Fifth seed Babar downs Imran as Ranking Snooker begins

KARACHI: Fifth seed Babar Masih chalked up a magnificent break of 136 on the opening day of the 11th edition of NBP Ranking Snooker Championship 2019 which got under way here at the NBP Sports Complex on Sunday.

Babar, one of the most accomplished cueists of the country, got off to a scintillating start in the competition as he followed up the break of 136 with another one of 74 in the very next frame while demolishing Imran Qamar 4-1.

Top-seeded Muhammad Bilal, the reigning national champion, also began his campaign on a winning note as he toppled Abdul Raziq 4-1.

Sixth seed and defending champion Muhammad Ijaz started off in a brilliant fashion as he whacked the dangerous Sharjeel Mahmood in straight frames.

Seventh seed Muhammad Asif, also a former world champion, had to bring all his resilience into play while edging out Rizwan Hashmi in a seven-frame thriller while eighth seed Agha Bilawal survived a scare at the hands of Hamza Ilyas, the only wild card entrant in the tournament.

The 33 participating cueists have been divided into eight groups for the preliminary rounds. Group A comprises top seed Muhammad Bilal, Muhammad Majid Ali, Ahsan Ramzan and Abdul Raziq while Group B is composed of second seed Asjad Iqbal, Imran Shahzad, Muhammad Ahsan Javaid and Muhammad.

The quartet of third seed Zulfiqar Abdul Qadir, Rambail Gul, Abu Saim and Aakash Rafique constitute Group C while fourth seed Ali Haider is placed in Group D along with Shahid Aftab, Muhammad Shahbaz and Muhammad Sajjad.

Fifth seed Babar Masih leads the pack in Group E in the presence of Haris Tahir, Rashid Aziz and Imran Qamar while Group G features sixth seed Muhammad Ijaz, Muhammad Naseem Akhtar, Shaikh Muhammad Mudassir and Sharjeel Mahmood.

Seventh seed Muhammad Asif has been drawn in Group G in the company of Sultan Muhammad, Mubashir Raza and Rizwan Hashmi while Group H has the presence of eighth seed Agha Bilawal, Sohail Shahzad, Abdul Sattar, Aamir Tariq and Hamza Ilyas.

Results: Muhammad Bilal (Pjb) bt Abdul Raziq (Bal) 4-1 (58-26, 63-19, 79-7, 44-52, 79-18); Muhammad Majid Ali (Pjb) bt Ahsan Ramzan (Pjb) 4-1 (70-43, 78-7, 0-106, 61-7, 77-0); Agha Bilawal (Sindh) bt Hamza Ilyas (Pjb) 4-3 (58-21, 3-89, 34-68, 76-33, 77-8, 16-69, 97-56); Sohail Shahzad (Sindh) bt Abdul Sattar (Sindh) 4-3 (7-79, 75-40, 65-52, 65-27, 11-68, 26-56, 52-29); Babar Masih (Pjb) bt Imran Qamar (Pjb) 4-1 (32-61, 77-46, 136-0, 103-18, 68-52); Rashid Aziz (Pjb) bt Haris Tahir (Pjb) 4-3 (25-61, 61-36, 62-28, 18-71, 10-89, 54-49, 73-15); Muhammad Ijaz (Pjb) bt Sharjeel Mahmood (KPK) 4-0 (68-22, 77-33, 77-28, 72-27); Muhammad Naseem Akhtar (Pjb) bt Shaikh Muhammad Mudassir (Pjb) 4-1 (72-49, 76-50, 13-95, 71-0, 96-22); Muhammad Asif (Pjb) bt Rizwan Hashmi (Sindh) 4-3 (37-62, 6-82, 64-28, 46-59, 102-1, 79-44, 72-0); Mubashir Raza (Pjb) bt Sultan Muhammad (Sindh) 4-0 (57-46, 73-0, 71-15, 66-44); Sohail Shahzad (Sindh) bt Aamir Tariq (Pjb) 4-3 (24-74, 63-51, 47-64, 73-35, 69-48, 63-64, 63-10); Abdul Sattar (Sindh) bt Hamza Ilyas (Pjb) 4-1 (78-6, 79-0, 32-63, 71-32, 79-39); Muhammad Ahsan Javaid (Pjb) bt Imran Shahzad (Pjb) 4-1 (73-30, 22-65, 61-18, 65-8, 57-19).