ISLAMABAD: Pakistan cueist Hamza Akbar is hoping he will be able to participate in the upcoming Indian Open Snooker Championship. In 2016, Akbar failed to get an Indian visa as he was denied clearance by the Indian authorities, despite applying for the visa a month in advance. The 25-year-old, who hails from Faisalabad, has appealed to the British-Pakistani business community to get behind him for the upcoming tournament. The two-time national champion and the 2015 Asian Snooker champion, Akbar displayed remarkable performance in the ongoing qualifying round for the Indian Open in Preston on Wednesday. Akbar, ranked 91, defeated England’s Robbie Williams, 41, by a scoreline of four frames to two.
He took the first frame of the match, but his opponent equalised, taking the second frame. Akbar then clinched the next two frames to secure a commanding lead of 3-1 with a 71 break. Williams struck back with 87 to close the gap 3-2, but failed to take the match to 3-3, which led Akbar to hit the highest break of the tournament with a clearance of 135 and win the match. The Indian Open is scheduled to take place in Kochi from September 18 to 22.
Published in Daily Times, August 17th 2018.