Imran, Sajjad through to snooker event semis

Duo joins Sharjeel, Asif to complete last-four line-up.

KARACHI: Imran Shahzad and Mohammad Sajjad entered the semi-finals of the Del Monte Ranking Snooker Tournament to ensure there were no other upsets after the stunning first-round exit of Asif Toba in the event underway at the Southend Club.

Pakistan number one Imran and Sajjad, a former national champion, join Khyber Pakhtun-khwa’s cueist Sharjeel Mehmood and Mohammad Asif to complete the semi-final line-up.

Toba, who will represent the country at the World Snooker Championship later this month in India, crashed out of the tournament following a poor run in the group stage, losing five out of his seven encounters.

However, Imran, who will also play at the event in Bangalore, justified his selection, winning five of his seven group matches to move into the semi-finals.

The Punjab-based cueist has so far enjoyed easy sailing in the tournament, earning a walkover against Sohail Shahzad in his last group match yesterday.

Imran, who beat Toba in the final to win the ranking tournament last month, was pleased with his performance. “I’m satisfied with my form,” Imran told The Express Tribune.” The event is good preparation ahead of the World Championship.

“I like this format since a cueist gets an ample chance to prove his worth before the knockout stages begin,” added Imran, who will meet Asif in the first semi-final today.

“I beat Asif in the quarter-final of the last ranking event and I’m confident that I can do it again.”

Sajjad to face Sharjeel

Meanwhile, Sajjad and Sharjeel will contest the second semi-final later in the day.

Sajjad made a decent fightback to overcome Asjad Iqbal 4-2 in his last match to confirm the last-four berth. After losing the first two frames 1-69, 9-62, he came back strongly to win the next four frames 53-07, 81-37, 79-39, 54-42.

Sharjeel, who stunned Imran earlier in the tournament, reached the semi-finals after a hard-fought 4-3 win over Sharjeel Mehmood.  Apart from Toba, Mohammad Yousuf, Naveen Perwani, Shahid Aftab and Sohail Shahzad were among the main title contenders who made an exit after the group stage.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 19^th,  2011.