Shehab Settles for Silver in West Asian Snooker Champs at Fujairah

Mohammed Shehab and Mohammed Al Joakar produced a sterling show on Wednesday afternoon (18 January 2012) to demolish Iraq 3-0 in the team competition of the Second West Asian Championships snooker team event to assure themselves of a quarter-final slot.

A contributing factor could have been the demoralizing 3-1 loss the Iraqis had suffered at the hands of the high-flying Iranians in their first Group A clash in the morning session at the Concorde Fujairah hotel.

In UAE Team A's first match, Shehab, who took the silver medal in the snooker singles competition on Tuesday night after going down 5-3 to Hossein Vafaei of Iran, was in superb form when he produced a break of 53 in the first frame to defeat the 2011 Arab Games champion, Firas Kamil.

Al Joakar, playing his usual attacking game, then proved too good for Ali Abdul Mohsen in the second game to give UAE Team A a formidable 2-0 lead.

Shehab and Al Joakar, who have a long and successful tradition of teaming up well for doubles competitions, had little trouble in grabbing the third frame as well to march into the quarter-finals.

Shehab said after the victory:

"I am perfectly happy with my performance in the tournament. Mohammed [Al Joakar] has also been doing well. I won some good matches in the singles competition, it is just that luck didn't favor me in the final.”

"The team event is an interesting challenge for us. We have the experience but others are improving as well and pressure keeps mounting on us to deliver.”

"Naturally, the team event is of greater significance as we are representing the country and so the pressure is more as well. The way we played today, I can say that we stand a good chance of earning a crack at the title."

The UAE Team A were to play their last first round match against Iran late on Wednesday night when the upshot would decide the winners and runners-up of the Group A.

There was disappointment for the UAE Team B as the inexperienced duo of Ahmed Abdul Qader and Abdullah Al Attar suffered a shock 3-1 loss to Oman in their opening Group B match.

Abdul Qader and Al Attar were to play their second last Group B match against fancied Syrian pair of Omar Alkojah and Karam Fatima last night. Syria had beaten Oman 3-0 in their first outing on Wednesday morning.

In a big upset, the Habib Subah-led Bahrain team was edged 3-2 by Saudi Arabia.

Qatar topped the Group C standings after defeating both Palestine and Jordan by the identical margin of 3-1 on Wednesday.

Thursday is the rest day at the tournament and the remaining first round snooker team match will be played at 3 pm on Friday with the quarterfinals following at 7 pm at the same venue.

This press release has been written by Hanif Hassan, UAEBSA International.

Further

Star Shehab Goes Down Fighting in Snooker Championship at Fujairah, FIF, 17 January 2012.

UAE Assured of Place in Snooker Finals at Fujairah, FIF, 16 January 2012.

Snooker Progress at Fujairah and the Knockout Stage Draw, FIF, 15 January 2012.

Al Joakar Leads at Second West Asian Snooker Champs at Fujairah Concorde Hotel, FIF, 14 January 2012.

Schedule and Times for West Asian Billiards and Snooker Champs, Fujairah, FIF, 14 January 2012.

Concorde Fujairah Hotel on Cue for International Billiards & Snooker Champs, FIF, 12 January 2012.

13 Countries to Compete in Billiards and Snooker at Fujairah Concorde Hotel, FIF, 10 January 2012.

Geoff Pound

More Fujairah news, resources, info and photos is posted on the Fujairah in Focus Facebook Page.

Images: Mohammed Al Joakar lines up a pot in his second frame tussle with Ali Abdul Mohsen of Iraq on Wednesday afternoon.

Fujairah Culture and Media Authority Publishes ‘The World of Theatre’

Important Publication

The Fujairah Culture and Media Authority in the United Arab Emirates has recently published the Arabic version of the book, ‘The World of Theatre’.

This has been achieved in cooperation with the International Theatre Institute (ITI) and the Azmina Publishing House in Jordan. The book's publication coincides with the fifth Fujairah International Monodrama Festival (FIMF) which starts on 20 January 2012.

Subject of the Book

The book reviews theatre issues in 45 countries around the world in the period from 2008-2010. It comprises articles written by theatre experts, critics and media personalities who analyze and convey in detail the new directions of theatre at their countries, the theatre groups that have been formed recently, along with their shows and special characteristics. The articles were translated from English to Arabic, although most of them were at first written in their original languages.

Writers and Publishers

Mohamed Saif Al Afkham, Secretary General of ITI and FIMF Director, supervised the publication of the book which was edited and reviewed by Jordanian writer Yahya Al Qaisi.

Royal Commendation

His Highness Sheikh Rashid bin Hamad Al Sharqi, Chairman of Fujairah Culture and Media Authority wrote in his introduction of the book:

“The cultural movement in general and the theatre movement in particular both on the Arabic and international levels became a distinctive mark of Fujairah. The Fujairah International Monodrama Festival which is held every two years, the selection of Fujairah as the centre of ITI, the publication of several specialized books about theatre, and the International Playwriting Competition are some of the many ways Fujairah is supporting theatre. This has all contributed in creating a rich environment for creativity and facilitating the cultural movement in the UAE. The World of Theater has been periodically published in both English and French for more than a quarter of a century by ITI. Fujairah Culture and Media Authority has chosen to make it available for Arab readers everywhere in order to introduce to them the contemporary theatre movements, and to keep them in the know about the theatre issues of more than forty countries worldwide. This is the second time FCMA has published the Arabic version of this book. This is because of FCMA's belief that such books form a true cultural bridge for communication between Arabs and the entire world.”

“The Fujairah Culture and Media Authority renews its commitment to work on all that serves the cultural movement in Fujairah and all the other emirates of our beloved country, and to be a place for Arabic and international creativity, guided in its road by the vision of His Highness, Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammad Al Sharqi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Fujairah, and his endless support and wise directives, and the continuous support of His Highness, Sheikh Mohammad bin Hamad Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah.”

The ITI and Fujairah

In his introduction to the book, Mohamed Saif Al Afkham writes:

"The International Theatre Institute (ITI) has worked as an international cultural organization since its foundation by UNESCO in Prague in 1948. Through its network of regional centers, branches and associated members from all over the world, ITI works on supporting theatre movement in member countries and developing the exchange of experiences in all theatre genres. It also promotes peace and solidarity among nations and increases creative collaboration between all parties. The Arab countries' share of all this was as uneven as the conditions and volatility plaguing them. Nevertheless, ITI remained committed to continuing to work diligently through participation in international festivals and conferences, and drawing many of the Arab countries to its membership.”

“The culmination of this Arabic international cooperation was the opening of the Fujairah Centre for ITI, and acknowledging it as the second international centre for ITI after Paris. Thus, Fujairah has taken it upon itself to provide all means of support for the success of ITI's objectives and plans in relation to cultural cooperation with Arab countries and promoting understanding between nations. His Highness Sheikh Rashid bin Hamad Al Sharqi, Chairman of Fujairah Culture and Media Authority had the biggest role in activating the work of the centre and supporting with all possible means. Fujairah International Monodrama Festival with all its editions is, perhaps, the natural outcome of supporting the global theatre movement and the continuous commitment to ITI's activities and events.”

“The World of Theatre which is issued once every two years in English and French is an important documentation of the world's contemporary theatre movement. There is a tremendous amount of time and effort invested in it and publishing its Arabic version for the second time is a source of pride for ITI. The Arabic reader will be able to read about the theatre movement of the countries selected in the book and their cultural and intellectual issues and approaches. This is of course a great contribution to the exchange of knowledge and experience between the Arab world and other countries …"

Exhaustive Compendium

The book has 432 pages and it includes information and detailed analysis about theatre in the following countries: Argentina, Jordan, Estonia, Germany, UAE, USA, Uganda, Ukraine, Iran, Iceland, Italy, Portugal, UK, Belgium, Bulgaria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Czech Republic, Tanzania, Georgia, Denmark, Russia, White Russia, Romania, Slovenia, Syria, Sweden, Switzerland, Sri Lanka, China, Philippine, Cyprus, Croatia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Latvia, Luxemburg, Egypt, Macedonia, Norway, Austria, Nepal, Holland, Japan.

Purchasing Details

‘The World of Theatre’ in Arabic is not for sale but it can be obtained from the Fujairah Culture and Media Authority. Contact: h-alfalasi@windowslive.com

The version is French and English can be ordered through the International Theatre Institute (ITI).

Further

Fujairah International Monodrama Festival Program 20-28 January 2012, (Download your Festival Program and the Summaries of the Dramas in the Festival), FIF, 17 January 2012.

Peter Brook Accepts Invitation to Attend Fujairah Monodrama Festival, FIF, 10 January 2012.

Peter Brook First Winner of Fujairah Theatrical Award, FIF, 3 January 2012.

Fifth International Monodrama Festival in Fujairah, UAE, 2012, FIF, 30 December 2011.

Planning in Full Swing for 5^th International Monodrama Festival in Fujairah, FIF, 21 September 2012.

Contact Details

Fujairah International Monodrama Festival website.

Fujairah Culture and Media Authority

Executive Manager, Ibrahim Allan: +971 (0) 9 2222678

Email: Ibrahim@fcma.gov.ae

Geoff Pound

More Fujairah news, links, resources and photographs are posted each day on the Fujairah in Focus Facebook Page.

Fujairah International Monodrama Festival Program 20-28 January 2012

This Friday at the Fort

What’s expected to be a fascinating opening ceremony of the 5^th Fujairah International Monodrama Festival commences this Friday at 8pm at the outside theatre of the iconic Fujairah Fort.

Your Program

The program in Arabic and English for the varied international festival feast can be downloaded from this link.

Show Summary

The Festival Committee has put together a summary of each of the shows to inform and whet the appetite.

The Show Summaries can be downloaded at this link.

Preparations Finalized

His Highness, Sheikh Rashid bin Hamad Al Sharqi, Chairman of Fujairah Culture and Media Authority (FCMA) and Chairman of the Higher Committee of the Fujairah International Monodrama Festival (FIMF), chaired on 15 January 2012 a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Festival.

The meeting was attended by members of the Executive Committee (pictured above): His Excellency Mohammad Saeed Al Dhanhani, Festival Chairman, His Excellency Mohamed Saif Al Afkham, Festival Director and Ibrahim Allan, Executive Manager of FCMA.

His Highness looked into the latest preparations such as welcoming guests of the festival that starts this Friday, 20 January 2012 and concludes on 28 January 2012.

The Fine Details

Sheikh Rashid was briefed on the management details from the arrival of the guests to the opening ceremony, the participating shows and concluding with the closing ceremony.

Directives

His Highness gave directives to provide all the necessary facilities for the committee’s work and stressed the need to coordinate with the Higher Committee to tackle each task well.

Sheikh Rashid visited the Fujairah Fort, the location of the opening ceremony, to ensure that everything is on schedule.

Further

Peter Brook Accepts Invitation to Attend Fujairah Monodrama Festival, FIF, 10 January 2012.

Peter Brook First Winner of Fujairah Theatrical Award, FIF, 3 January 2012.

Fifth International Monodrama Festival in Fujairah, UAE, 2012, FIF, 30 December 2011.

Planning in Full Swing for 5^th International Monodrama Festival in Fujairah, FIF, 21 September 2012.

Contact Details

Fujairah International Monodrama Festival website.

Fujairah Culture and Media Authority

Executive Manager, Ibrahim Allan: +971 (0) 9 2222678

Email: Ibrahim@fcma.gov.ae

Geoff Pound

More Fujairah news, links, resources and photographs are posted each day on the Fujairah in Focus Facebook Page.

Image: The meeting, chaired by His Highness, Sheikh Rashid bin Hamad Al Sharqi (centre), Chairman of Fujairah Culture and Media Authority (FCMA) and Chairman of the Higher Committee of the Fujairah International Monodrama Festival was attended by members of the Executive Committee (pictured above): His Excellency Mohammad Saeed Al Dhanhani (second from the left), Festival Chairman, His Excellency Mohamed Saif Al Afkham (right), Festival Director and Ibrahim Allan (first on the left), Executive Manager of FCMA.

Star Shehab Goes Down Fighting in Snooker Championship at Fujairah

UAE star cueist Mohammed Shehab (pictured below) went down fighting 5-3 to reigning world amateur champion Hossein Vafaei (pictured to the left) of Iran in the title showdown of the Club Apparel-sponsored Second West Asian Championships snooker singles to settle for the silver medal on Tuesday evening (17 January 2012).

The two finalists kept a large crowd engrossed for more than four hours at the Concorde Fujairah hotel as they produced some quality snooker.

Shehab was the first off the mark and he overcame a spirited challenge by his opponent to grab the first two frames.

However, Vafaei hit back with a vengeance to the next two frames in a row to gain a wide 4-2 lead. Shehab did not give in and zeroed in by taking the seventh frame.

The eighth had the balls ideally lined up for Vafaei and he did not balk on the opportunity to capture the frame and the gold medal.

Earlier, Shehab and Vafaei took contrasting routes to the best-of-nine frames final, which was to be played late on Tuesday evening.

Shehab, who had an easy outing against compatriot Mohammed Al Joakar in the quarter-finals, winning 4-1 with ease on Monday night, struggled at the beginning of his semifinal on Tuesday morning before he regained class and cruised to a 4-2 victory over Omar Alkojah of Syria.

Vafaei, a 4-1 winner over Ehsan Hyderi, also from Iran, in Monday night's quarter-finals, breezed through his semifinal on Tuesday morning by handing Qatar's Ahmed Saif a 4-0 whitewash.

Showing nerves, Shehab had trouble in getting his game going against Alkojah. What should have easy pots were missed and despite putting up a tough fight Shehab conceded the opening frame.

There was a remarkable improvement in Shehab's game in the fifth frame and a break of 78 points put him back in the lead again.

With cueing problems sorted out, Shehab maintained an upper hand on his opponent and needed just two small breaks in the sixth frame to exact a revenge of the loss he suffered to Alkojah in the world amateur championship last 16 round in India last month.

On Monday night, teenaged Syrian Mohammed Al Sufi turned the tables on highly fancied Kuwaiti Umar Shaheen in the 9-ball pool singles final to walk away with the gold medal.

The match was a see-sawing battle before Al Sufi grabbed five straight racks to dash his opponent's title dreams. There was some confusion at one point when Shaheen conceded the match, thinking it was a race to nine racks affair. The two players resumed after an explanation was given by the organizing committee.

The snooker team competition gets underway on Wednesday morning at the same venue.

Top players from the 13 West Asian nations are competing for gold medals in the snooker singles, snooker team, 8- and 9-ball pool singles events.

The participating countries are Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen and the hosts United Arab Emirates.

This press release has been written by Hanif Hassan, UAEBSA International.

Take a Look

Some photos of the players are posted in this photo album.

Snooker Draw

The Snooker Singles Knockout Stage Draw has been created with players and their opponents, days and times, right to the final on 17 January at 3pm at the Concorde Fujairah Hotel.

The draw can be downloaded from this link.

Further

UAE Assured of Place in Snooker Finals at Fujairah, FIF, 16 January 2012.

Snooker Progress at Fujairah and the Knockout Stage Draw, FIF, 15 January 2012.

Al Joakar Leads at Second West Asian Snooker Champs at Fujairah Concorde Hotel, FIF, 14 January 2012.

Schedule and Times for West Asian Billiards and Snooker Champs, Fujairah, FIF, 14 January 2012.

Concorde Fujairah Hotel on Cue for International Billiards & Snooker Champs, FIF, 12 January 2012.

13 Countries to Compete in Billiards and Snooker at Fujairah Concorde Hotel, FIF, 10 January 2012.

Geoff Pound

More Fujairah news, resources, info and photos is posted on the Fujairah in Focus Facebook Page.

Images: “UAE star cueist Mohammed Shehab (pictured below) went down fighting 5-3 to reigning world amateur champion Hossein Vafaei (pictured alongside) of Iran in the title showdown of the Club Apparel-sponsored Second West Asian Championships snooker singles to settle for the silver medal on Tuesday evening (17 January 2012).”

4th Fujairah ITF Junior Tennis Championships 16-21 January 2012

The players arrived last Wednesday and Thursday (11-12^th January) and have completed the qualifying rounds.

Today (Monday 16 January) a Press Conference signaled the commencement of the Under 18 championship with the finals to be played next Saturday (21 January 2012) followed by the prize giving ceremony.

Championship Features

Now that the qualifying stage is over there are four main events:

Boy’s singles

Girl’s singles

Boy’s doubles

Girl’s doubles

There are a record number of players this year with a great boost in the number of girls. There are 60 boys and 54 girls participating, a total of 114 players.

All five continents are represented with players representing these continents and countries:

America

USA, Canada

Australia

Australia

Africa

Egypt

Europe

France, Germany, Great Britain, Netherland, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, Italy, Russia, Norway, Romania, Serbia, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, Greece, Georgia and Lithuania.

Asia

Philippines, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Iran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Syrian Arab Republic and Turkmenistan.

Top Seeds

Boys

1. Artem Oganesyan from Russia who is ranked 138.

2. Enzo Py from France who is ranked 153.

3. Mina Albert from Egypt who is ranked 240.

4. Wisnu Adi Nugroho from Indonesia who is ranked 309.

Girls

1. Nour Tohamy from Egypt who is ranked 253.

2. Marina Albert from Egypt who is ranked 329.

3. Naz Karagoz from Turkey who is ranked 365.

4. Kristina Ostojic from Serbia who is ranked 400.

Press Conference

The media conference was chaired by A. G. Behrozian (Chairman of the Fujairah Tennis Club) who welcomed those in attendance and introduced the speakers and dignitaries: Salah Bramly (Tennis Emirates), Oktay Talibov (CEO Fujairah Tennis Club), Milan Radjenovic (Head Tennis Coach), Amir Sadri (Prince—sponsor), Mahmoud Laajili (Referee), Ravil Shamshilov (Club Director), Vikram Rai (Coral Suites-Sponsor) and Ahmed Abdul Fatah (Fujairah National Driving Institute-Sponsor).

Developing Young Players

A. G. Behrozian (pictured below) admitted that in Fujairah “tennis has not had the profile it deserves and it has been overshadowed by football.” He confessed that he and his club had not worked hard enough to introduce tennis to the Fujairah public and he hoped this would be rectified in the light of the new CEO and management at the Fujairah Tennis Club.

Behrozian said that last year representatives from his club had gone to twenty Fujairah schools that were later narrowed down to four. They picked twenty students and arranged for them to have special coaching and general education tuition. Through this means they have sought to select and nurture three or four of the best tennis players in Fujairah.

For parents who fear that their tennis-playing children will neglect their general education the club has provided private teachers and assisted with transport.

Coaching and Courses

Mr. Behrozian and FTCC CEO, Mr. Talibov (pictured below), said that the club wants to work harder with coaching the best players in Fujairah and assisting them and their families in other practical ways. Mr. Talibov said they have the first Master Course arranged in February for female tennis players in which a former Wimbledon Junior tennis champion will be giving the major input.

Tournaments v Seminars

An extensive discussion emerged about the best way to raise the profile of tennis and some media representatives made the positive suggestion of concentrating less on tournaments and more on seminars and other public awareness and training events.

Take a Look

Some of the faces around the Fujairah Tennis Club today can be seen in this photo album.

Downloads

The Event Calendar and Organizers for the 4^th Fujairah ITF Junior Championships 16-21 January can be downloaded from this link.

The Official Tournament Calendar for the Fujairah Tennis and Country Club (Season 2011/2012) can be downloaded from this link.

Geoff Pound

More Fujairah news, resources, information and photos are posted on the Fujairah in Focus Facebook Page.

UAE Assured of Place in Snooker Finals at Fujairah

UAE's leading cueists Mohammed Shehab (pictured above) and Mohammed Al Joakar (pictured below) started firing on all cylinders at the 13-nation Second West Asian Championships at the Concorde Fujairah Hotel on Monday, but only one of them will be left standing when the quarter-finals are over.

The vagary in the fortunes of the two national stalwarts came around when the draw for the knockout stages of the snooker singles competitions took place late on Sunday night and put them on a collision course in the quarter-finals, which were to be played late on Monday night.

Al Joakar was especially in a great form on Monday afternoon as he thrashed Firas Kamil of Iraq 4-1 in the last 16 round battles. Kamil is fresh from capturing the snooker singles gold medal at the 2011 Arab Games in Doha last month.

Shehab was also impressive in putting an all-round show that led him to a 4-2 victory over Ammar Taqi of Kuwait.

Al Joakar went for every pot that was made available by his opponent and scored at will to race to a massive 3-0 advantage.

Ahead in the fourth frame and fancying another whitewash, Al Joakar missed a tight red and that allowed Kamil to steal the frame on the black ball and get one to his credit.

There was no more letup on Al Joakar's part as he quickly wrapped up the match 4-1 to set up a quarter-final clash with Shehab, which would ensure that UAE will have a representation in the semifinals.

Al Joakar said: "This is the first time I have felt comfortable with myself on the table. I had won my both first round matches 4-0 but something always seemed to be missing.

"I went into today's last 16 round match a bit short on confidence. Firas is a good player and I expected an uphill battle against him today.

"However, it took me only a few minutes to get into the rhythm. Strange things happen in the game of snooker and it was one of those days."

Teenaged Khalid Kamali made the mistake of picking wrong shots and that cost him his last 16 match against experienced Bahrain star Habib Subah. Kamali, despite his lack of experience, succeeded in putting his talent on display before bowing out 4-2.

The fourth UAE player to have qualified for the last 16 round, Abdur Rahman Saif, was handed a 4-0 defeat by last year's bronze medallist Ehsan Hyderi of Iran.

It is not only UAE players who have been stumped by the draw as Hyderi was scheduled to take on compatriot and reigning world amateur champion Hossein Vafaei, a 4-0 winner over Hani Kanan of Palestine, in the quarter-finals.

The two Syrian cueists Omar Alkojah and Karam Fatima were also to clash with each in the last 8 round. Alkojah was a 4-0 winner over Yousaf Al Fori of Oman, while Fatima beat Mubarak Khalid of Kuwait by the same scoreline.

The other quarter-finalist was Ahmed Saif of Qatar who scored a 4-1 victory over Mohammed Al Shaikh of Bahrain on Monday morning.

The snooker singles semifinals are scheduled to start at 10 am and will be followed by the quarter-finals at 7 pm at the same venue.

This press release has been written by Hanif Hassan, UAEBSA International.

Snooker Draw

The Snooker Singles Knockout Stage Draw has been created with players and their opponents, days and times, right to the final on 17 January at 3pm at the Concorde Fujairah Hotel.

The draw can be downloaded from this link.

Further

Snooker Progress at Fujairah and the Knockout Stage Draw, FIF, 15 January 2012.

Al Joakar Leads at Second West Asian Snooker Champs at Fujairah Concorde Hotel, FIF, 14 January 2012.

Schedule and Times for West Asian Billiards and Snooker Champs, Fujairah, FIF, 14 January 2012.

Concorde Fujairah Hotel on Cue for International Billiards & Snooker Champs, FIF, 12 January 2012.

13 Countries to Compete in Billiards and Snooker at Fujairah Concorde Hotel, FIF, 10 January 2012.

Geoff Pound

More Fujairah news, resources, info and photos is posted on the Fujairah in Focus Facebook Page.

Images: “UAE's leading cueists Mohammed Shehab (top photo) and Mohammed Al Joakar (bottom photo) started firing on all cylinders at the 13-nation Second West Asian Championships at the Concorde Fujairah hotel on Monday.”

2nd Fujairah Terry Fox Charity Run Scheduled for 25 February 2012

The Date

The 2^nd Fujairah Terry Fox Charity Run/Walk/Jog/Roller Blade is scheduled for Saturday 25 February 2012.

Get the date in the diary, enthuse your work colleagues to attend as a group (fantastic advertising!) and get fit to enjoy this fun and useful Fujairah experience.

More information to follow.

Look Back on 2011

Terry Fox Run in Fujairah Raises 30,000AED to Outrun Cancer in UAE, FIF, 26 February 2011.

Some photos of the participants and the scenery along Fujairah’s Terry Fox Run in 2011 can be seen in this photo album.

Geoff Pound

More Fujairah news, resources and photos are posted on the Fujairah in Focus Facebook Page.

Image: The 2012 logo for the Terry Fox Run.

Snooker Progress at Fujairah and the Knockout Stage Draw

Teenager Hero

Playing with a cracked cue, teenager Khalid Kamali followed the footsteps of UAE stars Mohammed Al Joakar and Mohammed Shehab into the knockout stages of the 13-nation Second West Asian Championships at the Concorde Fujairah hotel on Sunday.

After Al Joakar and Shehab had already been assured of places in the last 16 stage of the snooker singles competition, Kamali recovered from an earlier setback on the opening day on Saturday with a convincing 4-1 victory over Abdullah Al Rais of Oman to qualify from Group B.

Top of Group D

Al Joakar topped the Group D standings following a 4-0 hammering of Hani Kanan of Palestine on Sunday. Al Joakar did not drop a single frame on course during his march to the last 16 stage.

Top of Group A

Shehab, the defending champion and top seed, delivered a break of 86 to rout Mubarak Khalid of Kuwait 4-0 and finished on top of the Group A standings,

Kamali Superb

The young Kamali had suffered a 4-2 loss at the hands of last runner-up Ahmed Saif on Saturday, but he played a superb game in his next encounter as he outwitted Al Rais in every department of the sport.

Kamali said: "I am glad to have qualified. In the first match, it was a mixture of bad luck and a lack of experience playing under pressure that resulted in the loss to Ahmed Saif.

"Ahmed Saif has been around for a long time and he carries a formidable reputation so when the score went 2-2, I cracked.”

"And it wasn't also that as at the beginning of the match my cue had cracked as well. It was difficult for me to cue properly and I couldn't play my game.

"I used the same cue against Al Rais but this time I was relaxed in the knowledge that nobody would blame me for not making an effort."

4^th UAE Player

The fourth UAE player Abdur Rahman Saif was to play in-form Syrian Omar Alkojah late on Sunday evening in a match that decide the winner and runner-up of the Group H as both of them have already made it to the knockout stages of the tournament.

Disappointment for Iran

Reigning world amateur snooker champion Hossein Vafaei of Iran was disappointing on Sunday after as he struggle to score a 4-3 victory over Ali Abdul Mohsen of Iraq. Vafaei topped the Group E standing with Mohammed Al Shaikh of Bahrain taking second place.

Habib Subah of Bahrain, whose 132-point break is the highest of the tournament so far, and Ehsan Hyderi of Iran had also topped their respective groups and qualified for the last 16 stage.

13 Nations Competing

Top players from the 13 West Asian nations are competing for gold medals in the snooker singles, snooker team, 8- and 9-ball pool singles events.

The participating countries are Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen and the hosts United Arab Emirates.

9 Ball Pool

On Monday, the 9-ball pool final will be played at 7 pm, while snooker singles last round matches are scheduled to start at 10 am and will be followed by the quarter-finals at 7 pm at the same venue.

This press release has been written by Hanif Hassan, UAEBSA International.

Snooker Draw

The Snooker Singles Knockout Stage Draw has been created with players and their opponents, days and times, right to the final on 17 January at 3pm at the Concorde Fujairah Hotel.

The draw can be downloaded from this link.

Further

Al Joakar Leads at Second West Asian Snooker Champs at Fujairah Concorde Hotel, FIF, 14 January 2012.

Schedule and Times for West Asian Billiards and Snooker Champs, Fujairah, FIF, 14 January 2012.

Concorde Fujairah Hotel on Cue for International Billiards & Snooker Champs, FIF, 12 January 2012.

13 Countries to Compete in Billiards and Snooker at Fujairah Concorde Hotel, FIF, 10 January 2012.

Geoff Pound

More Fujairah news, resources, info and photos is posted on the Fujairah in Focus Facebook Page.

Images: UAE's young Khalid Kamali in action on Sunday at the Second West Asian Championships at the Concorde Fujairah Hotel.