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KARACHI Reigning national champion and top seed Mohammad Asif continued his winning run when he subdued Sindh's Umair Alam in convincing fashion to consolidate his position for making it to the knockout stage of the NBP Ranking Snooker Championship at Karachi Club on Thursday.
Asif dropped fourth frame to post 4-1 (104-10, 90-28, 71-37, 9-78, 67-28) victory over his opponent. He had beaten Hamza Akbar by the identical margin in the opener. He faces Vishan Gir in the last league match on Friday that will determine the top two slots from group 'A'. Vishan had also two wins under his belt.
Second seed Mohammad Sajjad who was stunned by veteran Mohammad Yousuf 4-3 in the opener the other day, thrashed Balochistan's Kamran Shah 4-0 the score being 78-6, 62-2, 70-26, 41-18.
Third seed Raees Khan and fourth seed Sharjeel Mahmood have also maintained a clean slate with two wins from as many games.
Wildcard entry Mohammad Yousuf who celebrated his comeback to the circuit lowering the colours of last year's national champion Sajjad suffered 2-4 defeat at the hands of 15th seed Mohammad Jawed. Trailing 0-3 down he snatched two frames to reduce the deficit and was on way to level 3-3 when missed the black to lose. Jawed was home 85-1, 67-29, 93-15, 32-62, 45-69, 54-39.
Naveen Perwani, a former national champion, conjured up 4-2 victory over eighth seed Sultan Mohammad to ensure a berth in knockout stage from group 'H'. The former won the battle 51-58, 62-12, 90-46, 46-56, 95-18, 66-39. He missed a yellow in the fifth frame that deprived him a clearance of 122.
The league matches concludes on Friday with top two cueists from each group making it to the pre quarter-finals.
Results
Khurram Agha (Sindh) bt Asjad Iqbal (Punjab) 4-0 (92-36, 86-5, 82-6, 68-57); Mohammad Afzal (Punjab) bt Mohammad Naeem (Punjab) 4-3 (34-51, 56-33, 36-64, 42-71, 63-12, 58-11, 74-1); Mohammad Asif Toba walkover Agha Bilawal; Mohammad Nazeer (Punjab) bt Shadab Baig (Sindh) 4-3 (46-55, 75-29, 70-25, 53-62, 71-41, 19-61, 55-10); Qasim Kamani (Sindh) bt Naeem Jaffer (Balochistan) 4-0 (first frame awarded to Qasim, 61-55, 59-30, 54-24); Mohammad Jawed (Punjab) bt Mohammad Yousuf (Sindh) 4-2 (85-1, 67-29, 93-15, 32-62, 45-69, 54-39); Vishan Gir (Sindh) bt Hamza Akbar (Punjab) 4-1 (56-34, 52-44, 94-9, 30-67, 60-34); Sohail Shehzad (Sindh) bt Bahadur Baloch (Balochistan) 4-2 (41-52, 60-48, 77-33, 61-39, 41-64, 61-40); Naveen Perwani (Sindh) bt Sultan Mohammad (Sindh) 4-2 (51-58, 62-12,
90-46, 46-56, 95-18, 66-39); Imran Shehzad (Punjab) bt Qadeer Butt (Punjab) 4-3 (39-88, 81-2, 65-42, 27-61, 68-44, 36-69, 72-13); Inamur Rehman (NWFP) bt Nauman Awan (NWFP) 4-0 (62-42, 72-33, 55-34, 57-34); Jawed Ansari (Sindh) bt Rambel Gul (NWFP) 4-3 (45-57, 17-53, 73-10, 43-61, 63-50, 63-19, 54-13); Sharjeel Mahmood (NWFP) bt Kamran Razzak (Sindh) 4-1 (62-52, 66-1, 48-49, 84-9, 83-25); Mohammad Asif (Punjab) bt Umair Alam (Sindh) 4-1 (104-10, 90-28, 71-37, 9-78, 67-28); Mohammad Sajjad (Punjab) bt Kamran Shah (Balochistan) 4-0 (78-6, 62-2, 70-26, 41-18); Raees Khan (Punjab) bt Saqib Butt (Punjab) 4-0 (66-56, 65-54, 85-8, 69-34).
Friday's fixtures
Sultan Mohammad v Khurram Agha, Imran Shehzad v Mohammad Afzal, Inamur Rehman v Agha Bilawal, Rambel Gul v Mohammad Nazeer at 10.00am; Sharjeel Mahmood v Qasim Kamani, Mohammad Sajjad v Mohammad Jawed, Mohammad Asif v Vishan Gir, Raees Khan v Sohail Shehzad at 12.00noon; Naveen Perwani v Asjad Iqbal, Qadeer Butt v Mohammad Naeem, Nauman Awan v Mohammad Asif Toba, Jawed Ansari v Shahdab Baig at 2.00pm; Kamran Razzak v Naeem Jaffer, Kamran Shah v Mohammad Yousuf, Umair Alam v Hamza Akbar, Saqib Butt v Bahadur Baloch at 4.00pm.
