Wearing black armbands, top Pakistan snooker player leads protest against 'step-motherly' treatment

Pakistan's two-time world amateur snooker champion Muhammad Asif led a group of players in wearing black armbands during the ongoing national championship to register their protest over "step-motherly" treatment by the sports authorities and government.

Asif, who last November won the world title in Turkey for the second time in his career, has also threatened to leave the game if he was not given his due.

"I am fed up with people and the media asking me all the time 'have you got your prize money/reward amount' and saying no to them," he said.

"I have decided that if this matter is not resolved soon I will retire from competitive snooker and concentrate on doing some other work to earn a proper livelihood," Asif told reporters at the Karachi Gymkhana.

As part of a silent protest, all the players competing in the National Snooker Championship wore black armbands to show solidarity with Asif and express their anguish over the way cueists are being ignored by sports authorities.

Asif ...