KARACHI Cueist Muhammad Sajjad aims to regain the top slot in the national snooker rankings by winning the Del Monte Snooker Cup, which gets underway at the Amir Bakhsh Billiards Hall of Karachi Club from Tuesday.

Asian number two Sajjad, who lost to his pupil and top seed Asjad Iqbal in NBP Cup final in Islamabad earlier this year, ranks the event highly on his quest to become the national number one again.

“I must win this event to gain top slot in the national rankings and assure my participation for December's world championship in Damascus,” he told APP on the eve of the competition.

“Asjad is working really hard to improve his game so although losing to him was disappointing, it did not come as a surprise to me because he is getting better and better,” the reigning national champion said.

“This is the toughest national event as the top 16 cueists from across the country are featuring but I am physically and mentally ready for the task.”

Sajjad ranked Muhammad Asif, Sohail Shehzad and Shahram Changezi as his toughest opponents in the event.

The tournament will serve as qualifiers for the world championship as the top two cueists will represent Pakistan in the World Snooker Championship in Damascus this December.

The event, worth Rs.105,000, will offer Rs.50,000 to the champion and Rs.30,000 to the runner-up, while the losign semi-finalists will get Rs.10,000 each.

Top seed Asjad will face Rambail Gul of Khyber Patkhtunkhwa (KP) in the opening match at 10.00 a.m. while Sajjad will be up against Nauman Awan also of KP at 12.00pm.

Players are drawn in two groups and top two cueists from each group will qualify for the semi-finals which will be played on October 2, while the final will be contested on October 3.

The tournament offers a good opportunity for the country's top cueists to prepare for the upcoming Asian Games, where a five-member squad will represent Pakistan in singles and doubles categories.

Group A Asjad Iqbal (Punjab), Imran Shehzad (Punjab), Sohail Shehzad (Sindh), Muhammad Asif (Punjab), Omair Alam (Sindh), Qasim Kamani (Sindh), Abdul Sattar (Sindh), Rambail Gul (KP)

Group B Muhammad Sajjad (Punjab), Muhammad Asif Toba (Punjab),Imran Qamar (Punjab), Muhammad Jawed (Punjab), Sharjeel Mahmood (KP), Sultan Muhammad
(Sindh), Shahram Changezi (Punjab), Nauman Awan (KP)