KARACHI: The UAE-bound Pakistani cueists are optimistic of performing well to win laurels at the 30th Asian Snooker Championship which cues off in Fujairah from Saturday.

“We’ll deliver our best and try to follow the footsteps of celebrated players like Mohammad Yousuf, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Sajjad,” the cueists told Dawn on Wednesday.

The cueists — Mohammad Asif Toba, Asjad Iqbal and Hamza Akbar — are practising in a camp set up by the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Federation (PBSF) here at the Karachi Gymkhana. The camp concludes on Thursday while the team leaves for Dubai the next day.

The namesake of former world amateur snooker champion, Mohammad Asif (Toba) will make his Asian debut, the second international event of his career.

Asjad, a contractual employee of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), is the most experienced player among the three aspirants having featured in a world, an Asian, an international event, apart from a world under-21 and an Asian under-21 events.

Hamza, who created quite a stir by capturing his maiden national title last year in the presence of a galaxy of players but failed to defend it losing the final to Asia Toba, is also an experienced hand having competed in two world under-21 events in 2009 and 2013, an Asian under-21 in 2013 and Asian 6-Reds and Team event.