KARACHI: The three Pakistani cueists who open their campaign in the International Billiards and Snooker (IBSF) men’s world amateur snooker championship in Bangalore, face a tough task to regain the title the nation has won twice in the past.

It was veteran Mohammad Yousuf who did the nation proud by capturing the elusive world crown at Johannesburg in 1994. Faisalabad’s Mohammad Asif became the second Pakistani to equal Yousuf’s feat at Bulgaria two years back.

According to details available here, as many as 112 cueists are competing in the annual men’s spectacle. They have been equally drawn into 16 groups comprising seven players apiece.

Two other events — masters and women’s — will run concurrently. The championship conclude on Nov 29.

National champion Mohammad Asif Toba, who also heads the national rankings, is drawn in group R which also include Iran’s Soheil Vahedi, the 2009 losing finalist of world under-21 snooker championship.

Mohammad Sajjad, a former Asian No 2, heads group G together with Sweden-based Pakistani Farhan Mirza who was the first cueist to have won the national junior and senior championships in the past. Hamza Akbar, the third Pakistani player in the event, is placed in group C.

The IBSF annual elections will also take place on the sidelines of the championships on Nov 26. Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Federation president, Alamgir Shaikh, is a candidate for the post of vice-president.

Groups of Pakistan players:

Group C: Kritsanut Lertsattayathom (Thailand), Vinicius Da Silva Tucuta (Brazil), Michael Collumb (Scotland), Varun Madan (India), Ivan kakovsky (Russia), Hatem Yaseen (Egypt) and Hamza Akbar (Pakistan).

Group G: Mohammad Sajjad (Pakistan), Birjesh Damani (India), Farhan Mirza (Sweden), Felipe Tauro (Philippines), Mohamad Mubeen Mansoor (Sri Lanka), Dominik Scherubi (Austria) and I. V. Rajeev (India).

Group R: Fakhrie Gierdien(South Africa), Josh Boileau (Ireland), Adrian Ridley (Australia), Sahil Nayyar (India), Mohammad Asif Toba (Pakistan), Soheil Vahedi (Iran) and Balaj Reddy (India).

Published in Dawn, November 19th , 2014