Sajjad hopeful of World Championship slot

Mohammad Sajjad is likely to be the third Pakistani cueist at the World Amateur Snooker Championship.

KARACHI: Mohammad Sajjad is likely to join Imran Shehzad and Sohail Shehzad as the third Pakistani cueist at the World Amateur Snooker Championship in December after Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) requested the world snooker body to include the Asia number two in the event.

Sajjad’s dropped out of reckoning for the tournament after a poor performance in the 2010 Snooker Cup in Karachi, which served as a qualifying event for the World Championship, where he failed to reach the last-four.

“Sajjad is our key performer for the championship,” PBSA President Alamgir Sheikh told The Express Tribune. “The PBSA has sent Sajjad’s name as the third player but it is tentative as the World Billiards and Snooker Association (WBSA) has not confirmed the entry yet.”

According to Sheikh, the WBSA will only accept Sajjad’s entry if the Asian number one fails to take part in the championship and that the Sargodha-born was the best cueist in the country, one who has the temperament to deal with pressure in international tournaments.

“Sajjad delivers better performance in international matches as compared to the local events. He demonstrated that throughout the year so the PBSA has tried to include his name in the world championship.”

Sajjad was the runner-up in the Asian Championship and won the Korat Cup in Thailand besides participating in the prestigious Six-Red World Championship and Shanghai Open earlier this year.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 6^th, 2010.