By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)
(Pakistan News & Features Services)
The father figure of Pakistan snooker and the Chairman of the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA), Ali Asghar Valika, has welcomed the emergence of new snooker talent which augured well for the future of cue sports in the country.
“To me it’s heartening to witness the newcomers challenge those who have been around for some time. It reflects the depth of snooker talent in our country,” he observed in a chat at the Karachi Club Annexe on January 20.
“Both the recently held twin events in the federal capital, the National Junior Under-18 Championship 2018 followed by the National Junior Under-21 Championship 2018 have brought to light quite a few emerging youngsters who can be groomed for future,” Asghar Valika, who revived the sport during his two decade long stint as the PBSA President, reckoned.
“Muhammad Naseem Akhtar can very rightly be considered as the wonder kid of Pakistan snooker. He has already won the IBSF World Junior U-18 Championship last year. With more experience and coaching he can turn out to be an asset for the country in future,” he felt.
Asghar Valika, having also headed the Asian Confederation of Billiards Sports (ACBS), also expressed his delight at the continuation of his policy to spread the sport by holding the national events in different parts of the country.
“In my time as the President it had been decided to hold the National Snooker Championships in the federal capital and the other provincial capitals. The present leadership of the PBSA has done a good job by sticking to the same policy and organizing the twin national junior events in Islamabad and allocating the National Masters to Lahore and the Nationals itself to Karachi,” he complimented.
“Over the years, as a direct result of our initiatives and policies, snooker has spread to every nook and corner of the country and today the youngsters from smaller towns and cities are also making their presence felt in a big way. Snooker has certainly come of age,” the PBSA Chairman believed.
