JEDDAH, 4 May 2007 — Just take a cue from the Aseeri twins. In all probability they would not physically relinquish the cue, but their passion and one-dimensional approach to the sport of snooker is definitely a pathbreaker.
Ahmed and Nezar, born Sept. 23, 1977, exude the suave gentility that comes with the dress code in the sport -- the black coat and the black bow tie. But it also hides the stark passion they hold for the sport. These two cueists have given up education and marriage in their quest for perfection in snooker, a childhood passion of theirs.
Though they are single-minded in their pursuit for excellence on the green baize, they also have other interests. In this, however, they are diverse though both like writing poetry. Nezar in addition also draws and is an Al-Ahli club fan while Ahmed is strictly for Al-Ittihad club.
In spite of their varied passion, snooker always come first. This despite there being a very low following for this table sport. The indoor sport took roots in the Kingdom two decades back when many Saudi students traveled to the United Kingdom to study. The UK was the home of snooker from the 19th century.
The battle of wits between two players or more on a large (12 ft x 6 ft, 3.6 m x 1.8 m) table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions has a large following in Britain. It is played using a cue, one white ball (the cue ball), 15 red balls (worth 1 point each) and 6 balls of different colors (worth 2-7 points each).
The players have to score the maximum number of points in a frame and can confound their opponents by ‘snookering’ (stopping the cue ball from hitting the designated color or the red ball) them.
These students brought back with them the game of snooker. Today, however, billiard rules the roost in Saudi Arabia with over 600 billiards players compared to 90 snooker players -- a ratio that saddens the twins. But this only serves to encourage them to do even better in order to popularize the sport in the Kingdom.
The main reason people shifted from snooker to billiards, Nezar explains, was the time and patience needed to learn snooker. “While billiards and pool is easier and can be played at a brisk pace,” he added.
“We too could have done the same (switch to billiards which offers more money and fame),” said Ahmed, “But it is not about the money, it’s all about keeping the game alive.”
Their passion can be gauged from the fact that they stuck to snooker despite the death of their parents leaving them with the responsibility of taking care of their two younger sisters along with the chores of the home.
Many thought that the death of their parents would affect their performance or even force them to leave the game. But what kept them going was their late mother’s advice that failure only helps in one’s learning process. Thus they spent their whole life learning and honing their snooker skills and hope to spend the rest of their lives teaching it to others.
“Only those who really have the will and care about the game as we do will be resolute in their approach,” said Ahmed, who is now dividing his time between practicing and also coaching Abdullah Al-Subahi, 11. He also awaits the day when Al-Subahi would beat him. “When this happens, it is going to be the happiest day of my life.”
Both also cherish the 143 break they achieved on different occasions in a single visit to the table, while hoping that snooker, with their efforts and accomplishments despite personal hardships, would take off in the Kingdom.
Their dedication has brought some fruit. Both the president of the Saudi Youth Welfare, Prince Sultan ibn Fahd, and his deputy, Prince Nawwaf ibn Faisal, have put snooker under the aegis of the Saudi Committee for Billiard & Snooker since 1995, hiving it off from the Saudi Sports for All Federation. This, they believe is the first step and are looking forward now to have their own Saudi Snooker Federation. The benefit of this would be massive they said. “The budget to begin with would not be divided between two cue sports and would not hinder each other’s success,” said Ahmed.
Snooker is a costly sport with a player needing at least SR6,000 monthly to practice. And if he wants his own snooker table then there is the additional cost of about SR35,000. “This does not incl bringing a specialist from the UK to fix the table fabric correctly,” he said.
My protégé Al-Subahi is lucky, Ahmed said, as his father already has a snooker club here and has also provided him with a snooker table at home. The encouragement that Al-Subahi’s father offers is one for the main reasons he will succeed. “If the father was not into snooker, he might view the long playing hours as a waste of time.”
Al-Subahi too exudes the same enthusiasm as the twins do for the sport. “I want to be a world champion,” said Al-Subahi who is thrilled to hear that the committee is willing to send him to participate in Gulf and Asian Championships.
Ahmed said that though billiard is a fun game, “the real excitement is in snooker”, and his brother too echoed his sentiments. Learning the rules and following them is good, he added, but mastering them is something else. Psychology is part of it too, said Nezar, as the opponents size up the facial features, the words and body language all providing a hint of the player’s form. But of course, in the end it is one’s skill that matters, he added.
Ahmed, the older of the two twins, won the Kingdom snooker titles from 1998 to 2000. He also placed third in GCC championships in 1998, second in 1996 in Qatar. In 2003, he won the GCC doubles title. “It was the first time we got a coach and we became champions thanks to his regimen,” said Nezar.
Nezar too has added to the silverware with the gold and best player award in the World Cup (under 21) in South Africa in 1996, and was the first Arab player to qualify to the second round in the World U-21 Snooker Championship in Malta in 1999. The top two places went to them in the Jeddah Festival Snooker Competitions from 2000 to 2002. Nezar also became the first Arab to reach the quarterfinals of the 2006 Asian Games in Qatar.
There have been some interesting moments because they were twins. On one occasion Ahmed was punished instead of Nezar in school and in some championships, they had to show their passports and were walked to the restrooms by a companion so they do not effect a switch.
The brothers are thankful for the committee and Makkah Gov. Prince Abdulmajeed’s support. “His support meant a lot to us,” said Nezar. They also praised Adil Essam Al-Dein, general director of the Saudi Sport channel, for standing by them during difficult times.
They plan to open a snooker club where they hope to nurture talent. They also hope to popularize the sport by hosting championships near the beach in a room made of glass with the support of the private sector or a sponsor. A novel idea indeed.
