When Mohammed Shehab, the leading snooker player from the United Arab Emirates, took the bronze medal in the World Games this summer it was one of the proudest moments of his career but the lack of recognition he has gained since has left him disappointed and considering his future in the game. Click below to access a couple of very interesting interviews on the subject…
When UK snooker fans like myself think of the sport, it is probably fair to say that players like Shehab do not immediately spring to mind but his achievements both nationally are certainly impressive. As he says himself:
“I have one Asian title, 13 time Gulf champion, six times Arab champion. My name is well known in the snooker world. Not only in the UAE or Arab region, but also in the pro circuit my name is there”
Despite such success however he has become frustrated at the lack of recognition that he has gained internationally and has given an in-depth interview on the subject to the Khaleej Times which you can read here.
Furthermore there is also a good article from the same website in which Nigel Bond and Adrian Gunnell heap praise on Shehab and discuss the state of the game in the area. You can access that here.
It is interesting to hear experienced players such as Nigel talking so highly of players such as Shehab and Mohammed Al-Joker who although I have not seen them, have recorded some strong results recently in events such as the Sangsom 6-Red World Grand Prix.
If any readers are from the area or have seen players from that part of the world in action then I would be very interested to hear about the state of snooker over there at the moment…