65-53, 118-16(105); Ali Hamza (Sindh) bt Jahanzaib (Balochistan) 92-19(78), 77-15(77), 72-02(69), 59-33; Ali Raza (Sindh) bt Basit Ali (Balochistan) 76-43, 75-11(68), 98-0, 66-16).
Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2024
