Asif again wins World Snooker Championship

FAISALABAD: Newly-crowned world snooker champion Muhammad Asif, on Saturday, became first Pakistani player to clinch two World Snooker titles but he is still waiting for his prize money promised by past federal and provincial governments for his first World Snooker title seven years ago.

Veteran snooker player Muhammad Yousuf also became World Snooker champion in 1994. Another Pakistan player Muhammad Saleh managed to reach the final of World Snooker Championship in 2004 but he lost the title clash against India’s Pankaj Advani.

It may be noted here that in 2012, the then federal sports minister Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani had announced to give Muhammad Asif Rs one billion for winning World Snooker title but he failed to materialize his words. Similarly, then PM Raja Pervaiz Ashraf announced Rs 15 lakh, Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa govts announced Rs 10 lakh each for Asif but only Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif fulfilled his promise.

Muhammad Asif belonged to a Faisalabad’s middle class family. These days Asif is doing a temporary job in NBP and imparting free of cost training at University of Agriculture Faisalabad snooker academy. Talking to The News, Asif’s brother Muhammad Waqas has expressed his hope that Prime Minister Imran Khan will arrange govt job for his brother besides announcing sufficient incentives.