Asghar Valika urges for enhancing snooker rewards

The pioneer and key promoter of snooker in Pakistan, Ali Asghar Valika, has called for enhancing the prize money in the national circuit and take it to millions so that the country could sustain its supremacy in the international arena.

“The manner in which the game has progressed and the consistency with which the Pakistani cueists have performed at the world and the Asian level the prize money of the national events merits considerable enhancement to keep them motivated,” Asghar Valika, a former President of the Asian Confederation of Billiards Sports (ACBS), observed in an interview at the Karachi Club on May 15.

“There is no major increase in the incentives and prize money for almost a decade now. We must offer at least Rupees one million as prize money in every event to make the circuit more competitive and thus raise the standard of the game,” he suggested.

Having headed the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA) for a couple of decades from 1988 to 2008, he didn’t mince words in stating the enhancement of prize money of national tournaments was the need of the hour.

“Our brilliant cueists have achieved excellence in the game with a couple of world individual titles besides two team titles. They are a force to be reckoned with at the Asian level,” Asghar Valika, under whose leadership took the game to new heights in Pakistan, remarked.

The legendary Muhammad Yousuf had made the major breakthrough by winning the IBSF World Championship in South Africa in 1994 before clinching the Asian title at Karachi in 1998.


Asghar Valika was of the opinion that the PBSA should curtail their administrative expenses and only

one official should accompany the team and also manage the team and being the delegate.

He also advised the PBSA to make money through televised matches. He dispelled the impressions of disharmony in PBSA Executive Committee after Munawwar Hussain Shaikh took over from Alamgir Anwar Shaikh after his two terms as the President.

Asghar Valika said that Pakistan desperately needed a permanent coach who should train, groom and tactically prepare our cueists for international level.

“Our cueists are doing well at the international level and international coach can further harness their game and mentally toughen them,” he added.

Responding to a question, he said he doesn’t need recognition from anyone and feels proud and satisfied with whatever he contributed for the game of snooker in Pakistan.

“I don’t need any reward or award because achievement of players during my era and now make me happy and satisfied that they brought honor and glory to the country,” Asghar Valika said.

He made it clear that he was elected as the Life Chairman of PBSA by General Body and not by the executive committee.

Asghar Valika showed his disappointment over the fact that no national snooker activity was taking place at Karachi Club’s Amir Bakhsh Billiards Hall which used to be the hub of Pakistan Snooker in the past.

“Snooker activity at Karachi Club was stopped due to misunderstanding and efforts are afoot for it revival there. The Latif Masters should also be revived as it was a major event held in memory of Pakistan’s greatest billiards player, who finished runners-up in world championship in India,” he continued.

He recalled that PBSA struggled in early 1980s but sponsorship and support of Red & White and its marketing head, Shahid Ahmad Khan, changed the destiny of Pakistan snooker.

Asghar Valika, who remained the boss of Asian body for six years, said that holding of Asian Snooker in Karachi in 1991 and later staging of IBSF World Snooker Championship made Muhammad Yousuf, Yasin Merchant, Pradit Chuchat (Thailand) household names after matches were nationally live televised.

He wanted the PSBA to must open up and induct peoples from other provinces in their fold and also hold a couple of event outside Karachi.

“Snooker should not be confined to Karachi and events should be held in other provincial capitals as well on rotation basis,” he concluded

Asghar Valika regrets loss of form of top cueists

The Chairman of the Pakistan Billiard & Snooker Association (PBSA), Ali Asghar Valika, the father figure of snooker in the country, has regretted the loss of form of some of the top cueists of the country and hoped that efforts will be made to keep them motivated and inspired.

In the next Board meeting he plans to propose to the PBSA Executive to take measures to ensure that the once leading cueists of the country continue performing more consistently.

He was concerned with the loss of form the cueists Muhammad Sajjad and Shahid Aftab, both former champions, who performed much below par in the Jubilee Insurance 43rd National Snooker Championship 2018 held at the Karachi Gymkhana a few days ago.

Asghar Valika, who revived the Pakistan snooker while leading the PBSA from 1988 to 2008, didn’t mince words in stating that he was not impressed with the performance of the eventual champion (Muhammad Asif) either.

“I have a feeling that Asif couldn’t reproduce the form which had made him the world champion in 2012 and the national champion earlier the same year,” he observed.


“The youngsters like Asif, Sajjad, Shahid and a few others had first come into prominence when I

was heading the Association. They had shown flashes of brilliance in early career and we took care of them to boost their confidence and skills. They have repaid by having performed well internationally over the years but now some chinks in their armoury are becoming visible,” the PBSA Chairman added.

“Now the time has come for the management to talk to them and take care of their needs. Personally I feel that they would become much more productive if mentored by prolific coaches. They are blessed with talent and experience but they do need guidance and direction,” he explained.

“While it’s very heartening that the youngsters are emerging from every nook and corner of the country to challenge the top cueists of the country but we must not lose sight of the fact that the current lot of experienced cueists have brought us laurels in the recent past. They deserve to be looked after properly,” Asghar Valika felt.

He was optimistic that the present leadership of the PBSA, which was eager to further promote cue sports in the country, will take remedial measures without further delay.

Asghar Valika commends Mazhar Puri’s towering contribution to Pakistan snooker

Glowing tribute was paid to Mazhar Iqbal Puri, one of the founders of the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA), for his monumental contribution in having revived cue sports in the country.

Ali Asghar Valika, who had succeeded Mazhar Puri as the helmsman of the PBSA in 1988 and went on the lead the body with distinction for the next couple of decades, recalled the attributes of his predecessor who had passed away after protracted illness 15 years ago.

Mazhar Puri and Asghar Valika had jointly laid down the foundation in the 1980s which has resulted in the development of snooker on such strong footings in Pakistan.

“Besides being an enthusiastic and prolific cueist himself, he was a visionary leader who was extremely passionate to promote cue sports in a big way in Pakistan. We shared the common passion and interest which prompted us to work together in order to accomplish the mutual goal of taking Pakistan snooker to another level,” Asghar Valika, now the Chairman of the PBSA, remarked in an interview at the Karachi Club on February 2.

“He had proposed me as the Vice President of the PBSA in 1986 when he was its President. His initiatives and drive inspired me greatly as we began the journey of reviving Pakistan snooker in the truest sense of the word. What happened next is history which we all know,” he recalled.


“Today Pakistan has become one of the major snooker nations of the world. Let’s place on record the

huge contribution Mazhar Puri had made in sowing the seeds for the transformation. He had initiated the revival of snooker in the country and I had the satisfaction of carrying forward his mission,” the PBSA Chairman complimented.

“He was the motivating force behind the formation of the PBSA in the early 1980s, which had replaced the Billiards Association of Pakistan (BAP) as the governing body of cue sports in the country. Today PBSA has become a household name. Its accomplishments are known to everyone. Its founders deserve to be recognized and admired,” Asghar Valika reckoned.

“I am sure Mazhar Puri would have been proud to see where the Pakistan snooker stands today as the hard work as well as the sacrifices of its founders have yielded results. He hasn’t lived long enough but his dream of bringing home the world title was fulfilled in his lifetime,” the PBSA Chairman added.

“Snooker was in his blood and his sons Imran Puri, who played in the professional circuit in England, and Akbar Puri, currently President of Karachi Gymkhana, have inherited the same passion,” Asghar Valika concluded.

Asghar Valika delighted with emergence of new snooker talent

The father figure of Pakistan snooker and the Chairman of the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA), Ali Asghar Valika, has welcomed the emergence of new snooker talent which augured well for the future of cue sports in the country.

“To me it’s heartening to witness the newcomers challenge those who have been around for some time. It reflects the depth of snooker talent in our country,” he observed in a chat at the Karachi Club Annexe on January 20.

“Both the recently held twin events in the federal capital, the National Junior Under-18 Championship 2018 followed by the National Junior Under-21 Championship 2018 have brought to light quite a few emerging youngsters who can be groomed for future,” Asghar Valika, who revived the sport during his two decade long stint as the PBSA President, reckoned.

“Muhammad Naseem Akhtar can very rightly be considered as the wonder kid of Pakistan snooker. He has already won the IBSF World Junior U-18 Championship last year. With more experience and coaching he can turn out to be an asset for the country in future,” he felt.



Asghar Valika, having also headed the Asian

Confederation of Billiards Sports (ACBS), also expressed his delight at the continuation of his policy to spread the sport by holding the national events in different parts of the country.

“In my time as the President it had been decided to hold the National Snooker Championships in the federal capital and the other provincial capitals. The present leadership of the PBSA has done a good job by sticking to the same policy and organizing the twin national junior events in Islamabad and allocating the National Masters to Lahore and the Nationals itself to Karachi,” he complimented.

“Over the years, as a direct result of our initiatives and policies, snooker has spread to every nook and corner of the country and today the youngsters from smaller towns and cities are also making their presence felt in a big way. Snooker has certainly come of age,” the PBSA Chairman believed.

Golden era of Pakistan snooker ends with Alamgir Shaikh’s tenure

Alamgir Anwar Shaikh, having completed a couple of successful four-year tenures as the President of the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA), will not taking part in the upcoming elections of the national body due to take place on December 28.


In accordance with the National Sports Policy, which restrains any official from retaining the same slot for more than eight years, Alamgir Shaikh has not filed nomination for the quadrennial elections.

The PBSA, which is affiliated to the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), has been hailed as one of the best performing sports federations of the country over the years, having produced positive results on a more consistent basis than any other sport, besides cricket.

The game of snooker, it may be recalled, was revived in a big way in 1988 when Ali Asghar Valika took up its leadership and went from strength to strength.

He not only changed the nomenclature of the governing body of cue sports from the Billiards Association of Pakistan (BAP), which was dormant for the preceding decades, to the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA) but brought about a revolution which witnessed phenomenal growth for snooker in particular all over the country.

In a matter of years, Pakistan came to be recognized as one of the major snooker nations, enabling it to be a preferential venue for global and continental events.

Asghar Valika, whose administrative and organizational qualities earned him worldwide acclaim, quit the leadership of the PBSA in 2008, ironically to fulfill the obligations of the National Sports Policy.

His successor, Alamgir Shaikh, having worked with him for a long time in his team, sustained the momentum and built a stronger platform for cue sports during the next eight years which witnessed more activities at national and international levels.

Once again it’s the National Sports Policy, prompting another change of guard in the PBSA. The newly elected President, however, will be hard pressed to emulate the accomplishments of his last couple of predecessors, Asghar Valika and Alamgir Shaikh, both of whom are credited to have taken cue sports to very high level.