Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI) has cancelled a bilateral India-Pakistan snooker series following Government’s objection.
The Indian team, consisting of captain Kamal Chawla, Brijesh Damani, Lucky Vatnani and Rafath Habib, was to leave for Karachi on Tuesday evening. However, the series, scheduled to be held from March 7 to 10, was called off on security ground.
“We had received our visas yesterday. I got to know about the decision late in the evening. We are sad that this series is not happening, but safety of the players is also important,” Chawla said on Tuesday.
BSFI secretary S. Balasubramaniam said: “The Union sports ministry said that a ‘no objection certificate’ has to be obtained from it. We were not aware of such a rule. Maybe it was because of the lack of communication,” he said.
The series was last held eight years ago.
PTI reports:
A four-member Pakistan team will visit Indore to participate in the Asian under-21 championships, Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) chief Alamgir A. Shaikh said. “A four-member team will definitely travel to India for the Asian u-21 snooker rom April 1 to 7. The current turn of events will not affect our relationship with the Indian counterparts,” Shaikh said from Karachi.
