KARACHI: International Imran Shehzad of Punjab maintained his ascendancy while ruthlessly defeating Sindh’s Sohail Shahzad 8-0 in the final to win the third NBP ranking snooker title at Karachi Club on Wednesday.
Imran, 36, coasted to 92-24, 55-11, 74-10, 68-10, 62-4, 59-36, 65-28, 54-28 victory over his opponent in the three-and-a-half hour lacklustre final.
Contrary to the Del Monte Cup final that Imran won against Sohail 8-6 in Oct last year, the NBP event fell short of expectations to the sheer disappointment of spectators.
It is pertinent to mention that both Imran and Sohail were members of Pakistan team that won a snooker team event bronze at the Guangzhou Asian Games last year. Shahram Changezi was the third member of the team.
In the run-up to the final, Imran propelled to the knockout stage by emerging group ‘B’ champion and went on to beat former world amateur snooker champion Mohammad Yousuf 5-3 in the pre quarter-final, gets the better of Naveen Perwani 5-4 in the quarters and swept aside Mohammad Asif 6-2 in the semis.
“I was confident of winning the honours and Sohail’s unforced errors made my task easier,” a jubilant Imran told Dawn soon after the triumph.
Imran, who is set to succeed Mohammad Shahid at the top of next national ranking, said he adjusted quickly and his aggressive approach brought Sohail under pressure.
Answering a question, the seasoned cueist said his preference was to win the title instead of going for break building.
Talking to Dawn, Sohail attributed his defeat to breaking of rhythm after the semi-final. He had defeated Abdul Sattar 6-3 in the first semi-final on Monday.
Imran, the losing finalists of this year’s national championship to Mohammad Shahid, allowed no room to his opponent to penetrate and extend him in the best of 15 frames battle.
He build up small breaks –– 22 and 30 in the opener and 46, 30, 43 and 53 in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth frames.
A beaming Imran received a winning purse of Rs60,000 and a glittering trophy from the chief guest, Dr Mirza Abrar Baig, senior executive vice president and group chief, human resource, National Bank of Pakistan at the prize distribution ceremony that followed the final.
Sohail Shahzad was awarded prize of Rs35,000 and runner-up trophy.
Umair Alam of Sindh was presented highest break (128) award of Rs5,000. Cash prizes amounting to rupees 150,000 were distributed.
President of the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA), Alamgir Shaikh, and sports chief of the NBP, Iqbal Qasim, were also present on the occasion.
Result: Final: Imran Shehzad (Punjab) bt Sohail Shahzad (Sindh) 8-0 (92-24, 55-11, 74-10, 68-10, 62-4, 59-36, 65-28, 54-28) Referee: Shabbir Daruwala.
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