Hosts Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh will battle for top honours when the KA Nettakallapa Memorial South Zone inter-state snooker and billiards team tournament resumes after a 21-year break at the Karnataka State Billiards Association (KSBA) Hall on May 26.
Tamil Nadu had won both the titles when the meet was last held in Chennai in 1986. Conceived with a view to improving the standard of the game in the zone, the event was shelved due to lack of interest from a few states. Not that it is any different now.
"Kerala and Pondicherry have not sent in their entries," KSBA president S Balasubramaniam told the media here on Tuesday. "But we are keen to make this an annual affair."
The three teams will play each other once, with the top two contesting the finals in the two-day meet. While the league matches will feature two singles and one doubles, the final will be played in the Davis Cup format - two singles, one doubles and two reverse singles.
The winners will take home Rs 10,000 (each event) and the runners-up will stand to gain Rs 5,000 in the tournament sponsored by Mohanlal Mahavir Chand and Rajesh Kumar Sankesh Mutha.
The teams: Billiards: Karnataka: B Bhaskar (capt), Arvind Savur, D Rajkuamr, G Kishore Kumar.
Tamil Nadu: Prem Prakash, S A Saleem, Nadeem Ahmed, Bhuvaneshwaran.
Andhra Pradesh: Lucky Vatnani, I V Rajeev, S Shankar, M Srinivasa Rao.
Snooker: Karnataka: BV Srinivasa Murthy (capt), B Bhaskar, Duncan Mackenzie, D Rajkumar.
Tamil Nadu: Rafath Habib, Varun, Girish, Loganathan.
Andhra Pradesh: Lucky Vatnani, S Shankar, I V Rajeev, M Srinivasa Rao.
Corporate snooker
The KSBA, in association with Radio City, will conduct the inaugural corporate snooker team championship from June 2 to 17 at the KSBA Hall. "We are expecting around 60 teams," said the KSBA chief.
Each team will consist of four players and each company can send a maximum of ten teams. Entries may be sent on or before May 29 along with a fee of Rs 1,500 (per team). Details are available at www.ksba.in.