Snooker champ Asif, boxer Waseem meet IPC Minister

KARACHI: Pakistan’s premier professional boxer Mohammad Waseem and two-time snooker world champion Mohammad Asif on Wednesday held meeting with the federal minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Dr Fehmida Mirza in Islamabad.

The minister appreciated the performances of both the icons in their respective sports disciplines and promised that a summary would be moved so that the duo could be handed over cash awards.

Asif had defeated Jefrey Roda of the Philippines in the World Snooker Championships final in Turkey recently to win the world title for the second time. Asif had lifted the first title in 2012.

Waseem on the other hand has won ten bouts out of 11 he has played so far in his professional career. Waseem was also supported by the federal government a few years ago when Mian Nawaz Sharif was the Prime Minister.

He had been handed Rs 24 million by the state which had met all his coaching and training expenses when Waseem was playing under his Korean promoter Andy Kim. Dr Fehmida said that sports cannot be developed with the state support. The biggest issue with the Pakistan’s sports policy regarding cash awards is that there is no room for cash awards for any snooker world championship. Similarly, Waseem is a professional fighter and this genre also does not come in the cash awards policy.But the federal minister can provide the duo cash awards like already had been done in the past by moving a specific summary.