KARACHI, March 4: Fourth seed Imran Shehzad was stretched to limits on way to overcoming fighting Punjab qualifier Awais Honey 4-3 to register third win in the 32nd National Snooker Championship at the Karachi Gymkhana on Sunday.

Imran, last year’s runner-up, recovered from 1-3 down to win the gruelling battle 13-62, 91-30, 53-64, 31-58, 54-42, 45-28 and 62-19.

Drawn in Group ‘D’, he had humbled Mohammad Ali Zaidi and Shah Khan in the earlier outings by identical margin of 4-0.

Top seed and defending champion, Khurram Agha, second seed Mohammad Yousuf and third seed Naveen Perwani have smooth sailing over their respective opponents. Khurram, who survived a scare against Mohammad Riaz in the opener, edged out Nauman Awan 4-1 to chalk out third straight win. The scores were: 51-39, 71-38, 29-65, 67-46 and 46-29.

Second seed Yousuf routed Abdul Rehman Waja 4-0 (89-2, 39-47, 63-33, 90-5) while third seed Naveen Perwani dropped fourth frame while handing a 66-9, 84-32, 104-16, 13-66 and 68-9 defeat to Abdul Sattar. The century break of 115 which he cracked against Balochistan’s Abdul Razzak Kakar on Friday is still intact.

Fifth seed Rambel Gul has failed to come up to his potential and will not go beyond the league. He tasted yet another 3-4 defeat – third in a row – at the hands of Amanullah on Sunday.

Results:

Qasim Kamani bt Mohammad Asif 4-2 (66-55, 37-64, 62-43, 7-76, 87-0, 72-31); Khurram Agha bt Nauman Awan 4-1 (51-39, 71-38, 29-65, 67-46, 46-29); Naveen Perwani bt Abdul Sattar 4-1 (66-9, 84-32, 104-16, 13-66, 68-9); Amanullah bt Rambel Gul 4-3 (30-77, 57-45, 16-63, 25-62, 57-32, 70-59, 66-57); Salman Shaikh bt Shafiq 4-2 (42-73, 16-72, 64-52, 61-31, 69-36, 76-52); Mohammad Yousuf bt Abdul Rehman Waja 4-0 (89-2, 59-47, 63-33, 90-5); Imran Shehzad bt Awais Honey 4-3 (13-62, 91-30, 53-64, 31-58, 54-42, 45-28, 62-19); Sohail Shehzad bt Jahangir Khan 4-1 (51-15, 88-34, 15-57, 61-36, 60-21); Vishan Gir bt Ziaur Rehman 4-0 (85-20, 82-0, 69-47, 62-42); Irfan R. Khan bt Jawed Ansari 4-3 (8-59, 64-69, 19-56, 63-53, 75-64, 54-43, 66-3); M. Imtiaz Tipu bt Asad Pervaiz 4-0 (80-0, 64-39, 83-14, 52-27); Sunil S. Shahani bt Syed Mesam Zaidi 4-3 (64-19, 19-55, 54-3, 55-75, 43-52, 46-34, 52-30); Abu Saim bt Mahmood Khan 4-0 (56-13, 55-39, 63-32, 81-44); Imran Qamar bt Mohammad Afzal 4-0 (77-1, 58-19, 56-20, 60-34); Saqib Butt bt Janan Khan 4-0 (59-42, 79-29, 60-57, 48-19); Raees Khan bt Shahram Changezi 4-0 (53-43, 80-0, 70-59, 51-38).

Monday’s fixtures:

Mohammad Nazir v Nasim Paracha, Balochistan No 2 v Mohammad Riaz, Shahid Shafiq v Abdul Jalil, Balochistan No 1 v Atif Mughal at 10am; Farrukh Usman v Kamran Razzak, Arshad Siddiq v Farhan Mirza, Kashif Khan v Mohammad Ali Zaidi, Sharjeel Mahmood v Ammar at 12noon; Mohammad Asif v Ziaur Rehman, Khurram Agha v Jawed Ansari, Naveen Perwani v Asad Pervaiz, Rambel Gul v S.S. Shahani at 2pm; Salman Shaikh v Balochistan No 4, Mohammad Yousuf v Mohammad Afzal, Imran Shehzad v Balochistan No 3, Sohail Shehzad v Shahram Changezi at 4pm.