Zulfiqar surprises Sharjeel in National Snooker

KARACHI: Unseeded local cueist Zulfiqar Abdul Qadir surprised eighth seed Sharjeel Mahmood on the fifth day of league matches in the 41st National Snooker Championship 2016 here on Friday.

Sharjeel Mahmood was the only seeded cueist to be beaten on the day as the other seven seeds overwhelmed their rivals to stay in hunt for a place in the knockout stage of the championship.

The top six, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Sajjad, Mohammad Bilal, Shahram Changezi, Majid Ali and Babar Masih, have remained undefeated in the competition so far. Seventh seed Shahid Aftab and eighth seed Sharjeel Mahmood have lost a game each.

Zulfiqar toppled Sharjeel with remarkable ease. After pocketing the open frame leisurely he fired breaks of 72 and 63 in the next couple of frames to move into a comfortable 3-0 lead.

The tables were turned by the seeded cueist in the fourth frame but it was the same old story in the fifth frame and Zulfiqar won the match handsomely 4-1.

Seventh seed Shahid, a former national champion, returned to winning ways after suffering a shocking defeat at the hands of Farhan Noor the other day.

He compiled breaks of 64 and 81 in successive frames to overpower Raja Rashid 4-2.

Top seed Asif, a former world champion, registered breaks of 59 and 52 in successive breaks to tame Farhan Khan, while second seed Sajjad was tested a little by Abdul Rahman during his 4-2 win.

Third seed Bilal faced little problems in routing Sarbuland Khan 4-1, while fourth seed Shahram demonstrated his pedigree with classy breaks of 87 and 71 during his 4-1 victory over Kashif Khan.

Fifth seed Majid was in equally devastating form as he conjured up breaks of 97 and 64 in the last couple of frames to outshine Muzammil Khan 4-1.

Mohammad Faheem, who was awarded wild card entry at the eleventh hour, continued to impress as he pulled off his third victory in four outings by outgunning Rashid Mahmood 4-1.

Veteran Mohammad Yousuf, Pakistan’s first-ever world champion, justified his wild card entry by outwitting the dangerous Farhan Noor 4-1, but Hunain Aamir, the third wild card entrant, was outsmarted by Khurram Hussain Agha, another seasoned campaigner, who remained the country’s top ranked cueist for a decade.

Results: Abdul Raheem (Pjb) bt Bahadur Khan (Bal) 4-1 (79-31, 8-81, 75-50, 70-42, 68-36); Abdul Javed (Pjb) bt Shah Khan (KP) 4-3 (58-17, 20-55, 14-76, 18-74, 61-10, 62-11, 56-48); Nadir Miran (Pjb) bt Haris Tahir (Pjb) 4-1 (64-14, 62-16, 67-26, 40-71, 63-32); Nauman Iqbal (Pjb) bt Mohammad Saqib (Pjb) 4-1 (11-86, 56-27, 56-38, 62-49, 72-5); Mohammad Faheem (Pjb) bt Rashid Mahmood (KP) 4-1 (94-38, 66-27, 36-64, 71-39, 74-39); Khurram Hussain Agha (Sindh) bt Hunain Amir (Pjb) 4-2 (46-57, 57-25, 87-14, 69-26, 26-67, 45-43); Mohammad Yousuf (Pjb) bt Farhan Noor (Pjb) 4-1 (27-86, 77-42, 77-52, 65-25, 57-41); Saeed Ahmed (Bal) bt Mohammad Aqeel (KP) 4-2 (34-59, 77-24, 18-44, 71-57, 67-38, 62-9); Mohammad Asif (Pjb) bt Farhan Khan (KP) 4-1 (57-20, 37-64, 77-52, 67-9, 80-6); Mohammad Sajjad (Pjb) bt Abdul Rahman (Bal) 4-2 (67-69, 64-18, 41-69, 63-43, 82-17, 71-36); Mohammad Bilal (Pjb) bt Sarbuland Khan (KP) 4-1 (55-46, 82-59, 57-35, 14-73, 48-35); Shahram Changezi (Isb) bt Mohammad Kashif Khan (Sindh) 4-1 (69-50, 112-10, 63-20, 24-86, 89-0); Mohammad Majid Ali (Pjb) bt Muzammil Khan (Sindh) 4-1 (53-33, 48-59, 79-1, 102-1, 64-27); Shahid Aftab (Pjb) bt Raja Rashid (Isb) 4-2 (29-78, 68-0, 91-6, 121-0, 60-73, 58-1); Zulfiqar Abdul Qadir (Sindh) bt Sharjeel Mahmood (KP) 4-1 (70-22, 83-23, 86-2, 17-80, 76-31).