1st SAARC Snooker Championship begins in city

The first ever SAARC Snooker Championship kicked off in the city on Monday, reports bdnews24.com.

Teams from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are participating in the tournament titled 'Sheikh Kamal Memorial 1st SAARC Snooker Championship-2019' sponsored by Beximco Group.

The Dhaka Club and the Bangladesh Billiards and Snooker Federation (BBSF) are the joint organisers of the show which will end on September 06.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen inaugurated the show at the Dhaka Club and said such kind of sporting event will play a "pivotal" role in strengthening people-to-people relations.

The minister also hoped that the event would increase relations between the people of SAARC nations.

Secretary of Bangladesh Billiards and Snooker Federation (BBSF) Syed Mahbub, Dhaka Club President Khairul Majid Mahmud, and Tournament Director A Ibrahim Kazu spoke at the inauguration.

The organisers said Bangladesh has earned the right to field four players as the host nation and two players each from four other participating countries will compete in the tournament.

So, a total of 12 players divided into four groups are playing in the international sporting event. The top two players from each group will qualify for the quarterfinals.

The champion of the tournament will receive a cash prize of $2,500 and the runner-up will get $1,500, while the two losing semifinalists will earn $500 each.

In addition, the player who will do the maximum breaks (50+) will get $500 as prize.

Salman F Rahman, Private Industry & Investment Adviser to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, will be the chief guest in the closing ceremony of the event.