Precocious Mustafa blazing his own trail on the green baize

Bengaluru: When Sajjad Ahmed, the owner of the popular Q Castle Academy in Fraser Town, decided to open a new snooker/pool parlour in Shanti Nagar a little over a year ago, among the first things he did was to build an exclusive table for his 12-year-old son, Mohammed Mustafa. Having been in the cue sports business for over two decades, Sajjad saw something special in his kid the moment he touched a cue stick as a 10-year-old.

“During weekends, Mustafa and my elder son would accompany me to the parlour. Seeing everyone play, Mustafa too wanted to try his hand. And within a few weeks, without much coaching whatsoever, Mustafa was potting like experienced players. Around the same time, I was planning to expand my business. So I built a table just for him at my new facility. It’s called the Mustafa table and only he plays on it,” Sajjad told DH.

Most parents have a soft corner for their children and often go the extra mile to make things easy for them. But Mustafa, who has forged a strong bond with the green baize so much so that it has become the No. 1 priority in his life now, has vindicated his father’s decision by completely bossing the Junior and Sub-junior categories in both snooker and billiards in the recently concluded State-ranking tournaments.

In the Sub-junior billiards final, he defeated Nachiketa Koushik 199-114 and then blanked Karan Sheshadri 2-0 (55-36, 68-18) in the snooker title clash. In the Junior category, where the champion in both billiards and snooker was decided based on performances in the semifinal league, Mustafa won all six of his matches across both disciplines.

What was most impressive about Mustafa, a home-schooling student, was the dominance he exhibited. Barring a close-fought 251-249 win over Mayank Karthik in billiards, he was a cut above the rest of the competition, romping home in effortless fashion. In snooker, which was best-of-five clashes, he lost just one frame in three matches. Mustafa even tested the waters in the senior category and finished inside the top 16 in billiards and top 32 in snooker.

The primary reason behind his rapid growth is the right coaching at the right time. Mustafa has been consulting with the legendary Yasin Merchant for snooker and Ashok Shandilya for billiards — both in Mumbai. In fact, Mustafa had a few sessions with them before competing in the State-ranking event, and those improvements were visible at the KSBA hall.

Buoyed by the title sweep, Mustafa has now set his eyes on the Nationals next year. “That’s my main target. Strong performances there will put me on the national radar. I will be competing in the seniors also to gain experience. Snooker & billiards are my life, and I want to make my dad proud.”

Sajjad is ready to support his son’s ambitions. “He’s a massive fan of Ronnie O’Sullivan. After the Nationals, I’m planning to send him to the United Kingdom for coaching. The UK is the place for professional snooker, and I believe learning from the best will craft him into a solid player.”

The carpet will be rolled out for Mustafa, and the kid is keen on making the most of it.

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Mohammed Mustafa

Right on cue Mohammed Mustafa swept to glory in both billiards and snooker disciplines in Junior and Sub-junior categories in the just-concluded State-ranking tournament. In the Junior category, Mustafa won all his six matches in the semifinal league of both billiards and snooker combined. Mustafa, 12 years old, started to play two years ago at his father's Q Castle Academy.