Snooker trio gear up for World Championship

Imran, Sohail, Sajjad prepare by participating in Latif Masters.

KARACHI: Pakistan’s top three cueists Imran Shahzad, Sohail Shahzad and Mohammad Sajjad plan to use the Latif Masters Snooker Championship in order to prepare for the upcoming World Amateur Championship.

The trio, competing in the tournament held in Karachi, decided not opt for a camp before they fly for Syria on December 3 and participate, instead, in the event. The cueists are also helping out each other as the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) failed to hire a coach for them.

“We performed well in the Asian Games and we got the medal without any coaches,” top cueist Imran told The Express Tribune. “We try to help each other out during practice and that’s the reason why we preferred to participate in the tournament instead of practicing in Islamabad.”

The trio begin their campaign at the World Amateur Championship on December 5 as Imran aims for the quarter-finals while Asia’s number two Mohammad Sajjad feels that he has yet to prove himself after his disappointing performance in the Asian Games individual event.

“I want to win this championship since it’s the ticket to professional snooker,” said Sajjad. “But people can’t expect us to go and win titles on our own. Even during the Asian Games, we felt the absence of a coach. Right now, the three of us try to be each other’s coach instead of each other’s competition. And the Latif Masters is an opportunity for us to test how much we’ve learnt from each other.”

Meanwhile, in the tournament, Imran defeated Azeem Yousuf 4-2, Sohail outplayed Farhan Idrees 4-0 and lost to Vishangir 4-1, while Sajjad has defeated Naveen Pervani 4-3 to cruise into the last-eight of the Latif Masters that will conclude on December 1.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 29^th, 2010.