THERE were no incredible feats by cueists which once used to be the hallmark of the baize game as it was unfortunately hit by off the field controversies including suspension of PBSA by the PSB, change of guard and a row between couple of players and the game`s controlling body during the year which is under review.

The Karachi-based PBSA perhaps received first jolt since its inception when taking a serious notice for not conducting elections in time, the PSB cancelled its registration on Sept 1. The PBSA is not the only body which came under fire but the wrath was also fallen on some other national sports federations. The entire PBSA was taken aback by the decision which came abruptly from the then Federal Sports Minister Najamuddin Khan and tarnished their reputation.

Soon the house was set in order as per PSB requirement, with Alamgir Shaikh taking over the coveted post of PBSA president from Asghar Valika and Munawwar Hussain Shaikh replacing Aspi Mavalwala as secretary. Treasurer Wahid Tawawala also stepped down and the post was filled by Anwar Jafferali.

The incumbent president shuttled between Karachi and Islamabad for a number of times and drew attention of the higher ups about the changes at the helm of affairs as a result the PSB reversed their decision by restoring the body.

A little earlier the PBSA met with an ugly situation, also for the first time in its history, when 10 leading cueists revolted and boycotted a national ranking tournament at Islamabad in Aug.

The cueists were demanding jobs, better perks, etc and despite mediation efforts by the PBSA and even the PSB, they refused to participate. The tournament, however, went ahead with four players.

The performance of cueists in global events particularly, Asian and World Championships and a five-nation 6-Red International at home, left much to be desired.

Senior most cueist Saleh Mohammad was blanked 5-0 by India`s former world amateur champion Pankaj Advani in one of pool match

es of the 24th Asian championship held at Dubai and could not go beyond that. Pankaj is the same player who had beaten Saleh in the 2003 World Amateur Championship in Chinese city of Jiangmin 11-6.

Though two other players, Khurram Agha and Sajjad Butt, made it to the last eight but failed to reach the top. The former went down 3-5 to eventual champion Jin Long while the latter lost to losing finalist Aditya Mehta by the identical margin. Jin Long beat India`s Aditya Mehta 7-3 to land the Asian crown.

It is pertinent to mention that the same Jin Long failed to turn up for his third position playoff against Khurram in the preceding 23rd Asian meet at home and gave a walkover.

Saleh and Khurram also travelled to Austria to feature in the world event in Oct-Nov and in the end were among those who also participated.

Another disappointment was in store as the two Pakistan teams failed to impress in the 6-Red contest at home. India returned victorious by getting the better of Bahrain 8-7 in the final. Thailand and UAE were the other two teams that featured in the competition.

Saleh Mohammad was sent to Bangkok twice, first in May when he progressed to the semis in the Thailand ranking circuit in which he hammered a break of 134 and again in July accompanied by Sajjad. After qualifying for last 32 he lost to Noppadon Noppachorn of the host nation.

On the home front, debutant Mohammad Sajjad Butt surprised all and sundry when he stunned top seed Saleh Mohammad, a former national champion, 7-3 in the final to win the 33rd National snooker championship. The win which was aided by a highest break of 114 opened avenues for Sajjad as he earned selection for the Asian spectacle.

The second ranking event, 12th Style Cup, ended in a blaze of glory for Islamabad`s Shahram Changezi who accounted for Naveen Perwani 6-2. Shahram had beaten Naveen 4-1 in the league also. Shahram also surged to the top of the ranking following the victory, second of his career.

The year also marked the revival of National Juniors Snooker Championship after a lapse of a decade. Ayaz Khan whipped Ahsan Javed 5-1 in the all-Punjab final to bag the crown.—AZ