Sheikh Kamal Memorial 1st SAARC Snooker Championship, jointly organised by the Bangladesh Billiard and Snooker Federation and the Dhaka Club, will kick off on September 1 (Sunday) in the Dhaka Club Billiard room. The joint organisers of the six-day meet have decided to dedicate the tournament in the name of Sheikh Kamal, the eldest son of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

BEXIMCO Group, a leading conglomerate house of the country, is sponsoring the tournament. Five nations of the SARRC region are taking part of the tournament, said a member of the organising committee yesterday. "India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh are taking part in this individual event tournament," said the member.

Each participating nation will be fielding a couple of competitors. However, Bangladesh has earned the right to field four players as the host nation.  So, a total of 12 players divided into four groups are playing in the tournament The top two players from each group will qualify for the quarterfinals.

Indian two leading amateur players, Laxman Rawat (ranked 3rd) and Sundeep Gulati (4th), are expected to be the two leading contenders for the title. Most likely Pakistani duo Mohammad Bilal and Asgad Iqbal would be their main challengers.

The official did not rule out the possibility of the chances for Sri Lankan players. But he did not comment on the prospect of Nepalese players as he had no idea about their standard.  

“Nizamuddin Ahmed and AAM Siddique, the two top ranking players of Bangladesh, are not ready to give up without a fight. Home advantage and support of the local crowd would help them give a good account of themselves,” said the official.

The organising committee has erected some make-shift gallery to facilitate the crowd to witness the games.

The official also said that Ziaur Rahman Azad alias Diamond, the most experienced local player, and Shuva Biswas were the two players who would appear in the tournament after clearing a six-player qualifying round.

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