KARACHI: Mohammad Asif dethroned defending champion Shahid Aftab in a last-16 thriller before advancing to the semi-finals on a dramatic day that saw the title race wide open at the National Snooker Championship here at the NBP Sports Complex on Monday.
Three-time world champion Asif first staged a brilliant comeback to oust defending champion Shahid 5-4 in a nail-biting pre-quarter-final. Trailing 4-2, Asif won three consecutive frames, sealing the deciding match with a decisive break of 66.
Carrying this momentum into the evening session, Asif then eliminated second seed Mohammad Sajjad 5-2 in the quarter-finals. After trading early frames, Asif took control, making a decisive break of 106 in the fifth frame to secure his place in the semi-finals.
Joining him in the final four was former national champion Asjad Iqbal, who put in the most dominant performance of the day.
After a simple 5-1 victory in the round of 16, Asjad blanked 2022 world champion Ahsan Ramzan 5-0 in a superb quarter-final, never allowing his young opponent to gain a foothold.
The other semi-final will see Rana Irfan take on Mubashir Raza.
Irfan survived a brutal battle, edging out Awaisullah Munir 5-4 in a quarter-final where 2024 Asian Red Six champion Awaisullah fired a break of 101 in vain.
Earlier, Mubashir ended young prodigy Hasnain Akhtar’s run 5-3, rallying with a break of 101 after losing the first frame.
The day called for other seeds. Besides Shahid and Ahsan, sixth seed Sohail Shehzad and eighth seed A. Sattar also fell in the pre-quarterfinals.
Asjad faces Irfan on Tuesday in the first semi-final, followed by the clash between resurgent Asif and Mubashir.
Published in Dawn, January 20, 2026
