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KARACHI Punjab's Imran Shehzad re-captured top national ranking spot after some four years by virtue of winning the Del Monte Snooker Cup, the third and last ranking event of PBSA calendar, at Karachi Club on Sunday.
The 35-year-old cueist, who was lying at fourth slot before the event, took a leap to replace Asjad Iqbal, also of Punjab. Earlier, he trailed at 12th position in the national ranking released after the 35th national championship in the beginning of the year.
According to latest rankings released by the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) on Saturday, Sindh's Sohail Shehzad, who finished runner up in the Snooker Cup to Imran, has jumped four places to occupy the second position. He has revived Sindh's hopes which once used to dominate the national rankings.
Mohammad Asif Toba, the losing semi-finalist of Snooker Cup, has maintained his third position, finishing ahead of reigning national champion, Mohammad Sajjad, who has slipped from second to fourth.
Previously ranked on top of the ladder, Asjad slumped to fifth followed by Imran Qamar.
Islamabad-based Shahram Changezi has also improved his position when he jumped to seventh slot. He was ranked 13th in the previous ranking while Mohammad Asif has maintained his eighth place.
With the exception of Sohail Shehzad, other seven cueists belonged to Punjab.
Meanwhile, all the top eight players have been entitled to get monthly remuneration by the PBSA for the last quarter of the year. No 1 gets Rs8,000, No 2 Rs7,000 while No 3 to 8 gets Rs5,000 apiece.
Top eight rankings
1-Imran Shehzad (Punjab), 2-Sohail Shehzad (Sindh), 3-Mohammad Asif Toba (Punjab), 4-Mohammad Sajjad (Punjab), 5-Asjad Iqbal (Punjab), 6-Imran Qamar (Punjab), 7- Shahram Changezi (Punjab), 8-Mohammad Asif (Punjab).
