Pakistani Snooker team for Asian Games announced
Five players have been named for the Pakistan national team that will see action in next month's Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.
The Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association has announced that Imran Shehzad, Sohail Shahzad, Shehram Changezi, Mohammad Sajjad and Khurram Agha will make up the squad.
PBSA chief Alamgir Anwar Shaikh is confident that the squad will bring home medals from the Guangzhou meet.
"We have selected the best possible combination on basis of recent performances and current form," he said.
Shaikh also clarified that Agha was included in the team despite getting a lower national ranking after the recently concluded Snooker Cup, because of his good track record.
"Agha is one of the best players of this country. He missed one ranking tournament and this is why his ranking dropped. He was included since he has a lot of international exposure and experience," he said.
Shehzad won the Snooker Cup by defeating Shahzad in the final.
The squad will train in Islamabad from October 15 to November 10 before leaving for China.
Shaikh will supervise the training camp since no coach has been appointed to handle the squad.
"There is very little time left. We had a couple of options in mind, but we ruled them out since the camp has to start in a few days. I’m confident that our players can manage without a coach and there is no reason for us not to do well in the Asian Games,"
he said.
The Pakistan billiards and Snooker team was left without a coach after the Interior Ministry denied clearance to Indian coach Sanjay Sawant to supervise the team's training in Islamabad.
Pakistani cueists are eager to bounce back after failing to win a medal at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha. Pakistan won two bronze medals in 2002 and a gold medal in 1998. Among the countries to participate in the Asian Games Snooker competition are China,
Thailand and India.
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