An Asian snooker tournament, to be held in Bengaluru in the month of March, has been cancelled, after six players, from Pakistan or of Pakistani-origin, were denied visas by the Indian government.
The Asian Tour 10 Reds Snooker meet was called off owing to the organisers not being able to confirm the entries of the six players. Among the players who were denied a visa was Ahmed Saif, a Pakistan-born Qatari player, a Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI) official told the Indian Express.
“The Asian Tour supposed to be held in Bangalore in late March has been called off. It was a decision taken by the Asian Confederation of Billiard Sport’s board. Six players out of the 24 were either Pakistani nationals or of Pakistani origin. There were problems with their visas,” said BSFI secretary S Balasubramiam.
“In the absence of these players, there was no point in having a tournament so they did not want to have it. The decision came much before the IOC issued a statement on Friday,” he added.
The Asian Confederation of Billiard Sport event was supposed to have a total of 24 entries.
Earlier this week, the International Olympic Committee issued a directive calling all international sporting federations to not hold their events in the country after a three-member Pakistan contingent did not receive visas to compete in the shooting World Cup in New Delhi.
The IOC’s directive also asked federations to hold off on the awarding of the events to the country, unless the government could provide written assurances about all nations receiving guaranteed entry.
Mohammad Bilal of Pakistan had won the individual title in the Doha leg of the 10 Reds tournament. The Bengaluru leg was supposed to be the third with Pakistan also winning the team title in Doha.
