KARACHI: Five juniors are among the 56 cueists who are set to compete in the Jubilee Insurance 42nd National Snooker Championship when it cues-off at the Karachi Gymkhana here from Sunday. The five juniors who get the nod include reigning national under-18 and under-21 champion Mohammad Naseem Akhtar, under-18 runner-up Sheikh M Mudassir, under-21 runnerup Haris Tahir and the under-21 semifinalists Mohammad Rafiq and Umer Farooq. With the exception of Haris, the quartet will make their debut in the senior circuit. Haris has made his debut after he won the national under-18 title and Knished runner-up in the under-21 contest last year. The details of the event were announced by a spokesman for the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Federation (PBSF) on Thursday. According to details, the event carries total prize money of R s2,72,000 and the winner earns Rs1,00,000 while Rs50,000 goes to the runner-up. The top two players of the event will be eligible to represent the country in the 33rd Asian Championship being held at Doha from April 22 to 28. “The PBSF has the discretion to nominate the third player for the Doha event,” PBSF president Munawwar Hussain Shaikh said. He said acceding to the demand of players the PBSF had raised their daily allowance from Rs1500 to Rs2000, a day before and a day after elimination. He went on to say that three juniors would travel to Chandigarh, India, on April 4 from Wagah border to compete in the Asian Under-21 Championship. The team includes Mohammad Naseem Akhtar, Haris Tahir and Mohammad Rafiq. Naveed Kapadia will accompany the team as manager. “We’ve applied for visas and hope to get it sometime this month.” He said that the inaugural National Masters (above 40) Championship will be held at Lahore from March 25 and would be participated by 32 cueists. The top two finishers will represent the country in the IBSF Masters event later this year. At the outset, the honorary life chairman of the PBSF, Ali Asghar Valika, requested the sponsors to help revive the Latif Masters which has been discontinued for many years. He said the Karachi Club secretary Jawaid Karim had assured to put the proposal before the club’s executive committee to get it approved for serving as a venue for the event that would see top 16 cueists vying for the honours. It is pertinent to mention that the late Latif Amir Bux, who was one of the great exponents of the game and a marker at the Karachi Club, died long ago. Valika, who had served as the PBSF president for two decades, thanked the sponsors and media for their continuous support to the game. Speaking on the occasion Tahir Ahmed Khan showered praise on the two ex-presidents Valika and Alamgir Shaikh and expressed optimism that their successor would follow in their footsteps. Alamgir Shaikh said it was his desire to complete the left over projects including the snooker academy in the metropolis. “The Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) and the PSB have assured to provide a hall for the academy at the Coaching Centre in the city,” he added. PBSF secretary general Zulfiqar Ramzi was also present on the occasion.