The UAE number one player, speaking to Khaleej Times yesterday on his return from Bangkok where he won the bronze in the World Amateur Snooker Championship, said: “After this achievement, my target now is the Asian Snooker Championship to be hosted by UAE next year. Mohammed Al Joker and I are going to prepare for this event and if all goes well to win it before home fans.”

The 28-year-old Shehab claimed the bronze when he subdued Belgium’s Bjorn Haneveer 4-1 in a playoff on Saturday. He had earlier lost 8-5 in the semifinals to Thailand’s Passakorn Suwannawat.

But Shehab, who beat a number of top players in the championship including former former world junior champion Chankwork Ming of Hong Kong, felt the championship was a great experience for him. “I played against some of the best players in the world. I am happy and proud to finish third,” he said. Shehab and his compatriot, Mohammed Al Joker expected the championship to be tough and it came as no wonder when they went down in their opening matches before rebounding. Al Joker could not make it into knockout stage as he went down 4-1 to Dene O’Kane of New Zealand and lost by the same margin to Andrew Pagett of Wales in his last two matches.

Shehab felt they were drawn in a tough group. “That gave me good practice matches and when I qualified for the next round, I did not care who I would meet.” He also attributed his sauces to confidence he got for reaching the final of the Asian Snooker Championship in Sri Lanka last year and a quarterfinalist when Pakistan hosted the event in Karachi this year.

He praised the former national champion, Al Joker, for the support he gave him after his own campaign came to an end. “Though Mohammed did not advance to the second round, he offered me the morale support which, in a way, helped me to win the bronze.” The winner of the championship, according to Shehab, qualifies as a professional. “Though I did not win, many of the players have told me I could be on the Pro-Tour. But other factors like player’s performance during the season is sometimes taken into consideration. I will be delighted to be on the Pro-Tour,” he added. Sultan Al Joker, secretary general of the UAE Billiards and Snooker Association, meanwhile, lauded Shehab’s achievement, saying: “He did a great job. It was a good result for the sport in UAE.

He defeated some of the best players in the world. No Arab snooker player has reached this far.” He observed that it was bad luck for Mohammed Al Joker that he did not to advance to the second round.

“He played well as most of his scores were very close. But Shehab’s third placed finish has brought some joy to all.”