For someone who quit the game in 2005 and made a comeback two years later, S.A. Saleem has done quiet well since then. One of Tamil Nadu’s most experienced cueists, Saleem, is all set to participate in the World Masters snooker championship to be held in Damascus from the first week of December. Saleem, along with Arvind Savur of Karnataka, has been selected from the country to compete in the men’s 40+ category at the elite event.
Saleem, turning 45 this year, has been training hard ahead of the Syrian capital tournament. “This will be my third world championship appearance. I had reached the pre-quarters on both occasions. I am definitely looking ahead to do much better than that. I have been striking the ball really well. I am confident of going all the way this time,” said Saleem who has been sweating it out for the last two months preparing for the World Masters.
Speaking about the tournament, which runs a fortnight, Saleem said: “The World Masters competition level is high. There are a number of current professional players in the circuit taking part in the event. Top players like Darren Morgan of Wales will also be taking part.”
Saleem, though, rued the lack of tournaments being conducted in the state. “The reason we are not able to unearth new talents in Tamil Nadu is because they don’t get enough chances to prove their mettle. We need to conduct adequate number of events so that players are always on top of their game, added Saleem, who also insisted that the table sport should be included in Olympics.
The stylish player was all praise for Pankaj Advani who struck gold at the ongoing Asian Games. “Pankaj is an excellent player. The best trait about him is that he does full justice to his talent. There are a lot of other talented players too, but Pankaj applies himself well,” he said.
Saleem’s love for the cue sport was inherited from his dad S.A. Aleem, who had represented Tamil Nadu at the nationals and was also India’s No. 2 billiards player in the ‘70s. The 11-time state champion’s journey started at MUC after which he went on to play for TNBSA and later Cosmopolitan Club. At present, Saleem plays for MCC and can never thank the club enough for all its support. “MCC has always backed me. They were generous to give me long practice hours preparing for the World Masters,” he said.