By IANS,
Hyderabad: Doordarshan has agreed to telecast live all matches played on two of the 20 tables in the IBSF World Snooker Championship commencing at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre here Sunday.
The tournament will be inaugurated by Andhra Chief Minister K. Rosaiah Saturday evening.
Results will be made available online, according to tournament officials.
The tournament is being played inside a massive hall measuring about 20,000 square feet in which 20 brand new tables apart from 750 spectators are being accommodated.
The venue is said of be the biggest of its kind in the history of World snooker and certainly among the best-appointed facilities.
On Friday night, the hall was a hive of activity with fitters readying the tables, complete with new side cushions, slate and nap. In the event, every player in the competition would be going in blind and is likely to take time to settle down to the conditions that also include the lighting and of course the ambience.
Meanwhile, season tickets costing Rs.500 apiece are likely to go on sale Saturday, according to one of the officials, but it is too early to project the sales considering that the venue is located at Gachibowli that is the hub of IT industry, on the outskirts of the city.
Also unknown, at the time of writing, was the exact number and names of foreign entries as some of the countries have, for various reasons, not sent their full quota of two players.
Afghanistan, for instance, has fielded just one player, Nader Khan Sultani, in view of budgetary constraints and also because their No.2 ranked Saleh Mohammed, runner-up to Pankaj Advani in 2003, is ineligible for participation.
Apparently, Mohammed, a Pakistani, switched to Afghanistan recently and was runner-up to Sultani in the national championship. But eligibility rules stipulate three years of continuous residence before representing a country.
It is quite likely that a few more Indian players might be included to fill vacancies, though their names are still to be confirmed. The Indian charge is now being led by Pankaj Advani and Geet Sethi.