KARACHI: Pakistan’s sporting fraternity has lost one of its most dedicated and visionary administrators. Ali Asghar Valika, the man who single-handedly revived snooker in Pakistan and elevated it to international prominence, passed away on Friday after a long illness. Known as the ‘Father of Pakistan Snooker’, Valika’s lifelong devotion to the cue sport reshaped its destiny, transforming it from a club pastime into a competitive national passion.

Born on Sept 2, 1947, in Bombay (now Mumbai), Valika came from a family deeply attached to sports. His father, Saifuddin Valika, served as president of the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) from 1982 to 1985, laying the foundation that Asghar would later strengthen.

His first foray into the sporting world as to help establish the Dubai Cricket Association, opening doors for Pakistani cricketers to find employment in the Gulf. Alongside Abdul Rahman Bukhatir, he played a part in popularising cricket in the desert long before the famous Sharjah CBFS series began.

Upon returning to Karachi in 1979, Valika turned his full attention to snooker, a sport that had virtually died in Pakistan by the mid-1980s. Elected Vice President of PBSA in 1986, and later President in 1988, he brought a new sense of energy, professionalism, and vision to the game. Under his leadership, snooker in Pakistan witnessed a renaissance.

Valika introduced the country’s first ranking system for cueists, revived the National Snooker Championship, and encouraged youth participation by lowering the playing age from 18 to 14. His reforms gave talented youngsters, previously confined by club restrictions, the chance to compete at the national level. It was this foresight that produced Pakistan’s first world champion, Mohammad Yousuf, whom Valika personally mentored and supported, even helping him secure a job during his formative years.

His administrative brilliance was first internationally recognized when he was elected Executive Vice President of the Asian Billiards and Snooker Federation (ABSF) in 1992, the first Pakistani ever to hold the position. The following year, Pakistan successfully hosted the World Snooker Championship, a dream Valika had long cherished.

He was also the visionary behind several landmark tournaments, bringing in unprecedented sponsorship to transform the sport’s financial viability. Perhaps his crowning achievement came in 1994, when Yousuf won the IBSF World Snooker Championship in Johannesburg, a triumph that placed Pakistan firmly on the global snooker map.

Valika’s tenure as PBSA president spanned two remarkable decades (1988–2008), during which he also served as Senior Vice President of the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF) and President of the Asian Confederation of Billiards Sports (ACBS).

After the passing of Professor Anwar Chowdhry, who led the International Amateur Boxing Association for decades, Valika was widely regarded as Pakistan’s most accomplished international sports administrator.

Veteran sports administrator Arif Ali Khan Abbasi once described him as “a visionary who did not just run an association but built an institution that gave Pakistan global respect”.

Valika leaves behind a wife, a son and a daughter.

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2025