[VIDEO] Born without arms, Pakistani snooker player, Muhammad Ikram, masters the game

[MenInG]

Muhammad Ikram, who was born without arms, steps up to a snooker table, sizes up his options and with a firm flick of his chin strikes the cue ball and slots a red into a corner pocket.

[Utube]P_LbCQ8phXw[/Utube]

The sport was perhaps an unlikely passion for Ikram, 32, to pursue, but the Pakistani player has spent years honing his skills and can now give anyone at his local snooker hall a run for their money.

"It is a tough job that requires hard work. If there is a player like me, I am ready to face him", Ikram told AFP during a recent visit to the snooker hall in the small town of Samundri in Pakistan's eastern province of Punjab.

Born into a poor home, he and his eight siblings did not go to school and he spent much of his childhood feeling isolated.

As a teenager, he started to watch players in the local snooker hall and was inspired to start practising "in secret".

"In the beginning, I used to push the balls by myself on an empty pool table," Ikram said.

"Gradually, I improved my game and started playing with others."

Ikram can now challenge the best players in town.

He demonstrated a range of shots, giving a solid and assured flick of his head to sink reds and then colours into pockets, drawing applause from other players.

"Chalk your chin," one of them quipped after Ikram eventually missed a shot.

Worried he might injure himself, Ikram's parents initially barred him from snooker for several years, but last year they allowed him to return to the sport.

His skills quickly turned him into something of an internet celebrity among Pakistan's snooker-playing fraternity.

"I become famous," Ikram said, though he confessed to having no idea what social media is.

Cricket is by far Pakistan's most popular game, but snooker holds an important place in the country's sporting scene.

British officers introduced the game during the colonisation of the Indian subcontinent and Pakistan's founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, was a keen player.

Pakistan keeps no up-to-date statistics on people with disabilities, but non-governmental organisations estimate there to be more than 30 million in a country of about 220 million

A lack of a social safety net means the majority of the disabled population stay home.

Muhammad Nadeem, who owns the Samundri snooker hall, described Ikram as a "true sportsman".

"We don't charge him for a game. Instead people pay him to play with them," Nadeem said.

"He has no competition, in cricket and football there are disabled players but when it comes to snooker he is a one-of-a-kind player."

© 2020 AFP

 

[The Viper]

Wow very inspiring. This shows that despite setbacks, anything is possible.

 

[Saj]

Incredible.

Amazing talent but I guess some may find this rather strange.

 

[MenInG]

SAMUNDRI, Pakistan (AP) — Mohammad Ikram leans over the snooker table, his face at almost touching distance behind the white ball as he assesses his options, then knocks it with his bearded chin.

At the other end of the table a moment later, a red ball sinks into the corner pocket.

With a twist of the neck this way, or a lighter nudge another, the 32-year-old Ikram has worked out how to pot snooker balls without the use of a cue stick.

He was born without arms. He lives in a dusty rural town in the northeast of Pakistan in Punjab province. He hasn’t let anything stop him from fulfilling his childhood dream of playing the game of snooker.

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Ikram remembers watching other children playing on dusty pool tables outside his home when he was a 10-year-old kid. He always wished one day he could also play the game, but just needed to work out how.

“At that time I wished I had arms so that I could play the game, too,” Ikram told The Associated Press.

Eventually he devised his own style and later went to a nearby club, looking for a game.

“People didn’t believe me in the club that I could play with my chin,” he said, “but they gradually started admiring my skills when I started hitting the cue ball with the chin.”

Mohammad Nadeem, owner of the Cue Club in Samundri, recalled the time about 10 or 12 years ago when Ikram approached him with a request to play snooker.

“I told him ‘no you cannot do this,’” Nadeem said. It’s a good thing Ikram didn’t take no for an answer.

“When he first hit the ball with his chin, it simply amazed me because it was as good as any other snooker player could have hit it with cue in hand,” Nadeem said.

So Ikram started making the 12-kilomoter (7 1/2-mile) daily trip to the club, where he plays on the seven snooker tables.

Ikram has won at least three local tournaments and his popularity is growing fast — not only in his hometown but also across Pakistan, mainly because of media attention.

Ikram, who has two younger brothers and five younger sisters, holds a special place in his mother’s heart.

“I don’t go out and watch him play but his father has seen him playing and we are happy for him,” Ikram’s mother, Razia Bibi, said. “We used to say that had he got arms, he would have been very happy. But now the whole world will be happy when they see him playing.”

Ikram said he wanted to show off his snooker skills abroad, and was hoping to get some support from the government and Prime Minister Imran Khan, the former cricket star who led the Pakistan team to victory in the 1992 World Cup.

“I wish, I could go abroad and play in front of other people and bring fame to Pakistan,” Ikram said, as he rested his right leg on the table, flexed his neck and yet again hit the cue ball with his chin and potted a red ball in the long pocket.

https://federalnewsnetwork.com/spor...e-for-pakistan-snooker-player-mohammad-ikram/

 

[IAJ]

Pakistan’s armless snooker sensation hits cue balls with his chin

Mohammad Ikram was born without arms but hasn’t let anything stop him from fulfilling his childhood dream of playing the game.

Mohammad Ikram leans over the snooker table, his face at almost touching the white ball as he assesses his options, then hits it with his bearded chin and sends it flying.

At the other end of the table a moment later, a red ball sinks into the corner pocket.

With a twist of the neck this way, or a lighter nudge another, 32-year-old Ikram has worked out how to pot snooker balls without a cue stick.

Ikram, who lives in a rural town in Pakistan’s northeastern Punjab province, was born without arms. But he has not let that stop him from fulfilling his childhood dream of playing the game of snooker.

Ikram remembers watching other children playing on dusty pool tables outside his home when he was 10. He wished he could play the game one day, but needed to work out how.

“At that time, I wished I had my arms so I could play the game too,” Ikram told The Associated Press.

Eventually, he devised his own style and later went to a nearby club, looking for a game.

“People in the club didn’t believe that I could play with my chin,” he said. “But they gradually started admiring my skills when I started hitting the cue ball with my chin.”

Mohammad Nadeem, owner of the Cue Club in Samundri, recalled the time about 10 or 12 years ago when Ikram approached him with a request to play snooker.

“I told him, ‘no, you cannot do this,'” Nadeem said.

It is a good thing Ikram refused to take no for an answer.

“When he first hit the ball with his chin, it simply amazed me because it was as good as any other snooker player could have hit it with a cue in hand,” Nadeem said.

So Ikram started making the 12-km (7.5-mile) daily trip to the club, where he plays on one of its seven tables.

Ikram has won at least three local tournaments and his popularity is growing fast – not only in his hometown but also across Pakistan, mainly because of the media attention.

Ikram, who has two younger brothers and five younger sisters, holds a special place in his mother’s heart.

“I don’t go out and watch him play but his father has seen him playing and we are happy for him,” Ikram’s mother, Razia Bibi, said.

“We used to say that had he got arms, he would have been very happy. But now the whole world will be happy when they see him playing.”

Ikram said he wanted to show off his snooker skills overseas and was hoping to get some support from the government and Prime Minister Imran Khan, the former cricket star who led the Pakistan team to victory in the 1992 World Cup.

“I wish I could go abroad and play in front of other people and bring fame to Pakistan,” Ikram said as he rested his right leg on the table, flexed his neck and yet again hit the cue ball with his chin and potted a red ball in the long pocket.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...nooker-sensation-who-hits-cue-balls-with-chin