The Hash 10 WorldSim-National Billiards and Snooker Championship will be held here at the Geetha Bhavan Kalyana Mandapam (Gopalapuram) from July 18 to August 9, it was announced at a press conference on Sunday.
President of TNBSA Arun Pandian said that the championship would include events in the senior (mens' and ladies'), junior (boys' and girls'), and sub-junior (boys' and girls') divisions in both snooker and billiards.
“The event will help improve the profile of cue sports in both the State and country. The tournament will also decide the players to be sent for the Asian and World Championships,” he said. He also thanked the partners — Coromandel Cements, Cardia Life, Bisleri, Bhoomi & Buildings, House of Dosas, Shender and Chennalive — for coming forward to support the event. “Over 830 entries from 28 state associations have been received for the current edition,” he said.
Speaking of the field for the tournament, General Secretary of TNBSA Venkatesh Bhatt said: “We will have the likes of Padma Shri Geet Sethi, Padma Shri Pankaj Advani, Asian Games gold medallists Yasin Merchant and Rafath Habib, current champions Alok Kumar and Vidya Pillai, two-time World billiards champion Chitra Magimairaj along with many others participating.”
He also said that the championship will be webcast for the first time in its history, at www.vivacomm.co.in/snookerchampionship .
Kishore Khurana will be the chief referee for the champinship while N. Sreenivas will be the tournament director.
