KARACHI: Two former country’s top cueists — Imran Shehzad and Mohammad Sajjad — together with Abdul Sattar and debutant Hamza Akbar completed the semi-final quartet of the 38th National Snooker Championship at Karachi Gymkhana on Saturday.
Imran, who has slipped in the national ranking to 19th slot, re-established his authority while registering 5-3 victory over Abu Saim in the all-Punjab encounter. He won the duel 49-55, 65-7, 54-42, 87-18, 79-8, 55-58, 60-69, 57-39.
Contrary to Imran’s match, former Asian No 2, Sajjad, conceded one frame while chalking up an emphatic 5-1 victory over former national champion Shahid Aftab.
Sajjad took little time while storming to 67-20, 75-5, 10-69, 68-8, 118-13, 58-9 victory over Aftab.
Sindh’s Sattar ended the winning streak of Punjab champion Babar Masih, inflicting 5-2 defeat with scores being 67-34, 71-30, 10-78, 70-37, 68-26, 42-61, 64-1.
Hamza, meanwhile, was stretched to full length by Farhan Noor before emerging 12-69, 88-60, 73-6, 59-73, 69-44, 32-67, 7-91, 59-58, 69-55 victorious.
Results: Quarter-finals: Imran Shehzad (Punjab) bt Abu Saim (Punjab) 5-3 (49-55, 65-7, 54-42, 87-18, 79-8, 55-58, 60-69, 57-39); Abdul Sattar (Sindh) bt Babar Masih (Punjab) 5-2 (67-34, 71-30, 10-78, 70-37, 68-26, 42-61, 64-1); Mohammad Sajjad (Punjab) bt Shahid Aftab (Punjab) 5-1 (67-20, 75-5, 10-69, 68-8, 118-13, 58-9); Hamza Akbar (Punjab) bt Farhan Noor (Punjab) 5-4 (12-69, 88-60, 73-6, 59-73, 69-44, 32-67, 7-91, 59-58, 69-55).Sunday’s fixtures:
Semi-finals (best of 11 frames): Imran Shehzad (Punjab) v Abdul Sattar (Sindh) at 1pm; Mohammad Sajjad (Punjab) v Humza Akbar (Punjab) after completion of first semi-final.
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