KARACHI: The Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Federation (PBSF) will host a ceremony at Karachi Gymkhana on Tuesday to fete half-a-dozen cueists for winning laurels globally this year.

“The PBSF will present approximately rupees one million to the cueists who have won gold, silver or bronze medals in various world and Asian competitions this year,” the PBSF president Munawwar Hussain Shaikh told Dawn on Monday.

He said this has become a policy decision of the PBSF now and a cueist know that he will be entitled to get cash reward for winning a medal in international events. “The step has been taken to acknowledge their feats,” he added.

To a question, Munawwar said his predecessors have been awarding cash prizes occasionally in the past but there was no policy.

It is pertinent to mention that the PBSF had already doled out Rs 50,000 apiece to Naseem Akhtar for winning bronze in the Asian under-21 Snooker Championship at Chandigarh, and Mohammad Bilal for clinching bronze in the Asian Snooker Championship at Doha earlier this year.

The medal-winning cueists who will be presented with cash awards are as follows.

Asian Team and 6-Reds Snooker Championship Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan: Mohammad Sajjad (gold/ 6-Reds), Mohammad Bilal (bronze/6-Reds), Bilal and Babar Masih (silver/team event), Sajjad and Asjad Iqbal (bronze/team event).

World under-18, under-21 Snooker Championship Beijing, China. Naseem (gold/under-18).

IBSF World 6-Reds and Team Championship Sahi Hashish, Egypt. Asif and Babar (gold/team event), Sajjad and Asjad (silver/team event), Babar (bronze/6-Reds).

Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games Turkmenistan: Sajjad (silver/6-Reds).

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2017