KARACHI The Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) suffered a severe blow on Friday when the government refused to grant permission to an Indian coach to train the cueists in preparation for the two upcoming international assignments -- Asian Games at Guangzhou and World snooker at Damascus.
“The Ministry of Interior has regretted to issue No-Objection Certificate (NOC) to hire Indian coach Sanjay Sawant,” Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) said in a communication released to newsmen by the PBSA. Referring to the Ministry of Sports letter dated Sept 30, 2010, it says “The matter has been examined in consultation with ministries of interior and foreign affairs and the former has regretted issuance of NOC in this case.”
Earlier, the PBSA has sent a proposal to the PSB dated July 30, 2010 seeking an NOC to hire the Indian coach and a proposed budget of Rs1.5 million for three stints including air travel, accommodation, meals in addition to boarding and lodging of cueists in camp.
Meanwhile, the president and executive committee of the PBSA has expressed disappointment on the refusal of NOC.
