Unseeded rivals stun Asif, Sajjad in Ranking Snooker

KARACHI: Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Sajjad, two of the most accomplished cueists of the country, were jolted by the unseeded rivals on the opening day of the eighth edition of NBP Ranking Snooker Championship 2016 which cued off here at the NBP Sports Complex in Clifton on Monday.

The other six seeds, Babar Masih, Sohail Shahzad, Asjad Iqbal, Mohammad Bilal, Abu Saim and Shahid Aftab, however, got off to a winning start in the event, being contested by 27 cueists as Hunain Aamir withdrew at the eleventh hour due to illness.

Both the upsets were caused in the evening session as Sharjeel Mahmood routed defending champion and seventh seed Mohammad Asif while Asif Toba blew the whistle on sixth seed Mohammad Sajjad.

Sharjeel Mahmood, in fact, turned out to be the star performer of the opening day as he fired a sensational break of 140 to complete the rout of his fancied opponent. The first century break of the competition was registered earlier in the day as he compiled one of 116 against Ian Mark John.

Top-seeded Babar Masih chalked up a break of 72 in the second frame while outwitting the dangerous Abdul Raheem 4-2. Mohammad Saqib, with the help of a break of 55, snatched a frame from second seed Sohail Shahzad but that was the only shining light for the promising youngster who was soundly beaten 4-1.

Third seed Asjad Iqbal was in top form as he toppled Muzammil Khan in straight frames which included a classy break of 71. Fourth seed Mohammad Bilal was even more ruthless while demolishing Haris Tahir in straight frames, recording breaks of 51, 71 and 80 in successive frames.

Fifth seed Abu Saim was engaged in a fierce seven-frame duel with Ian Mark John but he managed to win it 4-3.

Eighth seed Shahid Aftab faced similar examination at the hands of Mohammad Majid Ali before claiming it 4-3. He succeeded in taming his young rival with the help of big breaks of 81 and 68.

The participating 27 cueists have been divided into four groups for the preliminary rounds which will continue until Friday. The winners and the runners-up of each group will qualify for the knockout rounds, starting with quarter-finals on Saturday.

The eight-day championship, whose semi-finals and final will be beamed live on Geo Super, is offering a prize money of Rs150,000 with the winner to receive Rs60,000 and the runner-up to get Rs 35,000.

Results:

Babar Masih (Pjb) bt Abdul Raheem (Pjb) 4-2 (39-77, 72-8, 61-40, 65-29, 17-108, 68-6); Sohail Shahzad (Sindh) bt Mohammad Saqib (Pjb) 4-1 (64-21, 81-0, 69-35, 33-84, 73-38); Asjad Iqbal (Pjb) bt Muzammil Khan (Sindh) 4-0 (67-48, 58-14, 86-6, 72-2); Mohammad Bilal (Pjb) bt Haris Tahir (Pjb) 4-0 (97-0, 72-10, 94-9, 64-6); Shahid Aftab (Pjb) bt Mohammad Majid Ali (Pjb) 4-3 (64-10, 10-73, 0-68, 81-4, 93-22, 0-69, 69-29); Sharjeel Mahmood (KPK) bt Rambail Gul (KPK) 4-2 (19-75, 43-15, 23-60, 73-60, 59-50, 74-0); Khurram Hussain Agha (Sindh) bt Asif Toba (Pjb) 4-2 (61-66, 67-31, 68-13, 60-25, 0-70, 64-16); Imran Shahzad (Pjb) bt Ian Mark John (Sindh) 4-1 (83-15, 119-0, 20-80, 65-27, 80-25); Zulfiqar Abdul Qadir (Sindh) bt Iftikhar Khan (Sindh) 4-0 (58-25, 82-34, 97-0, 82-18); Mohammad Faheem (Pjb) bt Abdul Sattar (Sindh) 4-2 (68-17, 62-6, 33-63, 24-72, 73-64, 59-7); Mohammad Ijaz (Pjb) bt Abdul Jawed (Pjb) 4-0 (93-50, 71-36, 60-70, 74-0); Shahram Changezi (Isb) bt Mohammad Afzal (Pjb) 4-3 (97-13, 25-56, 55-70, 75-67, 83-43, 39-68, 64-7); Sharjeel Mahmood (KPK) bt Mohammad Asif (Pjb) 4-1 (79-51, 69-24, 72-36, 51-74, 140-0); Asif Toba (Pjb) bt Mohammad Sajjad (Pjb) 4-1 (79-7, 12-58, 64-1, 98-18, 64-1); Abu Saim (Pjb) bt Ian Mark John (Sindh) 4-3 (30-67, 4-110, 69-23, 71-41, 72-29, 40-83, 86-0); Rambail Gul (KPK) bt Mohammad Saqib (Pjb) 4-1 (55-40, 38-73, 62-48, 61-9, 89-1).