Speaking at the ceremony to hand over jerseys to players, the Minister said the players should aim to achieve better results than last year's championship.
Minister of Sports, Fitness, and Recreation Abdulla Rafiu has encouraged the Maldives National Billiards team to compete in the "Maldives Open 2024" – 10 Ball Championship billiards tournament starting on Tuesday, June 25.
Speaking at the ceremony to hand over jerseys to players, the Minister said the players should aim to achieve better results than last year's championship.
Same as last year, 16 players from the Maldives will compete in this year's tournament. The tournament, which is open to national teams from different countries, features a high number of participants. A total of 96 players are competing in this year's tournament, including five world champions.
Hassan Shaz Mohamed (Aad) is the only Maldivian player to reach the knockout round among the top 32 out of 64 players who competed last year.
The championship was the first international billiards tournament in the history of Maldives. Ko Pin Chan from Taipei won the championship by defeating Yohan Chua from the Philippines 10-8 in the final.
The tournament, which counts towards the World Pool Association rankings, will run until the following Sunday.