JOIN USCivil unrest in the Middle East has played havoc to the IBSF World Snooker Championship for the second year in succession.
After Syria pulled out from hosting the world bash last year due to political uprising, Egypt has opted out from staging the event this time because of prevailing security situation in that country.
“The board of the Egyptian Federation of Billiards Sports decided in its meeting yesterday (August 14) to apologise for not being able to host the 2102 World Snooker Championship due to current security issues, paralled with a new minister and regime, and a critical economic situation,” the Egyptian Federation of Billiards Sports said in a statement.
Last time around India came to IBSF’s rescue when they chose to host the event at the Karnataka State Billiards Association at an extremely short notice. Left with no choice, the IBSF re-opened the bids for this year’s event although the limited time appears a huge constraint.
Meanwhile, Billiards and Snooker Federation of India president S Balasubramaniam said a decision on India’s willingness to conduct the event will be known on Saturday.
“Tomorrow we will have a meeting with the State associations. If anyone’s is interested then we will take the case forward.
“The main constraint is the time factor. We are in August and it’s really difficult to get the event running in just 2-3 months. Considering, KSBA staged the event last November, I don’t think we can do it once again,” added Balasubramaniam. “Let’s see if anybody else is interested. At the moment, I can’t give any gurantee.”