Reigning Junior National champion Ashique Hussain of Moors SC knocked out defending champion M.F.M. Fahim of Moors in the quarter finals of the 67th National Snooker Championships for the U.W. Sumathipala Memorial Trophy sponsored by Sumathi Group of Companies at the AAC (Automobile Association of Ceylon) tables yesterday.
The last eight round produced thrilling encounters with two matches going to the wire while a new champion will be crowned on Sunday after Hussain came from behind to beat Sri Lanka’s top-ranked snooker player Fahim by four frames to three.
Fahim, a stylish attacking player, had surged to a 2-0 lead pouncing on errors made by the 20-year-old but Hussain bounced back to win the third 78/48. Fahim was back in his element in the fourth winning 73/17 but Hussain regained his fluency to win the next two frames on the trot and draw level.
Hussain won the decisive seventh frame 66/26 beginning with a lovely break of 51 and with Fahim having to play catch up, he conceded the match after a foul on the pink which went in-off after sinking the yellow.
Reigning national billiards champion Mansoor Mohamed Mubeen of Army SC also won a thrilling tie against Ahsan Ali (T/Cue) 4-3. After a ding-dong battle for supremacy, the two-time runner-up at the Snooker Nationals brought forth his experience with a crafty performance winning the decisive frame 69-47 opening with a crucial break of 36 and despite choking on the yellow, Ali failed to put him under pressure needing a foul from the 35-year-old Mubeen with the pink and black on the table.
Last year’s national billiards champion Hussain Ahmed Mohamed Rimzan of Moors SC won a close encounter against Army’s Susantha Wickrama 4-2 while 18-year-old S.M. Thaha of MICH booked his berth in the semifinals of the Snooker Nationals for the first time with an impressive 4-1 win against Army’s M.S. Fernando.
The semifinals played over nine frames will take place on Saturday at AAC tables commencing at 12 noon with Rimzan facing Hussain while Mubeen meets Thaha.
The final is scheduled to be held on Sunday August 25 with the best of 11-frames contestto be played over two sessions commencing at 9.30 a.m. and 1.00 p.m.
Results:
Pre-quarterfinal: Ahsan Ali (T/Cue) bt M.J.A. Thasleem (AAC) 4-2 (14/55, 23/52, 61/42, 46/23, 57/34, 50/07), Quarterfinals: H.A.M. Rimzan (Moors SC) bt Susantha Wickrama (Army) 4-2 (56/58, 63/18, 55/43, 9/49, 58/39, 46/28), S.M. Thaha (MICH) bt M.S. Fernando (Army) 4-1 (43/78, 79/16, 57/23, 59/34, 61/10), M.M. Mubeen (Army) bt Ahsan Ali (T/Cue) 4-3 (55/14, 49/61, 52/82, 61/48, 13/53, 51/10, 69/47), Ashique Hussain (Moors SC) bt M.F.M. Fahim (Moors SC) 4-3 (53/66, 50/61, 70/48, 17/73, 55/47, 64/27, 66/26)
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