KARACHI, Oct 28: Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA), along with the sponsors Lakson Tobacco, felicitated World amateur snooker runner- up Saleh Mohammad, at a Press conference held on Tuesday at the Karachi Club.

Talking to the newsmen, Ali Asghar Valika, president of the PBSA said that within a short span of its existence, Pakistan almost got a second world champion. He told Saleh that he was still a young man and he still had plenty of time of reaching his goal in future.

The PBSA official praised the sponsors claiming that they did not only help in organising four major tournaments in the country every year, not to mention the smaller ones, but also helped to send out players to the world and Asian championships every year.

He went on to mention that the PBSA awarded Saleh a sum of two lacs for his magnificent achievement and the sponsors awarded the same amount.

The Sindh Billiard and Snooker Association gave Saleh Rs.50,000 and Chaudhry Farook Ahmed, from Snooker Zone, Bahadurabad, chipped in with Rs.25,000.

Muslim Gymkhana will award Saleh with a gold medal and cash prizes at a function to be held later and Karachi Club weighed in with Rs.25,000 and one year’s honoury membership for the Pakistan cueist.

The PBSA chief also said that the President of the NWFP Billiard and Snooker Association were awaiting the arrival of Saleh to Peshawar where he will be awarded more rewards.

Valika stressed that snooker flourished in the country with the sponsors playing a leading role and stressed on a fact that the country needed a foreign coach to teach the budding youngsters springing up throughout the country, the finer points of the game.