KARACHI: World amateur snooker champion Mohammad Asif was feted at a well attended dinner-reception held in his honour by Sindh Billiards and Snooker Association at a local hotel on Friday.

President of the provincial body, Jameel A. Sakrani, presented a cheque of Rs100,000 to Asif on his feat while businessman Yaseen Tejani also awarded a matching purse to the cueist for bringing laurels to the nation.

Another businessman Haji Ghani Usman presented a shield to Asif to acknowledge his meritorious performance in the Bulgarian city Sofia.

Shields were also presented to president of Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Federation (PBSF) Alamgir Shaikh and secretary, Munawwar Hussain Shaikh. Both accompanied the two players — Asif and Asjad Iqbal — to Sofia.

“Bahria Town fame Malik Riaz was gracious enough as he presented keys of a brand new XLI in Islamabad on Tuesday besides offering a job in his firm,” Asif told Dawn when asked about response from the corridor of power.

He said since his arrival from Bulgaria on Dec 4, very few people have acknowledged by presenting cash awards so far although most of them including chief ministers of Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have pledged purse.

“I’ve only heard that the government has announced a bumper cash award but sadly nobody has contacted me from the concerned quarters so far,” he remarked.

He, however, did mention the names of Wahid Qadir (Rs100,000), Owais Muzaffar at Bilawal House (Rs500,000), and POA (Rs200,000) for rewarding him generously for his world title.

Asked about his future plans, the Pakistan’s top cueist said it was his desire to find a sponsor for footing his expenses of playing professional circuit abroad and he could repay the debt by grooming the youth at home in the days to come.

“In case of my failure to find a sponsor, I will continue to play the domestic circuit,” he concluded.

Chairman of PBSF Asghar Valika and cricketer Asad Shafiq were among others who attended the function. A shield was also presented to the cueist on the occasion.