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KARACHI Pakistan snooker big wigs have once again given former world champion Mohammad Yousuf a cold shoulder by ignoring his request to send him for the World Masters championship in the Indian city of Hyderabad.
Although the 2006 World Masters champion was keen to participate in the seniors event, he says the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) president never paid heed to his calls despite promising him to allow him to participate in the event which will be played along with world amateur championship which starts on Sunday.
These PBSA people will always have grudge against me. And that is why they never responded, although my department (Karachi Port Trust) had promised to sponsor my trip. Such is the venom they (PBSA) have against me just because I never bow in front of them, Yousuf told Dawn.com on Sunday.
The 57-year-old said in fact PBSA was furious over his media statements in which he had criticised the top officials, an outburst that eventually cost the pro a place in the national championship through a mischievous plan.
It all started few years ago when I criticised them (PBSA). They devised such a strange format just so I could not qualify for the national championship. They are holding national championship on that format for the last three years and now thinking about changing it. As a result, I failed to qualify to play national championship last year.
It was a drama to punish me for being outspoken. Actually PBSA president Alamgir Sheikh and his cronies had asked me to apologise for my outburst but I had flatly refused. But finally they had my signature on a document which, according to PBSA, said that PBSA and I have forgiven each other. And after that they agreed on giving me a wild card entry but then failed to fulfil their promise as they had grudge against me, said Yousuf.
The Pakistan snooker legend alleged that some five months ago after reconciliation, Alamgir had refused to send him for World Masters citing lack of funds as the reason. But the PBSA official later promised to send his entry when told that KPT would bear his expenses for the event.
Yousuf says he had confirmed from his department by calling KPT sports chief Shah Naeem Zafar in Alamgirs presence. Although KPT had asked Alamgir to send an official request, the PBSA never sent any letter to the department.
Naeem confirmed Yousufs claim by saying he had been contacted by Yousuf to ask if the department would be able to sponsor him for the Indian trip.
The general procedure is whenever PBSA or any sports federation wants us to sponsor our player, they send us a written request. But in Yousufs case we never received any request from PBSA, although I had personally been contacted by PBSA officials in the past who had asked us to sponsor our player and we had always co-operated, said the KPT official.
Surprisingly, PBSA president said he would have sent Yousuf for World Masters, but the player did not show interest.
We only have Yousuf who could have participated in that category, but since he never expressed his interest, we didnt send his entry, said Alamgir.
Yousuf, who stunned the snooker world and made his nation proud by defeating Icelands Johannes Johannesson 11-9 in Johannesburg to become the world champion in 1994, rubbished Alamgirs claim, saying why I will not show interest in playing snooker.
This is not the first time. When I won the world title, I could have become a professional as I was exempted from 700-pound fee, but needed funds for travel, accommodation and living expenses. But the PBSA didnt help me. During Pervez Musharrafs tenure, I was called by the President three times on August 14, but PBSA either didnt inform me or told me about it just three hours before the meeting in Islamabad, he alleged.
The former national champion was also banned by PBSA for his outburst against the association in 1999. He resumed playing after an out of court settlement.
Yousuf, the 1998 Asian champion, says top players like Saleh Mohammad, Farhan Mirza, Khurram Agha, Ateeq Latif Bux, have left Pakistan snooker because of PBSAs apathy. PBSA has also stopped giving monthly stipend to top eight players for the last three months, although they receive Rs600,000 from Pakistan Sports Board for that purpose, he added.
Just imagine, Karachi and Sindh is where PBSA is based, but there has been not a single national champion from here for the last four years.
The snooker great, who travels by motorbike in Karachi, has now shifted to Lahore in search of greener pastures.
To supplement his income, he will be coaching at the Champions Snooker Club which is to be launched on Thursday.
