KARACHI: With the emergence of prodigy Hamza Akbar as national champion earlier this year, a fierce battle is expected when the fifth National Bank of Pakistan Ranking Snooker Championship starts at the NBP Sports Complex on Wednesday.

This is the second ranking event of the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Federation (PBSF) calendar and as per decision taken earlier, 32 cueists including top four juniors will vie for honours.

The details of the event were announced at a press conference held at the Karachi Gymkhana on Monday.

Speaking on the occasion, the PBSF president Alamgir Shaikh thanked the NBP for supporting the game by not only sponsoring an annual ranking event of the domestic circuit, but at the same time giving employment to four players.

The four cueists who have been employed by the bank are reigning IBSF world amateur snooker champion Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Sajjad, Asjad Iqbal and Mohammad Majid Ali.

Throwing light on the Sindh Snooker Academy he said a boundary wall around the plot has been constructed besides erecting a gate.

The soil test report and architectural drawings will be sent to Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA) soon, he added.

Pleading the injustice meted out to Asif by denying him President’s Pride of Performance and Rs10 million prize as per national sports policy for capturing the world title, he called upon the journalists to highlight the issue until the former gets justice.

Iqbal Qasim, who heads the NBP Sports Division, held out assurances of bank’s support to the baize game in future also.

Asjad Iqbal will defend his crown in the event which concludes on Aug 27.

The winner gets a sum of Rs60,000 while the runner-up earns Rs35,000 out of a total prize money of Rs1,74,000. The losing semi-finalists and quarter-finalists will receive RS30,000 and Rs20,000 respectively.

Groups:

A: Hamza Akbar (Punjab), Mohammad Yousuf (Punjab), Mohsin Amin (Punjab), Amir Shahzad (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa).

B: Imran Shahzad (Punjab), Mohammad Majid Ali (Punjab), Bahadur Khan (Balochistan), Aakash Rafique (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa).

C: Mohammad Sajjad (Punjab), Amir Tariq (Punjab), Sultan Mohammad (Sindh), Mohammad Uzair Aziz (Sindh).

D: Abdul Sattar (Sindh), Sharjeel Mehmood (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Amir Rasheed (Punjab), Vishan Gir (Sindh).

E: Shahid Aftab, (Punjab), Mohammad Javed (Punjab), Naveen Perwani (Sindh), Ayaz Khan (Islamabad).

F: Babar Masih (Punjab), Asjad Iqbal (Punjab), Mohammad Asif (Punjab), Rambel Gul (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa).

G: Abu Saim (Punjab), Umair Alam Khan (Sindh), Mohammad Bilal (Punjab), Khurram Agha (Sindh).

H: Farhan Noor (Punjab), Mohammad Ishtiaq (Sindh), Sohail Shehzad (Sindh), Shafiullah (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa).