"Luck is really on my side right now and I want to ride it by claiming the Asian U21 title as well," National snooker champion Humza Akbar. PHOTO: FILE
National Junior Champion Mohsin Amin, Amir Tariq and Mohammad Majid were originally set to represent Pakistan while Humza was named a standby. However, Amin and Tariq did not have their passports ready and the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) decided to send Majid and Humza.
Former World Champion Mohammad Yousuf will travel with the team as coach and has already started working with the players at a two-day camp here at the Karachi Gymkhana before jetting out to India.
“Luck is really on my side right now and I want to ride it by claiming the Asian U21 title as well,” a confident Humza told The Express Tribune.
“I wasn’t in the frame to travel to India and now when I’ve got a chance, I want to make the most of it. Ever since Mohammad Asif became world champion, it has given belief to youngsters that they too can bring laurels for Pakistan and I take a lot of inspiration from him.”
The 19-year-old said he had not even thought of making it to the semi-final of the Jubilee Insurance 38th National Championship which he went on to win by defeating Imran Shehzad 8-7 in the final.
He recalled that he had to shift to Sargodha at the age of 14 to get proper training from his mentor Bilal Mughal and all his hard work has started paying off.
“I used to beat all my friends in snooker and they started betting on me in big local events. I didn’t disappoint and got noticed in the process and was asked to take professional training.”
He added that Mughal had predicted he would spring some shocks in the national championship but Humza did not have a clue what his mentor was forecasting until winning the event on Monday.
“We’re spending time with a great player in Yousuf. We’re trying our best to learn important things from our coach on how to achieve big things for Pakistan. Even if I don’t win the title, I’ll pray that Majid wins it.”
Published in The Express Tribune, March 27th, 2013.
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