KARACHI, March 3: Azeem Yousuf, a champion in the making, opened his campaign on a winning note when he disposed of Mohammad Noman Qamar on the opening day of National Junior Snooker Championship at the Karachi Club on Monday.

Son of veteran world champion Mohammad Yousuf, Azeem gave a true glimpse of his game when he romped home 76-42, 64-36, 63-13 in the best of five frame battle.

Drawn in group ‘D’ he now meets Haroon Anwer of NWFP at 12.00noon followed by third match against Punjab’s Tahir Abbas at 4.00pm on Tuesday.

Punjab’s Mohammad Afzal narrowly missed a century break against province-mate Hamid Younus whom he beat 3-1 in the last session. The former won 28-78, 51-41, 99-18, 68-26 with a break of 95 in the third frame.

Punjab’s Mohammad Imran and Sindh’s Ahad Ali Khan slammed half century breaks apiece.

Results:

Umair Alam Khan (Sindh) bt Ahsan Raza (Sindh) 3-0 (60-21, 63-40, 70-19); Mohammad Afzal (Pun) bt Salman Ahmed Siddiqui (Sindh) 3-2 (first frame awarded to Salman, 57-15, 77-43, 50-60, 60-22); Mohammad Imran (Pun) bt Asim Khan (NWFP) 3-0 (first frame awarded to Imran, 53-28, 63-31); Abdul Ghafoor (Bal) bt Mohammad Noman Qamar (Pun) 3-0 (first frame awarded to Ghafoor, 60-39, 47-34); Ayaz Khan (Pun) bt Abdul Basit (Sindh) 3-0 (48-14, 52-28, 67-16); Hamid Younus (Pun) bt Agha Bilawal Raza (Sindh) 3-1 (53-32, 53-25, 38-63, 71-22); Ahad Ali Khan (Sindh) bt Mohammad Haseeb (Sindh) 3-0 (60-38, 75-18, 57-17); Tahir Abbas (Pun) bt Haroon Anwer (NWFP) 3-0 (56-37, 66-55, 68-54); Ahsan Javed (Pun) bt Ahsan Raza (Sindh) 3-1 (53-13, 57-17, 46-53, 82-52); Ramiz Aftab (NWFP) bt Salman Ahmed Siddiqui (Sindh) 3-1 (50-45, 58-22, 40-43, 66-38); Mohammad Imran (Pun) bt Mohsin Abbas (Bal) 3-0 (70-2, 59-48, 60-38); Azeem Yousuf (Sindh) bt Mohammad Noman Qamar (Pun) 3-0 (76-42, 64-36, 63-13); Ayaz Khan (Pun) bt Umair Alam Khan (Sindh) 3-1 (53-58, 66-39, 52-11, 73-14); Mohammad Afzal (Pun) bt Hamid Younus (Pun) 3-1 (28-78, 51-41, 99-18, 68-26); Mohammad Haseeb (Sindh) bt Asim Khan (NWFP) 3-0 (57-46, 68-44, 53-34); Haroon Anwer (NWFP) bt Abdul Ghafoor (Bal) 3-1 (43-52, 59-34, 54-17, 70-28).

Tuesday’s fixtures:

Matches of first session begins at 10.00am

Opinion

Editorial

On press freedoms
Updated 03 May, 2026

On press freedoms

THE citizenry forgets, to its own peril, how important a free and independent media is in the preservation of their...
Inflation strain
03 May, 2026

Inflation strain

PAKISTAN’S return to double-digit inflation after 21 months signals renewed economic strain where external shocks...
Troubled waters
03 May, 2026

Troubled waters

PAKISTAN’S water crisis is often framed in terms of scarcity. Increasingly, it is also a crisis of contamination....
Iran stalemate
Updated 02 May, 2026

Iran stalemate

THE US and Iran are currently somewhere between war and peace. While a tenuous ceasefire — extended largely due to...
Tax shortfall
02 May, 2026

Tax shortfall

THE Rs684bn shortfall in tax collection during the first 10 months of the fiscal year is a continuation of a...
Teaching inclusion
02 May, 2026

Teaching inclusion

DISCRIMINATORY and exclusionary content in Punjab’s textbooks has been flagged in Inclusive Education for a United...