PESHAWAR, June 11: Qatari coach Bilal Mughal arrived here on Wednesday to train top five NWFP cueists during a weeklong training and coaching camp to be setup at Green Snooker Club from Thursday.

Talking to reporters, Bilal said that he was happy to get the warm welcome from NWFP Snooker Association and the players. “Being a professional coach, I accepted the request of the association because I know the potential here and I want to exploit that for the larger interest of the game in Pakistan,” said Bilal.

Bilal, a Pakistan-born Qatar national, started his coaching career in 1991 after calling the day as a player. He was coached by two renowned coaches including Frank Adamson of South Africa and Jimmy White of UK. He is currently imparting training to top Pakistan players such as Saleh Muhammad, Khurram Agha and Sajjad Ahmad.

“We are grateful to Bilal for accepting our request to train NWFP cueists including Saleh Muhammad, M. Shafique, Rambel Gul, Inam-ur-Rehman, Nouman Shah and Arshad Siddiq,” Secretary of NWFP Snooker Association Zulfiqar Butt said.

Apart from Saleh all the other players will be part of the 15-day camp training while he (Bilal) will be here for a week. He disclosed that the association had chalked out a plan to hold International level event in the province for which talks are on with the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA). “We want to have snooker players from Asia over for the event.”

“Coaching can help an individual to improve his or her game as I have also witnessed many players learn something completely new despite their vast experience,” he remarked. “In my coaching, grip, stance, bridge-hand, back-swing, follow-through, improving cue action, developing a solid stance, to teach importance of a pre-shot routine, focusing on preparation for each and every shot and understanding sighting.—APP