KARACHI: Pakistan No 1 Imran Shahzad took a step closer to win his maiden national crown with a thumping win against title holder Mohammad Sajjad at the Karachi Gymkhana on Wednesday.The member of the Guangzhou Asian Games bronze medal winning team in snooker team event, Imran enjoyed a clear edge over his opponent, the reigning Asian No 2, registering an authoritative 6-2 victory in the first semi-final of 36th NJI National Snooker Championship.

The 35-year-old Imran, who surged to the top slot of national ranking after winning the Del Monte Cup, the third ranking event last year, also hammered three brilliant half century breaks of 56, 54 and 65 in the first, second and fourth frames while registering 78-6, 85-46, 0-80, 72-48, 16-88, 62-17, 75-21, 63-24 win.

Punjab qualifier Mohammad Shahid subdued Sindh’s Sultan Mohammad 6-3 to storm into first-ever final of a ranking event of his career. The scores were 52-43, 64-4, 86-63, 67-58, 4-108, 40-64, 39-67, 70-37, 58-46.

The final between Imran Shahzad and Mohammad Shahid will be played on Thursday at 1.00pm.

Results:

Semi-finals: Imran Shahzad (Punjab) bt Mohammad Sajjad (Punjab) 6-2 (78-6, 85-46, 0-80, 72-48, 16-88, 62-17, 75-21, 63-24); Mohammad Shahid (Punjab) bt Sultan Mohammad (Sindh) 6-3 (52-43, 64-4, 86-63, 67-58, 4-108, 40-64, 39-67, 70-37, 58-46)