Record 51 cueists to play in Snooker event

KARACHI: A record 51 cueists from all over the country will be taking part in the 41st National Snooker Championship 2016 to be staged here later this month.

The details of the event which will run for 13 days were unveiled by Alamgir Anwar Shaikh, Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA) president, and Tahir Ahmed, Jubilee General Insurance Managing Director, here at the Karachi Gymkhana on Monday.

“It will be the biggest-ever national snooker competition in terms of participation as well as duration and it will also be offering enhanced cash prizes,” the PBSA president announced.

“The winner will be receiving a purse of Rs100,000 and the total prize money will be Rs272,000,” he added.

He added that the top 12 cueists of the national ranking chart had been granted direct entry into the event, while the qualifiers had come from Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad. “Five outstanding junior players have also been given a chance to compete with the best cueists of the country, while Mohammad Yousuf and Hunain Aamir have been awarded wild card entries,” he said. Tahir suggested holding an Under-15 event at the national level. “Prior to that event, inter-school tournaments in various cities can also be held,” he added.

“Once snooker reaches schools, the game will get a huge boost and the pool of players will expand phenomenally,” he opined.

“Our youngsters have been making the country proud with their exceptional performance at the international level. We must continue providing them with the desired support and infrastructure,” he added.

Hamza Akbar, who won the National Championship last year, will not be eligible for this edition of the Nationals, having graduated to the professional circuit.

The eight seeded cueists are Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Sajjad, Mohammad Bilal, Shahram Changezi, Majid Ali, Babar Masih, Shahid Aftab and Sharjeel Mahmood.

Sultan Mohammad, Rambail Gul, Abdul Sattar and Imran Shahzad are the other top-ranked cueists to have earned direct qualification into the event.

The five junior cueists who have been granted entry are Mohammad Muzammil, Mohammad Saqib, Haris Tahir, Abdul Jawaid and Abdul Raheem.