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KARACHI: The baize game is set to receive a big boost in the country when its controlling body will come under the umbrella of the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) after Eid.
“Yes the affiliation is on the anvil and the formalities are in the final stage of completion,” president of the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA), Alamgir Shaikh, told Dawn on Saturday.
The PBSA official said he had recently apprised the POA chief, Lt. Gen Syed Arif Hasan, about the progress and on his instructions dispatched letters to Army, Wapda, Police and PAF for nominating a representative each for the proposed board.
“The step will pave the way for induction of at least six promising cueists, who have been showing consistent performance, in the above departments,” he added.
With the exception of Punjab, three provincial bodies of the game have got provisional affiliation with their respective provincial Olympic chapters.
Alamgir said certain amendments, including change of nomenclature, are being carried out in the existing constitution and would be send to POA soon for necessary approval and granting provisional affiliation.
Terming it a big achievement in quarter-of-a-century for the game, he hoped the step will go a long way in taking the sport to new heights.
He said the general body of the PBSA will meet in the city sometime next month to approve the revised constitution.
Meanwhile, the PBSA is likely to get another breakthrough when it gets a place to start snooker academy in Agriculture University Faisalabad in the near future.
“I had a fruitful conversation with the vice chancellor of the university, Dr. Iqbal Ahmed Khan, who has assured to extend all help in this regard,” he said.
He said once a deal is struck between the games controlling body and the varsity, the proposed academy will not only provide access to players of adjoining cities but will also throw more players from Punjab in future.
He disclosed that another proposal for setting-up an academy in Lahore was under consideration of the high government officials of the province and likely to bring fruitful results.
He said PBSA plans to install four Chinese shender tables at one of the academies in Punjab. The tables are due to arrive here early next month with the courtesy of sponsors.
In addition, PBSA was considering importing one additional table by meeting it cost that would be used for finals in other cities.
He heaved praise on Joseph Lo of Hong Kong, a board member of the Asian Confederation of Billiards Sports (ACBS), who was instrumental in arranging the tables for Pakistan free of cost.
According to him, a table and its accessories costs approximately Rs 300,000 excluding import duty and sales tax.
