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KARACHI: A fierce battle is expected among the top cueists for supremacy when the third Jubilee General Insurance (JGI) ranking snooker championship — the third ranking event of the calendar — explodes into action at Karachi Gymkhana on Sunday with top 32 cueists vying for the honours.
The player, who earns top slot in the national ranking after the event, gets a ticket for the World Championship which is being held at Bangalore from November 27. The second player for the Indian event will be named by the country’s governing body of the game.
The details of the event, which carries a total purse of Rs150,000, were announced at a press conference held at Karachi Gymkhana on Thursday.
Speaking on the occasion, the president of Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA), Alamgir Shaikh, commended the insurance firm for their consistent support to the baize game in difficult times. He said the sponsors have become synonymous with snooker which is evident from the fact that the upcoming first ever 6-Redball and under-15 competitions will be tagged with them after they have sponsored the country’s premier championship earlier this year.
The PBSA chief also thanked mediamen as well as Karachi Gymkhana for their support to the game. He also spelt out measures which the PBSA was taking for the uplift of the game despite its meagre resources.
Tahir Ahmed, managing director of the firm, said since his association with the PBSA, he had dreamt of sponsoring an under-15 snooker contest aimed at catching the young and hoped it will come true soon.
Meanwhile, Punjab’s Abu Saim has come into the fray of top 32 following a dropout of Balochistan’s S. Kamran-ur-Rehman, the 29th ranked player, and upgradation of three other players.
According to prizemoney break-up, the winner will get Rs 60,000 while the runner-up will receive Rs 35,000. A sum of Rs 30,000 has been set aside for losing semi-finalists and Rs 20,000 for losing quarter-finalists. The highest break performer will be awarded Rs 5,000.
The players have been drawn into eight groups. The event concludes on Oct 29.
Groups: A: Imran Shahzad (Punjab), Imran Qamar (Punjab), Mohammad Ishtiaq (Sindh), Abu Saim (Punjab).
B: Sohail Shahzad (Sindh), Rashid Mehmood (Punjab), Shah Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Naeem Jaffer (Balochistan).
C: Mohammad Sajjad (Punjab), Sharjeel Mehmood (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Hamza Akber (Punjab), Faisal Kashmiri (Sindh).
D: Mohammad Asif (Punjab), Mohammad Imran (Punjab), Bilawal Agha (Sindh), Khurram Agha (Sindh).
E: Sultan Mohammad (Sindh), Mohammad Yousuf (Sindh), Ayaz Khan (Punjab), Zahoor Ahmed (Balochistan).
F: Abdul Sattar (Sindh), Nauman Awan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Rambel Gul (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Farhan Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa).
G: Naveen Perwani (Sindh), Shahid Aftab (Punjab), Asjad Iqbal (Punjab), Abdul Rehman (Balochistan).
H: Umair Alam (Sindh), M. Asif Toba (Punjab), Mohammad Javed (Punjab), Qasim Kamani (Sindh).
