National snooker events will be held in different cities, says Shaikh

KARACHI: In an attempt to spread the game across the country, the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA) has decided to hold the upcoming national snooker events in different cities.

Munawwar Hussain Shaikh, President, PBSA, announced here at the Karachi Gymkhana on Tuesday, that both the national junior tournaments will be taking place in Islamabad and they will followed by the National Masters in Lahore and the Nationals in Karachi.

According to the details shared in the media briefing, the Jubilee Insurance 3rd Junior Under-18 Championship 2018 as well as the Jubilee Insurance 10th Junior Under-21 Championship 2018 will be staged at Islamabad’s PSB Sports Complex from January 5 to 19 while the Jubilee Insurance 2nd National Masters Championship 2018 will be organized in Lahore from January 27 to February 2 and Karachi will play host to the Jubilee Insurance 43rd National Snooker Championship 2018 from February 10 to 21.

The Jubilee Insurance 3rd Junior Under-18 Championship 2018, to be contested by 33 cueists, and the Jubilee Insurance 10th Junior Under-21 Championship 2018, to be participated by 34 cueists, offer identical pattern of prize money with the winner of each event to get a purse of Rs 50,000 and the runner-up to receive Rs 25,000. The losing semifinals and the losing quarter-finalists of both the competitions will be getting Rs 15,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively.

The winner of the National Under-18 event will qualify to represent Pakistan in the IBSF World Under-18 Snooker Championship 2018 to be held in China while the winner of the National Under-21 tournament will represent the country in the ACBS Asian Under-21 Championship 2018 to be staged in Myanmar as well as in the IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship 2018 due to take place in China. Speaking on the occasion, Syed Usman Qaiser, Head of Marketing, Jubilee Life Insurance, vowed to continue supporting snooker, which they have been doing so enthusiastically for the past dozen years. Tahir Ahmed, Managing Director, Jubilee General Insurance, expressed his delight at the re-launch of the junior competitions, which helped immensely in engaging the teenagers and promoting the sport from the grassroots level.

Alamgir Anwar Shaikh, Co-Chairman, PBSA, desired greater support from the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) in order to fulfill their bigger plans. In the question-answer session, it was revealed that the PBSA, upon the recommendation of the Sindh Billiards & Snooker Association (SBSA), has accepted the apology from the cueists from Sindh who had skipped last year’s National Under-21 Championship in controversial circumstances and they have been allowed to appear in the upcoming event.