ABU DHABI // Mohammed Shehab Al Hashemi will be hoping to end his medal drought in the individual event of the Asian 6-Red and Teams Snooker Championship at Abu Dhabi from May 18-26.
The Emirati No 1 is moving to the shorter format after finishing runner-up in the Asian Championship to Thailand’s Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn in Qatar last month.
“The 6-Red is a different format and you can’t predict the winner,” Shehab said. “I call it anybody’s game, because it’s similar to pool. Whoever gets the first break can go on and win.”
Shehab, 40, was a member of the bronze-medal winning UAE team twice in the three times they participated in the 6-Red format that sees six red balls on the table instead of the standard 15, and is hopeful of going one better.
“In the Teams Championship, I believe we have a better chance of reaching the medal round,” he said of the format that consists of two singles and a doubles match.
Shehab and Mohammed Al Joaker, the UAE captain and silver medallist in the inaugural championship, have been the top two players in the country for nearly two decades.
The championship has drawn 14 nations including host UAE and according to Shehab, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Hong Kong will be among the front-runners for the title.
Mustafa Shehab Al Hashemi, the tournament director and Shehab’s father, said hosting the event was a privilege to a country that has been ranked as the No 1 in the Arab world.
“As the host nation, we want to see some exciting matches and let the best win,” he said.
“And as an Emirati, obviously my wish is that our team will be successful at both the singles and team championships in this format. We have been the number one in the Arab world and Mohammed was runner up in the Asian Championship last month.
“So I would like to think we can have a result better than the ones we have had in the three previous appearances in this competition.
The teams in fray are: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Thailand and UAE.
apassela@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport
