-File photo

KARACHI: Pakistan No 1 and top seed Imran Shahzad made a winning start as second seed Mohammad Asif Toba and fourth seed Sohail Shahzad lost two matches apiece on the opening day of Del Monte fourth Ranking Snooker Cup at Southend Club on Tuesday.

The 36-year-old Imran first thrashed Sindh’s Bilawal Agha 4-1 (46-39, 67-25, 70-21, 53-74, 64-28) in the morning session and then went on to register second win against Mohammad Javed 4-2 (21-59, 67-20, 36-76, 68-63, 86-31, 72-5).

Toba, the losing finalist of a ranking event held last month, was blanked 4-0 by veteran Mohammad Yousuf and fell prey 1-4 to Umair Alam to suffer back-to-back defeat.

Similarly, the runner-up of the NBP Snooker Cup, Sohail Shahzad, was caught on the wrong foot, first by Mohammad Javed, who was home 4-3 and then by Bilawal Agha, who coasted to 4-2 win.

Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Sharjeel Mehmood also stole the limelight hammering the first century break (102) in the second frame of his 4-1 triumph over Naveen Perwani.

Results:

Imran Shahzad (Punjab) bt Bilawal Agha (Sindh) 4-1 (46-39, 67-25, 70-21, 53-74, 64-28); Mohammad Yousuf (Sindh) bt M. Asif Toba (Punjab) 4-0 (65-9, 95-50, 53-29, 66-28); Mohammad Javed (Punjab) bt Sohail Shahzad (Sindh) 4-3 (14-66, 63-51, 7-76, 61-50, 17-60, 71-51, 94-47); Umair Alam (Sindh) bt Sultan Mohammad (Sindh) 4-0 (83-29, 64-20, 51-38, 58-41); Mohammad Imran (Punjab) bt Abdul Sattar (Sindh) 4-3 (51-59, 88-9, 71-38, 31-59, 5-81, 62-17, 71-9); Shahid Aftab (Punjab) bt Mohammad Sajjad (Punjab) 4-0 (56-21, 63-43, 61-20, 75-30); Sharjeel Mehmood (Khyber PaKhtunkhwa) bt Naveen Perwani (Sindh) 4-1 (54-36, 124-8, 103-29, 32-72, 71-30); Mohammad Asif (Punjab) bt Asjad Iqbal (Punjab) 4-3 (63-59, 29-71, 66-25, 26-70, 36-67, 73-24, 78-46); Imran Shahzad (Punjab) bt Mohammad Javed (Punjab) 4-2 (21-59, 67-20, 36-76, 68-63, 86-31, 72-5); Umair Alam (Sindh) bt Mohammad Asif Toba (Punjab) 4-1 (57-43, 62-22, 29-69, 71-7, 74-0); Bilalwal Agha (Sindh) bt Sohail Shahzad (Sindh) 4-2 (47-78, 65-11, 27-61, 83-53, 122-8, 70-17); Sultan Mohammad (Sindh) bt Mohammad Yousuf (Sindh) 4-3 (81-45, 72-34, 33-51, 40-91, 57-27, 59-66, 61-18); Shahid Aftab (Punjab) bt Asjad Iqbal (Punjab) 4-2 (72-37, 10-72, 61-29, 1-87, 81-3, 55-24); Sharjel Mehmood (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) bt Abdul Sattar (Sindh) 4-3 (65-62, 55-69, 69-51, 60-66, 59-26, 36-65, 76-50); Mohammad Imran (Punjab) bt Naveen Perwani (Sindh) 4-2 (62-16, 70-44, 61-64, 44-65, 74-17, 58-17).

Wednesday’s fixtures: Matches start at 10am.

Opinion

Editorial

Battling hate
Updated 15 Mar, 2026

Battling hate

In the current scenario, geopolitical conflict, racial prejudice and religious bigotry all contribute to the threats Muslims face.
TB drugs shortage
15 Mar, 2026

TB drugs shortage

‘CRIMINAL negligence’ is the phrase that jumps to mind when one considers the disturbing consequences of the...
Chinese diplomacy
Updated 14 Mar, 2026

Chinese diplomacy

THERE are signs that China is taking a more active role in trying to resolve the issue of cross-border terrorism...
Fragile gains at risk
14 Mar, 2026

Fragile gains at risk

PAKISTAN is confronting an external shock stemming from the US-Israel war on Iran that few of the other affected...
Kidney disease
14 Mar, 2026

Kidney disease

ON World Kidney Day this past Thursday, the Pakistan Medical Association raised the alarm on Pakistan’s...
Delicate balance
Updated 13 Mar, 2026

Delicate balance

PAKISTAN has to maintain a delicate balance where the geopolitics of the US-Israeli aggression against Iran are...