Cueists deny PBSA claim on IBSF event

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani cueists Babar Masih and Muhammad Asif on Tuesday contradicted reports regarding their refusal to participate in the IBSF World 6 Red and Team Snooker Championship 2018, saying actually Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) barred them from going in the extravaganza.

They regretted the PBSA president’s statement while sharing a video clip with this scribe, revealing the actual picture of the matter and said Munawar Sheikh was misinforming the media.

“We were all ready to participate in the major championship scheduled to be held from December 12 (Wednesday) in Marsa Alam, Egypt, but we were barred from travelling in spite of our earlier selection for the event.”

“We went to Karachi one day before our departure to Egypt for participation in the World Championship but we were summoned to PBSA office where we were presented 2019 central contracts to which we denied to sign as our 2018 contracts were still valid till December 31.”

“We asked PBSA we will sign contracts on our return from Egypt to which PBSA president made a condition that we could only participate in the championship after signing contracts or otherwise we can return to home,” they said.

Both the cueists said, “We feel honored to represent Pakistan. It has always been our priority to make Pakistan and people proud by winning medals.”

Meanwhile, PBSA in a statement on Tuesday issued final list of cueists including Babar Masih, Muhammad Asif, Muha-mmad Majid Ali and Muhammad Bilal who were selected to take part in the championship. The statement said Babar and Asif refused to represent Pakistan by declining to sign central contract 2019.