Pride and nothing else: Preparations in full flow for World 6-Red championship

Country braces itself to host mega event for first time in history

KARACHI: While contingents from various countries participating in the IBSF World 6-Red and Team Championships continue to arrive in Pakistan, the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) is busy ensuring all arrangements are complete before the event starts on Thursday.

As many as 16 tables have been arranged to accommodate the large number of matches and till the filing of this report, teams from 12 countries had landed in Pakistan, including India.

However, only half of India’s contingent had arrived until Wednesday and the PBSA expects the teams to make it before the scheduled opening of the event at 1700 (local time).

“We are hopeful that all the participants will be in Pakistan before the opening ceremony on Thursday,” PBSA chief Alamgir Sheikh told The Express Tribune. “We are extremely excited as this is a big moment for us. Holding such a mega event seemed like a distant possibility a few years back, but I’m glad it has finally arrived.”

Sports in Pakistan had received a major setback after an armed attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in 2009 had deprived the nation of any international sporting event. However, it was snooker which broke the deadlock and slowly paved the way for other sports to invite international teams to the country, starting with the seven-nation tournament in 2012.

Asked how much pride the association takes in playing an important role in bringing international sports back to Pakistan, the PBSA chief replied, “We’re striving for the promotion of snooker in Pakistan and for re-building the image of our country. The PBSA has played its role and hopefully other sports will benefit from it.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 6^th,  2015.

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