Iqbal started off well, hitting a break of 50 in the first frame to win 74-1 before Alam hit back in the second to win 73-42 and continued with his momentum to win consecutive frames 51-38, 64-8. However, the top seed did not give up and he claimed the next frame 60-29. Pressure, however, got the better of Iqbal as Alam clinched the sixth frame 67-27, including a break of 50, to seal the win.
Meanwhile, after winning his first match of the day against Sultan Muhammad 4-2, Sajjad went down to Mehmood as his inconsistent form in the tournament continued. The defending champion recovered after losing a close first frame and took the second with a break of 49. However, Mehmood did not let the Asian number two continue the winning run as he hit back with a break of 49 and won the next two frames 71-36, 58-32. The match went into the deciding sixth frame after Sajjad won 68-1 but Mehmood kept his nerves as he won 57-22.
In other matches, Sohail Shehzad overcame Abdul Sattar 4-1 while Imran Qamar beat Shahram Changezi 4-1. Shehzad comfortably won the first two frames 77-24, 79-24 before Sattar fought back in the third 63-31. However, Shehzad recovered from the one-frame slip and took the next two 71-19, 63-19.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 30th, 2010.
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