Hamza’s ‘agonising’ wait for UK visa ends

The Pakistan cueist will depart on September 20 to play in the professional circuit.

KARACHI: Pakistan cueist Hamza Akbar has finally received his visa for the UK to appear in snooker’s professional circuit after repeated efforts over the last few months.

The 21-year-old qualified for the game’s top tier after being crowned the IBSF Asian champion courtesy of his win against India’s Pankaj Advani — a former professional player himself — in the final this year.

While his qualification to the professional circuit was easy, he found it difficult to sort out all the required documentation and had to wait for more than two months to get enrolled in the circuit and obtain the visa.

While speaking to The Express Tribune, Hamza said he could not wait to begin this new chapter in his life. “I’ve finally received my UK visa and I can’t even begin to express my relief and excitement to play in the professional circuit,” he said.



“The last two months have been really agonising for me because I missed two important tournaments while waiting for my visa. I was getting itchy due to the continuous delay and now that I have everything in place, I can’t wait to fly out on September 20 and play in different tournaments with professional players.”

Throughout the process, Hamza had been backed by the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association and his uncle Tariq Abdullah, whose biggest wish was to see his nephew playing live on TV at the highest level.

However, in a tragic turn of events three days ago, Abdullah lost his life due to a heart attack.

“Maybe it was fate which kept me here in Pakistan till now so that I could spend more time with my uncle,” said Hamza. “He was the real force behind me, giving me support at a time when my parents were against me. Losing him has been one of the biggest upsets in my life, but I want to go ahead and achieve greater things for him.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 12^th,  2015.

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