Majid Ali outshines Haris Nadeem to clinch national junior crown

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Haris Nadeem, a resident of Nazimabad, came close to becoming the first cueist from Karachi to win the national junior snooker title but he ran out of steam at the last hurdle with Mohammad Majid Ali, one of the most promising youngsters of the country, proving too good for him.

The teenager from the little-known town of Samandari located in District Faisalabad of Punjab annexed the Jubilee Insurance 6th National Junior Under-21 Snooker Championship 2014 by outplaying the Sindh Cup champion, Haris Nadeem, in the final at the Movenpick Hotel, Karachi, on February 20. 

Majid Ali, who had finished runner-up in the last edition of the Asian Junior Snooker Championship, was simply unstoppable in the best of 11-frame final which he won 6-1 with the scores of 95-0, 58-85, 67-31, 89-8, 83-1, 60-36, 75-28. 

He simply extended his superlative for, having toppled Hamza Akbar, the top seed as well as the reigning national champion, in the semifinals. In the final he was also helped by the lack of big match experience of Haris Nadeem who was missed quite a few easy balls, appearing to have been overawed by the occasion. 

The prize distribution ceremony was held soon after the conclusion of the final in which Tahir Ahmed, Managing Director, Jubilee General Insurance, and Javed Ahmed, Managing Director, Jubilee Life Insurance, were the guests of honour.

Majid Ali received a cash award of Rs 40,000 alongwith the glittering trophy while Haris Nadeem collected the runner-up trophy with a cash award of Rs 20,000. 

The beaming Majid Ali also received another cash award of Rs 10,000 for registering the highest break (101) of the competition while Hamza Akbar and Mohammad Faheem, both of them from Punjab, got Rs 10,000 each for being the losing semifinalists. 

Tahir Ahmed, in his welcome address, expressed his delight with the continued emergence of bright young talent from every nook and corner of the country. He advised the youngsters to study the biographies of the sports greats produced by Pakistan and derive inspiration from their accomplishments in order to acquire consistency in their own performance. 

Javed Ahmed also applauded the grit of the junior cueists and he hoped that Pakistan will continue bringing home titles after titles in snooker as they have been doing in the recent past. He commended the finalists to have made the cut from a highly competitive draw. 

In his welcome address, the President of the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA), Alamgir Anwar Shaikh, made special mention of local youngster Haris Nadeem for having played exceptionally well to reach the final of the six-day event. 

He announced that the quartet of Majid Ali, Haris Nadeem, Hamza Akbar and Mohammad Faheem, will represent Pakistan in the upcoming Asian Junior Snooker Championship to be held in Mohali, India, in April and they will participate in a one-month training camp will be organized at Faisalabad.

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Jubilee Insurance vow to further strengthen grassroots snooker

By Syed Khalid Mahmood 

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The twin Jubilee Insurance companies, Jubilee General Insurance and Jubilee Life Insurance, have renewed the pledge to continue supporting the cause of snooker and they have urged for the creation of an Under-15 circuit at the national level.

“Now the time has come for the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA) to mobilize their resources to start Under-15 tournaments which could bring about a revolution of sorts at the grassroots level. It’s about time to rope in the promising athletes early in their teens and groom them for the future,” and Tahir Ahmed, Managing Director, Jubilee General Insurance, remarked during a media briefing at the Karachi Gymkhana on February 13. 

“The junior circuit has been playing a crucial role in boosting the Pakistan snooker. It has provided the platform to the talented youngsters and they have grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Most of the top cueists of the country are young which augurs very well for the future of the sport,” Tahir Ahmed added. 

“The juniors hold the key to Pakistan’s future. Let’s provide them the opportunities and the facilities they deserve to move forward,” he suggested. 

The PBSA President, Alamgir Shaikh, who was recently elected unopposed as the Senior Vice President of the Asian Confederation of Billiards Sports (ACBS), agreed to the suggestion of the major sponsors of snooker in Pakistan and vowed to find ways and means to launch an Under-15 circuit in the near future. 

He, however, remained more concerned about the continued delay in the release of funds by the government and he didn’t rule the possibility of staging a sit-in in the federal capital later this month if the promises were not fulfilled by the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC). 

Meanwhile Mohsin Amin will defend his title in the Jubilee Insurance 6th National Junior (Under-21) Snooker Championship 2014 which will be getting underway at the Movenpick Hotel Arcade in Karachi on February 15. 

Alongwith the four provinces, Islamabad will also be represented in the latest edition of the National Junior Championship which offers prize money of Rs 105,000 with the winner to collect Rs 40,000 and the runner-up to receive Rs 20,000. 

Both the losing semifinalists will be getting Rs 10,000 each while the losing quarter-finalists will be compensated with Rs 5,000 each and the highest break of the competition also carries a cash reward of Rs 5,000. 

The tournament, whose winner and runner-up will earn the right to represent the country in the 15th Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship 2014 due to be staged at Mohali, India, in April, will be contested by a total of 34 junior cueists from all over the country, having qualified for the event by virtue of their outstanding performance in their respective provincial cups held recently. 

It was revealed that Mohammad Majid Ali, who ended runner-up in the last edition of the Asian Junior Championship, has been granted direct entry which has allowed Pakistan to field three, instead of two, cueists in this year’s continental event.

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