Naseem stuns Sajjad, Asjad remains unbeaten

KARACHI: The teenage wonder Mohammad Naseem Akhtar continued his giant killing act by whipping fifth seed Mohammad Sajjad on the second day of the preliminary round matches of Jubilee Insurance 3rd Ranking Cup Snooker Championship 2017 here at the Karachi Gymkhana on Saturday.

Having stunned fourth seed Abdul Sattar on the opening day, Naseem Akhtar, who is also the current World U18 champion besides being the holder of the U18 as well as the national U21 titles, showed his growing stature by blasting Mohammad Sajjad, two times national champion and a former world number two, in straight frames.

The 16-year-old Naseem Akhtar, hailing from the city of Sahiwal, was on top of his game while registering one of the best victories in his brief career. His sensational break of 135 in the third frame was another testimonial of his awesome confidence even while confronting a fancied opponent.

Top seed Asjad Iqbal extended his unbeaten run by winning all his three matches during the first couple of days of the competition. After having overpowered Mohammad Rafiq in his opening game, he followed it up with victories over Shahram Changezi and Asif Toba.

Second seed Shahid Aftab also averted any upset in his first three outings. After scalping Umar Farooq in the opening game, the former national champion prevailed over Abu Saim and Mohammad Ahsan Javaid to remain undefeated.

Third seed Mohammad Ijaz, having whacked Shaikh Mohammad Mudassir in his opening game followed it up with a victory over Shah Khan later the same afternoon. But he succumbed to defeat at the hands of the veteran Imran Shahzad in his third game.

Fourth seed Abdul Sattar suffered his second defeat when he was routed by unseeded Zulfiqar Abdul Qadir in straight frames. Fifth seed Mohammad Sajjad, who had scampered a lucky win against Sharjeel Mahmood in his opening game, was brought down to earth by Naseem Akhtar, also in straight frames.

Sixth seed Mubashir Raza, who blanked unseeded Shah Khan in straight frames on the opening day, meted out similar treatment to Shaikh Mohammad Mudassir, while seventh seed Mohammad Bilal also continued his march towards glory by recording another win.

Eighth seed Sohail Shahzad, who was surprised by the enigmatic Asif Toba on the opening day, came back in the reckoning by outwitting Mohammad Rafiq.

Defending champion Babar Masih extended his unbeaten run as did Mohammad Asif, a former world champion, who overcame the dangerous Naseem Akhtar.