Chandigarh to host Asian Billiards, Snooker C'ships

Chandigarh will host the 18th Asian Billiards, the 20th Under-21 Asian Snooker Championship and the 3rd Ladies Asian Snooker Championship from April 27 to May 3, officials of the Punjab Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) said here on Thursday.

"Internationally renowned players from around 15 Asian countries will be participating in this championship and the people of the region will be able to witness world-class talent in action. This is expected to give a big boost to the sport and help enthuse the budding players of the region to better their skills and performance," PBSA president D.S. Bains said here.

The participating countries include India, China, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Qatar, Syria, Korea, Japan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Iran and others.

The current World Billiards Champion, Pankaj Advani, will spearhead the Indian challenge along with the current Asian Ladies snooker champion Amee Kamani and international medal winners like Dhruv Sitwala, Vidya Pillai and current national billiards champion Shrikrishna.

"International Billiards and Snooker Champion Alok Kumar, is from the region and with exposure at this level, we hope that more champions will emerge when such prestigious tournaments are organized in the region," Bains said.

The championship is being organized under the aegis of the Asian Confederation of Billiard Sports (ACBS) and Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI). PBSA general secretary Alok Kumar, who is an Arjuna awardee, said that the championship will be played on specially imported tables.

"Joseph Law of Hong Kong will be the tournament director and international referees along with Indian referees will be adjudging the games," Kumar said.

"All players will be seeded and the seeding will be done by the ACBS Seeding Committee, who will take into consideration previous Asian Championship records for seeding criteria, including other performance records achieved at other multi-sport events and/or at the IBSF world snooker championship and the WSA professional circuits," Kumar added.

--IANS

js/kk/bg