KARACHI: Pakistani trio comprising former world amateur snooker champion Mohammad Asif, reigning national champion and country’s top cueist Hamza Akbar and Pakistan No 2 Shahram Changezi open their campaign in the 31st Asian Snooker Championship when it cues off at Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

According to draws, all the three play their opening group matches in the same session at 4.00pm Malaysian time. Drawn in group “F”, Asif faces Naser Taqi of Kuwait. Hamza takes on another Kuwaiti Abdullah Alkandari in group “B” match while Shahram is slated to take on Japan’s Shuji Hase in group “P” encounter.

As many as 73 cueists representing 23 member nations of the Asian Confederation of Billiards Sports (ACBS) will vie for honours in the annual regional event which concludes on April 30. The nations are Afghanistan, Bahrain, China, Chinese Taipei, Hongkong China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, South Korea, Kuwait, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Saudia Arabia, Singapore, Syria, Thailand and the UAE.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Federation (PBSF) president, Alamgir Shaikh, will fly to Kuala Lumpur on Saturday to attend the ACBS meetings on the sidelines of the Asian championship in his capacity as senior vice-president of the body. The board meeting will be held on April 29 followed by the general body the next day. The PBSF chief will also meet the IBSF officials on the sidelines and apprise them about the progress pertaining to the hosting of an international event in Pakistan in August.

Groups of Pakistani cueists:

“B”: Hamza Akbar (Pakistan), Ahmed Saif (Qatar), Mohammad Al Shamsi (UAE), Siyavosh Mozayani (Iran) and Abdullah Alkandari (Kuwait).

“F”: Mohammad Asif (Pakistan), Boonyarit Kaettikun (Thailand), Ali Ali (Iraq), Ahmed Janahi (Bahrain) and Naser Taqi (Kuwait).

“P”: Ehsan Heydarinezhad (Iran), Shuji Hase (Japan), Shahram Changezi (Pakistan), Wai Seng Pang (Macau) and Choi Ho Hwang (South Korea).

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2015

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