Unseeded Asjad Iqbal stuns top seed Babar Masih 5-4 to move into 44th National Snooker Championship semis
Unseeded Asjad Iqbal, Ali Haider, Zulfiqar Abdul Qadir and Muhammad Bilal move into the semifinals of the 44th National Snooker Championship at Karachi Gymkhana.
An unseeded duo comprising national U-21 champion Ali Haider, Asjad Iqbal, third seed Zulfiqar Abdul Qadir and former national champion Muhammad Bilal were on song, making surprise entries in semifinals of the 44th National Snooker Championship at Karachi Gymkhana.
Four-time NBP Cup champion and unseeded Asjad Iqbal of Punjab shocked top seed Babar Masih by 5-4 to stay in contention. Asjad cracked only break of 96 points in the second frame as he romped home with the final score line of (32-69(56), 126-01(96), 92-41, 15-112(112), 85-0, 64-25, 01-98(63), 43-62, 67-0).
Third seed Zulfiqar Abdul Qadir from Sindh, with his unblemished record in the competition, defeated second seed and defending champion Muhammad Asif by 5-4. The highlight of the battle was a resounding break by Asif of 113 in the 8th frame but Qadir managed to get berth into the semifinal with the final score line of (31-70, 67-56, 29-87, 12-62, 73-38, 65-24, 80-08(71), 0-113(113), 70-01).
Reigning national U-21 champion and unseeded Ali Haider fought gallantly as he coasted to 5-1 victory over Sindh qualifier Agha Bilawal the scores being (128-0(67), 48-02, 56-40, 58-66, 67-16, 75-45). Now Ali will face Asjad Iqbal in the first semifinal at 1:00 am on Friday(Tomorrow).
Former national champion Muhammad Bilal faced little resistance while getting the better of Muhammad Ijaz, who was completely off colour in the third national ranking event last year after winning the NBP Cup. Unbeaten Bilal won (49-55, 43-58, 78-29, 47-61, 78-42, 32-84(66), 85-47, 68-47, 67-21). Bilal will now face Zulfiqar A. Qadir at 2:00 pm in the second semifinal on 29th March of best of 11 frames.
Babar who earned the distinction of becoming the top ranked cueist of the country ended his journey in the championship but Babar Masih registered break of 112 and Mohammad Asif (113) hogged limelight by hammering century breaks.
Quarterfinal results:
| Player | vs | Player | Score line |
| Asjad Iqbal (Pjb) | def | Babar Masih (Pjb) | 5-4(32-69(56), 126-01(96), 92-41, 15-112(112), 85-0, 64-25, 01-98(63), 43-62, 67-0) |
| Ali Haider (Pjb) | def | Agha Bilawal (Sindh) | 5-1(128-0(67), 48-02, 56-40, 58-66, 67-16, 75-45) |
| Muhammad Bilal (Pjb) | def | Muhammad Ijaz (Pjb) | 5-4(49-55, 43-58, 78-29, 47-61, 78-42, 32-84(66), 85-47, 68-47, 67-21) |
| Zulfiqar A. Qadir (Sindh) | def | Muhammad Asif (Pjb) | 5-4(31-70, 67-56, 29-87, 12-62, 73-38, 65-24, 80-08(71), 0-113(113), 70-01) |
