The 60th National Billiard Championship:

Knockout stage begins today

Anuradha Abeysekera

The 60th National Billiard Championship has reached its National level and will continue its knockout stage from today to January 20 at the Sugathdasa Sports Hotel, Colombo. Billiards and Snooker Association of Sri Lanka (BSASL) conducting the championship with a first ever main sponsorship of Singer Sri Lanka PLC.

The 60th Billiard National commenced its District level competition on last November with highest number of participants from Colombo (68) while 15 from Kandy and 11 cueists from Galle taking part. Altogether 26 players have been qualified from the district level to All Island level contest completed on December 2.

Eight players have been qualified from the All Island stage and along with the 24 players who are already at the elite National level, 32 cueists entered the initial stage of the National level competition conducted in round robin format from December 12 to 19.

The top most national event of the local billiard scene featured country’s best cueists battling for the Singer Trophy and the final knock out stage will work off with 16 players vying for supremacy from today to January 20 followed by the prize distribution.

The champion will walk away with the Singer Billiard Trophy while the other individuals performed well in different stages too will be awarded trophies, certificates and cash awards.

Singer Sri Lanka Sales Director L.N.K.S. Samarasingh will be the chief guest at the award ceremony while former BSASL President Sajjad Mawzoon is the guest of honour.

Singer Sri Lanka came forward as the main sponsor of Billiard Nationals for the first time, turning a new chapter of Sri Lanka’s cue sport history. The BSASL President Shafeek Rajabdeen was of the view that their new venture with Singer Sri Lanka, a well established company will help to uplift the standard of billiard and snooker sports in the country.

The 16 qualifiers for the knockout stage –

K.H.Sirisoma (SLPA), T.Samarasinghe (Otters), A.Jayarathne (YMBA), S.M.Shaharwad (MSC), Abdul Sathar (MSC), D.B.Ekanayaka (PSC-Kandy), M.C.Mathis (MRA), S.H.M. Aslam (MSC), Angelo Conghe (Otters), Fizal Hanifa (MSC), Anil Rohana (AAC), M.Mubeen (SL Army), Rohitha de Silva (SLPA), P.Somarathne (Health Ministry), Maj. Chandradasa (SL Army) and M.Nazrudeen (MICH)