KARACHI: Veteran Pakistan cueist Sultan Mohammad has climbed to the top of the ladder after winning the national title earlier this year at the age of 42.

Karachi-based Sultan, who finished as runner-up in 2012 nationals, had to wait for 11 years to enter his name in the annals of the game as national champion.

He failed to get enough challenge on the path to success in the country’s premier event. Considering his age, it has not come as a good omen for the game which was visible by his performance in the regional event held at Doha in March.

It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan could only win three bronze by virtue of reaching the semis in World Team event, World Snooker Championship and low-profile SAARC contest since October last year.

According to the latest national rankings released by the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Federation (PBSF), Islamabad’s Shan Namat who finished runner-up in the national event, has attained his career-best second spot and is followed by Owaisullah and Shahid Aftab, both from Punjab, respectively.

Ahsan Ramzan, who reached the zenith by capturing the world snooker title at Doha in March last year, has since been able to muster only two bronze out of seven global events. Such has been his fall from grace that he could not proceed beyond group stage in the 47th National Snooker Championship and finished a poor 28 out of 32.

Senior cueist Babar Masih has relegated to 20th position while Haris Tahir is trailing at 24 in the national rankings.

Meanwhile, the PBSF has also released the schedule of international events, due to take place in 2023, as announced by regional and global bodies of the cue sports.

Despite the passing of five months, the PBSF has not yet issued the domestic calendar.

In a noticeable setback for the game and players in the country, no domestic event could take place last year for the very first time.

Meanwhile, a PBSF official called on Shoaib Khoso, the new DG of the Pakistan Sports Board, in Islamabad recently and apprised him of the matters pertaining to the game.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2023