National Snooker Championship 2019

Bilal, Asjad beat rivals to set up title showdown

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

KARACHI: Fifth seed Muhammad Bilal prevailed over third seed Zulfiqar Abdul Qadir and unseeded Asjad Iqbal whipped Ali Haider, also unseeded, in the semi-finals of the Jubilee Insurance 44th National Snooker Championship 2019 here at the Karachi Gymkhana on Friday.

Bilal, hailing from Mandi Bahauddin, is just one victory away from reclaiming the trophy he had annexed a couple of years ago. He will have to go past the supremely confident Asjad, belonging to Sargodha, in what is expected to be a thrilling fast-paced title clash.

It remains to be seen on which side of the Jhelum and Chenab rivers the snooker crown goes this time round. The best of 15-frame all-Punjab final, to be televised live by Geo Super, is scheduled to get underway at 10 am on Saturday (today) and it will be followed by the prize distribution ceremony.

Neither of the two semi-finals went to the wire. The 27-year-old Asjad needed three hours and 10 minutes to overcome Ali Haider, the reigning Under-21 national champion, 6-2 with the frame scores of 17-97, 96-17, 132-14, 65-45, 92-38, 9-73, 70-64, 66-7, while the 33-year-old Bilal overpowered the 32-year-old local favourite, Zulfiqar 6-3 with the frame scores of 108-1, 25-66, 37-81, 58-27, 64-51, 90-7, 0-97, 71-64, 72-62.

The 20-year-old Ali Haider, regarded to be one of the most promising youngsters of the country, showed flashes of brilliance in his pursuit to enter the final of the Nationals for the first time but he was unable to keep consistent pressure on the rampaging Asjad.

Making an appearance in the knockout phase of the Nationals for the second year running, the gifted youngster from Gujranwala drew the first blood in the semis but it served as a wake-up call for his vastly experienced opponent who clinched the next four frames on a trot.

Asjad was in complete control of the situation, while firing a superb break of 124 in the third frame and he followed it up with another break of 62 in the very next frame.

Ali Haider succeeded in putting his acts together to win the sixth frame to make it 2-4 but his chances of survival dimmed when he narrowly lost the next frame and as expected Asjad wrapped up the issue soon afterwards.

The other semi-final, featuring seeded cueists, looked like heading towards a closer finish but the experience of Bilal proved decisive in the end. Zulfiqar, who looked in great touch in the earlier part of the contest, appeared to have been overawed by the occasion in the final stages.

Even Bilal, who has been acclaimed as an accomplished cueist at the international level, felt the pressure at times but he controlled his nerves better to emerge triumphant.

Beginning with a typically fluent break of 66 in the opening frame, Bilal watched his dangerous opponent, also seeded higher than him seize some control by snatching the next couple of frames.

Zulfiqar was guilty of committing some unforced errors in the fourth frame which allowed Bilal to claw his way back into the game.

Bilal consolidated his position by pocketing three frames on a trot to move 4-2 up and he was just a couple of frames away from victory. Zulfiqar showed his class with a break of 51 in the seventh frame to make it 3-4.

The contestants fought hard in the next two frames as well but Bilal was able to get past the finishing line on both the occasions and it was all over for Zulfiqar.

Meanwhile Asjad’s break of 124 was the 28th century break of the championship which is a new record in a national ranking tournament, verified by the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA).