Mudassir upsets Sajjad in Ranking Snooker C’ship

KARACHI: Wild card entrant, Shaikh Muhammad Mudassir, stunned three times national champion, M Sajjad, on the second day of the 3rd Jubilee Insurance Ranking Snooker Championship 2019 here at the Karachi Gymkhana on Saturday.

Top seeded M Asif was shocked by unseeded Imran Shahzad, second seed Zulfiqar Abdul Qadir was routed by unseeded Abu Saim and defending champion Babar Masih was rocked by seventh seed M Ijaz. Shaikh Mudassir, the Under-18 national champion hailing from Rawalpindi, also earned the distinction of registering the first century break of the competition, during his 4-2 victory over Muhammad Sajjad, a former world number two. The teenager narrowly missed the coveted three-figure mark as he finished with a break of 99 in the third frame but he signed off with a break of 101 to make the day even more memorable for himself.

M Sajjad’s brother, M Ijaz, however, lived upto the billing as the seventh seed came from behind to overpower the defending champion. The talented cueist from Sargodha didn’t lose his cool even after Babar Masih had gone 2-1 up with breaks of 83 and 63 in successive frames. Top seeded M Asif and second seed Zulfiqar Abdul Qadir, both of whom are due to represent the country in the IBSF World Snooker Championship in Turkey starting later this month, found themselves at the receiving end when tackling more experienced opponents. Abu Saim, the reigning national masters champion, brought Zulfiqar Qadir down to earth while Imran Shahzad, a former masters champion, blew the whistle on Muhammad Asif, himself a former world champion.

Meanwhile third seed Asjad Iqbal and fourth seed M Bilal extended their unbeaten run in the competition. With three victories in as many games, Bilal, the current national champion, has inched closer towards clinching a spot in the knockout phase of the competition. Fifth seed Mubashir Raza, sixth seed Naseem Akhtar and eighth seed Ahsain Javaid have also kept their chances of going ahead alive with their fine performance.

Results: M Shahbaz (Pjb) bt Agha Bilawal (Sindh) 4-1 (75-12, 67-8, 52-63, 77-58, 56-21); M Bilal (Pjb) bt Shahid Aftab (Pjb) 4-3 (66-47, 40-74, 67-56, 8-66, 70-16, 44-67, 71-53); Shaikh Mudassir (Pjb) bt M Sajjad (Pjb) 4-2 (17-74, 72-8, 106-9, 69-63, 3-76, 101-0); Imran Shahzad (Pjb) bt M Asif (Pjb) 4-2 (78-32, 28-83, 89-46, 63-33, 14-80, 72-35); Abu Saim (Pjb) bt Zulfiqar Abdul Qadir (Sindh) 4-1 (56-34, 19-66, 57-44, 79-35, 67-41); M Ijaz (Pjb) bt Babar Masih (Pjb) 4-2 (51-66, 8-101, 9-64, 73-18, 71-1, 59-30); M Bilal (Pjb) bt Rashid Aziz (Sindh) 4-2 (61-62, 58-14, 60-26, 67-34, 18-54, 82-0); Mubashir Raza (Pjb) bt Ahsan Ramzan (Pjb) 4-1 (66-39, 46-61, 66-24, 49-59, 65-25); Sohail Shahzad (Sindh) bt M Hamza Ilyas (Pjb) 4-0 (54-35, 71-1, 93-21, 63-46); M Ahsan Javaid (Pjb) bt Ali Haider (Pjb) 4-0 (70-34, 74-0, 78-6, 93-19); Asjad Iqbal (Pjb) bt Abdul Sattar (Sindh) 4-3 (33-67, 11-63, 20-82, 65-16, 61-0, 84-5, 95-0); Naseem Akhtar (Pjb) bt M Shahbaz (Pjb) 4-2 (67-37, 64-24, 66-11, 13-57, 55-61, 67-32); M Majid Ali (Pjb) bt Agha Bilawal (Sindh) 4-0 (106-22, 73-15, 113-0, 92-0); Haris Tahir (Pjb) bt Sultan Muhammad (Sindh) 4-1 (90-17, 71-14, 75-31, 13-69, 76-3); Rashid Aziz (Pjb) bt Ahsan Ramzan (Pjb) 4-0 (67-18, 57-6, 66-34, 62-1).