NBP Snooker Championship: Bilal stuns Masih to go through to semis

Wins 5-0 against top-ranked player, faces Mohammad Sajjad in last four

KARACHI: Mohammad Bilal stunned top-ranked player Babar Masih in the quarter-finals of the NBP Ranking Snooker Championship, winning 5-0 to seal a spot in the semi-finals.

Of all the quarter-finals, Bilal’s victory was the most one-sided as he won in straight frames and was given too many openings by Masih, winning with scores of 70-22, 139-0(71,63), 121-01(71,50), 64-22(55), 67-58. In the semi-finals, Bilal will take on Mohammad Sajjad, while Mohammad Asif will vie with Zulfiqar Qadir for a place in the finals.

Qadir registered an upset as well against seasoned campaigner Shahram Changezi with a 5-4 win.



Qadir had the upper hand throughout the match despite Changezi leveling the match twice, but the latter couldn’t hold his own as Qadir won the decider and the match with scores of 78-66, 04-61(60), 70-48, 97-17(58), 16-68, 14-67, 94-25, 23-78, 63-19.

Sajjad was also involved in a nine-frame thriller, which he won 5-4 against Sharjeel Mehmood with overall scores of 51-55, 65-12, 79-45(69), 66-37, 0-81, 29-62, 84-21(84), 16-87, 62-13.



Defending champion Asif, who has a point to prove to the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association after being dropped for international tournaments recently, thumped Mohammad Ijaz 5-1 with a scoreline of 65-63, 74-58, 37-66(61), 83-37, 59-19, 97-10(52).

“I had a few bad outings in the last one or two events which led to my exclusion, but I’ve taken it on the chin and want to make amends for it,” Asif told The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 21^st, 2016.

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.