Babar, Asjad to fight for snooker title today

KARACHI: Seventh seed Asjad Iqbal stunned second seed Sohail Shahzad and fourth seed Babar Masih routed unseeded Abu Saim in the semi-finals of the Jubilee Insurance 2nd Ranking Snooker Championship 2016 here at Hotel Movenpick on Friday.

The best-of-11-frame all-Punjab final, between Babar and Asjad, to be telecast live on Geo Super, will commence at 9am.

Neither of the two semi-finals provided the kind of close contest that was being anticipated after a plethora of upsets in the earlier rounds. Babar and Asjad dominated their rivals to bring about quick finishes.

In the first semi-final, which was an all-Punjab affair, Babar overpowered Abu Saim 5-2 with the frame scores of 63-38, 82-29, 107-1, 28-70, 20-64, 59-17, 108-2.  Asjad of Punjab surprised Sohail of Sindh 5-1 with the scores of 4-86, 100-16, 80-40, 79-0, 72-43, 65-52.

Babar, fast emerging as one of the most accomplished cueists of the country, got off to a decent start against his more experienced opponent, who was in high spirits after beating former world champion Mohammad Asif in the pre-quarter-finals.

He fired a break of 74 in the second frame, having pocketed the opening frame. He soon made it 3-0 by compiling breaks of 53 and 54 in rapid succession.

Abu Saim hit back and showed his class by claiming the next couple of frames. But his inability to contain the rampaging Babar thereafter cost him the match.

Second seed Sohail, acclaimed as the most prolific cueist of Karachi in the recent times, began sensationally with a break of 69 in the opening frame which helped him draw the first blood. But that remained his solitary moment of glory on an otherwise forgettable day.

Asjad, one of the shining lights of Sargodha, retaliated with an even century break in the second frame.

He made it 2-1 by running away with the third. Another classy break of 79 in the next frame saw him move 3-1 up.

The two seeded cueists were locked in absorbing battle in the next couple of frames but Asjad succeeded in winning both of them to complete a resounding victory.

Sohail, who had lost to Mohammad Bilal in the final of the National Championship earlier this year, may not lose too many ranking points, however, as he went upto the semi-finals unlike the reigning champion who was eliminated in the quarter-finals.  Both finalists seem certain to improve their present rankings.