KARACHI, March 25: Debutant Mohammad Sajjad of Punjab on Tuesday entered his name in the annals of the game when he conquered top seed and former national champion, Saleh Mohammad, (NWFP) 7-3 in the final to land his maiden national snooker title at the Karachi Gymkhana.

He earned another distinction by compiling the highest break (114) of the 33rd National Snooker Championship played for the Mazhar Iqbal Puri trophy.

Final scores were: 16-48, 114-17, 71-18, 36-63, 91-5, 85-13, 93-0, 12-76, 60-49, 73-54.

“It’s like a dream come true as I was not expecting to topple seasoned opponent and walk away with the crown in the very first appearance,” a beaming Sajjad, who remained unbeaten in the competition, told Dawn after the final.

“The triumph has raised my morale and I’m looking forward to come out with shining performance in the upcoming 24th Asian meet at Dubai in May,” said the 23-year-old qualifier Sajjad, a native of Sargodha.

In the run up to the final, he surprised all and sundry when he brushed aside defending champion Naveen Perwani 4-2 to top Group ‘E’. Later he outplayed Punjab’s Farhan Noor 5-2 in the pre quarter-final, routed Shehram Changezi 5-3 in the quarter-final, and breezed past Imran Shehzad 6-4 in the semi-final.

Saleh, who won his last national crown three years back by getting the better of Naveen, was knocked out by eventual champion Khurram Agha 6-1 in the semi-final of 31st national event and skipped the last edition.

A former world No 2, Saleh, had a brisk start taking the opening frame 48-16 but soon fell into 1-2 arrears. Sajjad exhibited his potting ability with a clearance of 114 in the next to draw level. He surged 2-1 with a fluent break of 51 in 71-18 win. Saleh recovered to make it 2-2 taking the fourth frame 63-36.

Sajjad, who failed to win a qualifying berth in Punjab for three years, earned warm applause as he raced to win the following three frames 91-5, 85-13, 93-0 to lead 5-2 as his opponent remained at his mercy. He conjured up breaks of 77 and 59 in the sixth and seventh frames.

However, a break of 76 enabled Saleh to reduce the lead 3-5 taking the eighth frame 76-12.

Sajjad wrapped up the match claiming the ninth and tenth frames 60-49, 73-54.

He received a winning purse of Rs80,000 and an additional Rs10,000 for highest break. Saleh took home runner up purse of Rs50,000. The losing semi-finalists, quarter-finalists and pre quarter-finalists received Rs15,000, Rs8,000 and Rs3,000 apiece.

Final result:

Mohammad Sajjad (Punjab) bt Saleh Mohammad (NWFP) 7-3 (16-48, 114-17, 71-18, 36-63, 91-5, 85-13, 93-0, 12-76, 60-49, 73-54).