National snooker event: Robbed but not broken

Hamza Akbar churns out another win despite mugging.

KARACHI: Despite being robbed prior to his second match of the Jubilee Insurance 39th National Snooker Championship 2014, defending champion Hamza Akbar continued with his winning streak, carrying the momentum from the campaign opener. 

Akbar defeated Muhammad Afzal 4-1 in his Group H match at the Karachi Gymkhana on day two of the championship.

However, the 20-year-old said that it had not been an easy day for him at the championship after the ordeal on Saturday night.

“I’m still scared and I couldn’t concentrate on the game,” Akbar told The Express Tribune. “I was with four other cueists. We went out for dinner at Burns Road and the muggers caught us up on our way back, just five minutes away from the hotel.

“They pushed us to a side and took away our phones, besides the daily allowance money that we had received from the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association.”

Akbar will also be presenting the country in the U21 championship in India next month. Meanwhile, the show went on at the Karachi Gymkhana.

Babar Masih, who was also with Akbar at the time of the incident, registered a win against Sohail Shehzad 4-1, while Muhammad Asif defeated Muhammad Nazir 4-2. Muhammad Sajjad outplayed Mujtahid Ali Shah 4-2, Imran Shahzad outclassed Allah Noor 4-1.

Abdul Sattar, Abdul Raheem, Shahid Aftab, Muhammad Bilal, Khurram Agha, Shahram Changaizi, Sharjeel Mehmood, Muhammad Ishtiaq, Zulfiqar Qadir, Muhammda Asif Tooba and Yasir Shahzad also won their matches on Sunday.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 3^rd, 2014.

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.