Pakistan’s top cueist Shahid Aftab was shocked 4-3 by Hamza Akbar in their opening match of the NBP Ranking Snooker Championship.
Akbar, in the third match of the championship taking place on the opening day, sealed the win 9-53, 24-55, 73-33, 68-29, 36-57, 60-49 and 69-68.
Two century breaks on opening day
Meanwhile, unseeded Umair Alam issued a warning to all the top title contenders as he fired a break of 128 on the opening day. While the favourites struggled to find their feet, Alam, a former Sindh champion, handed a 4-0 drubbing to Balochistan’s Zahoor Ahmed in the best-of-seven-frame contest.
The Karachi-based cueist won the match 66-9, 132-0, 59-14, 68-59. Qasim Kamani also hit a century break of 122 as he beat Abdul Sattar 4-2.
The day proved tough for defending champion Asjad Iqbal as he went down 4-3 to Lahore’s Imran Qamar. Iqbal lost the contest 52-63, 32-55, 62-4, 17-65, 71-36, 84-21, 47-60. Mohammad Asif outclassed former Asian number two Khurram Agha 4-0.
Yousuf, Shahzad start positively
Meanwhile, former world amateur champion Mohammad Yousuf and experienced Imran Shahzad started their campaigns with wins over Shah Khan and Bilawal Agha respectively. Abdul Rehman earned a walk-over over Pakistan number two Mohammad Sajjad who is currently taking part in the Korat Championship in Thailand.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 21st, 2011.
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