Upsets galore as National Snooker begins

KARACHI: Three of the eight seeded cueists, Imran Shahzad, Hamza Akbar and Asif Toba, suffered defeats on the opening day of the Jubilee Insurance 40th National Snooker Championship 2015 which cued off here on Saturday.
It was a tough first day of the new season for quite a few top-ranked cueists of the country as Mohammad Asif, a former world champion, narrowly survived a scare to snatch a vital point from his opening game.
The other four seeded cueists, Mohammad Sajjad, Abdul Sattar, Mohammad Majid Ali and Asjad Iqbal, got off a flying start, however.
Aamir Tariq edged out second seed Imran Shahzad after a tough seven-frame battle while Mohammad Ishtiaq overcame a spirited comeback from defending champion and fifth seed Asif Toba.
Babar Masih, having been given a wild card entry in the competition, created a sensation on the very first day by outplaying fourth seed Hamza Akbar. Saqib Butt, recording the first century break of the event, extended sixth seed Mohammad Asif to full seven frames before going down fighting.
Top seeded and two times national champion Mohammad Sajjad began his campaign in an emphatic manner, blasting Nauman Iqbal in straight frames. Third seed Abdul Sattar showed no mercy to the young Abdul Rahim, making his debut in the national circuit.
Seventh seed Majid Ali was in top form while outclassing Shah Khan in straight frames while eighth seed Asjad Iqbal, who registered the highest break of the day (110), was equally ruthless in hammering Nauman Awan.
Shahram Changezi, a former national champion, was engaged in a tense seven-frame battle with Ahsan Javed before pressing home the advantage in the decider.
Khurram Agha, another former national champion, dropped a couple of frames in his opening game against Mahmood Khan.
A total of 45 cueists, representing all the four provinces and the federal capital, have entered the National Championship which will continue for 10 days. The league matches, to be spread over six days, will be followed by the knockout phase, starting with the pre-quarter-finals on Friday.