Awaisullah pulls off shocking win over Zulfiqar

KARACHI: Unseeded Awaisullah Munir created an upset by edging out sixth seed Zulfiqar Abdul Qadir on the fourth day of league matches of the Jubilee Insurance 43rd National Snooker Championship 2018 here at the Karachi Gymkhana on Thursday.

It was the first defeat for Zulfiqar, who had won his first three games. Top seeded Asjad Iqbal, second seed Muhammad Asif, third seed Muhammad Bilal, and eighth seed Babar Masih remained unbeaten in the competition, while fourth seed Shahid Aftab, fifth seed Mubashir Raza, and seventh seed Khurram Hussain Agha, also stayed in the hunt for a place in the pre-quarter-finals.

At the end of the fourth day of the preliminary rounds, Asjad Iqbal was on top in the Group A with Muhammad Imran and Ali Haider placed at joint second position.

There is a three-horse race in the Group B where Muhammad Asif, a former world champion, Naseem Akhtar, the reigning under-18 world champion, and Muhammad Umar, the current national under-18 champion, have four victories each.

Muhammad Bilal has virtually ensured his place in the pre-quarter-finals from the Group C by winning his first four matches. Usman Ahmed and Agha Bilawal are tied at the second position.

Aakash Rafique has moved to the top slot in the Group D with three victories in as many games. Shahid Aftab is at the second position with three wins in four attempts.

Unseeded Qadeer Abbas tops the Group E with four straight wins. Majid Ali, a wild card entrant, has also boosted his chances by winning all three matches. Zulfiqar Abdul Qadir still sits at the top in the Group F with Ahsan Javaid well placed to claim the runner-up slot.

Abdul Sattar stands tall in the Group G by having emerged triumphant in all his four matches. Khurram Agha has three wins from four games. Babar Masih has won all his four matches in the Group H. Muhammad Ijaz has won three out of four games.

Results: Mubashir Raza (Pjb) bt Muhammad Faizan (Sindh) 4-3 (15-75, 79-16, 53-67, 72-18, 83-49, 47-62, 49-1); Awaisullah Munir (Pjb) bt Zulfiqar Abdul Qadir (Sindh) 4-3 (66-24, 23-65, 34-72, 36-73, 77-2, 75-14, 64-54); Khurram Hussain Agha (Sindh) bt Aamir Shahzad (KP) 4-3 (39-78, 47-70, 57-45, 66-29, 71-25, 49-72, 59-50); Muhammad Ishtiaq (Sindh) bt Bahadur Khan (Bal) 4-2 (20-61, 78-63, 22-70, 60-43, 67-48, 80-28); Rambail Gul (KP) bt Ahsan Javaid (Pjb) 4-3 (21-86, 59-23, 30-63, 53-44, 78-6, 34-66, 69-56); Abdul Sattar (Sindh) bt Sohail Shahzad (Sindh) 4-3 (67-28, 58-17, 69-31, 42-67, 18-60, 44-65, 62-54); Babar Masih (Pjb) bt Noman Javed (Isb) 4-2 (71-11, 31-70, 73-35, 88-33, 26-78, 83-54); Muhammad Ijaz (Pjb) bt Haris Tahir (Pjb) 4-2 (8-58, 62-67, 32-71, 75-24, 81-22, 68-4, 64-50); Abdul Javaid (Pjb) bt Mahmood Khan (Bal) 4-0 (walkover); Fazal Umar Butt (Sindh) bt Saif Ali Khan (Bal) 4-0 (75-42, 68-48, 56-15, 55-29); Shaikh Mudassir (Pjb) bt Jahangir Yar Muhammad (Bal) 4-0 (walkover); Muhammad Umar (Pjb) bt Naseem Akhtar (Pjb) 4-1 (59-49, 83-8, 1-64, 59-38, 50-39); Majid Ali (Pjb) bt Muhammad Faizan (Sindh) 4-0 (73-34, 72-16, 73-18, 57-56); Qadeer Abbas (Pjb) bt Muhammad Abdullah (KP) 4-1 (46-70, 60-41, 70-60, 76-45, 73-46); Asif Toba (Pjb) bt Awaisullah (Pjb) 4-3 (5-76, 17-81, 41-69, 62-36, 66-19, 73-16, 53-62); Umair Alam (Sindh) bt Saeed Ahmed (Bal) 4-2 (74-24, 44-62, 52-28, 33-53, 76-22, 65-59); Imran Shahzad (Pjb) bt Aamir Shahzad (KP) 4-0 (71-24, 59-56, 75-34, 57-28); Muhammad Sajjad (Pjb) bt Ahmed Shah (Bal) 4-1 (53-43, 16-78, 92-1, 59-38, 50-8); Babar Masih (Pjb) bt Sultan Muhammad (Sindh) 4-2 (72-45, 46-59, 64-39, 65-15, 0-72, 73-4); Abdul Sattar (Sindh) bt Aamir Shahzad (KP) 4-1 (52-9, 75-39, 66-16, 21-84, 62-13); Muhammad Ijaz (Pjb) bt Noman Javed (Isb) 4-2 (76-32, 1-59, 79-4, 78-34, 47-53, 66-25); Sohail Shahzad (Sindh) bt Ahmed Shah (Bal) 4-1 (42-49, 69-0, 57-38, 74-37, 54-49); Haris Tahir (Pjb) bt Samiullah (Bal) 4-1 (43-75, 78-29, 66-58, 97-0, 78-1); Agha Bilawal (Sindh) bt Abdul Javaid (Pjb) 4-2 (20-66, 100-0, 79-0, 65-28, 32-64, 82-27); Musaddiq Mahmood (Isb) bt Fazal Umar Butt (Sindh) 4-1 (39-73, 58-50, 78-55, 69-28, 47-45); Turyali Aziz (Bal) bt Mahmood Khan (Bal) 4-0 (walkover); Aakash Rafique (KP) bt Saif Ali Khan (Bal) 4-0 (44-4, 54-15, 58-22, 56-52).