Muhammad Yousaf Pakistan's Snooker Hero | Struggle of a street snookers to a gentlemen's game

Years from 1992 to 1994 can be considered as one of the golden reign in history of Pakistan sports, as Pakistan was the leader in three sports. In 1994, at the IBSF World Snooker Championship, Muhammad Yousaf a Pakistani snooker player defeated Iceland’s Johannes R. Johannesson and became the IBSF World Snooker Champion.

His passion of snooker is a story of life long alone struggle with a society that have no respect for talent.

Yusuf said if ever in the future someone or I myself will write my biography, Champion sportsmen will be astonished scared out of their wits knowing how I struggled.

Muhammad Yousaf was born in 1952 at Bombay, India. After migration from India after 1965 Indo-Pak war as a child, he lived and played snookers in the streets game shops and clubs of Karachi. He started playing snooker in 1963, his first encounter to snooker table was in a YMCA Club in Bombay when he was only eleven years old, he used to watch his elder brother playing snooker. Yusaf as a child was deeply fascinated with this game and instantly fell in love with snooker. He was only eleven years old and club policies did not allowed minors to enter in the club, but he knew that he have to get his hands on a cue stick so, he start playing learning and playing snooker in a dark corner on a deserted snooker table unseen from rest of the club. Yusuf recollect event from past when one day his elder brother wanted to leave in the middle of a game but he could`t found any volunteer to took his place so it took him by surprise when Yusuf volunteered to complete his game. Yusuf elder brother was unaware of his new talent and he evermore astounded when Yusuf won the match.

Farhan Mirza, Saleh Muhammad, Tanveer Dada, Ajmal Butt were among some of the youngsters that were considered for the nomination in the championship in 1994 but ultimately Yusuf an experienced player was nominated. Recalling the days of 1994 Muhammad Yusaf said

I did not even have enough money to buy a pair of shoes to take with me but ultimately someone loaned me 2000 Rs to buy a pair of shoes. It did not felt right to go in an international event with my torn shoes.

Yusuf is particularly depressed how government has not provided enough facilities for Snooker players.

I don't see any scope in this profession, we have potential and talent but, we don't have facilities and there is no way one can say that, our future is secure because, we won so many titles. In this way one cannot take it as a profession seriously. It's a one man show it's not a team work and there is no coordination between associations of other provinces which is further more ruining the profession.

Muhammad Yusuf is fond of music and shares a hobby of writing songs. In future he plans to learn Music to fulfill his other passion in life. Talent has never been respected in Pakistan, he is not the first person and is definitely not going to be last person who demoralized by the society and ignored by the management. He proved them wrong, when his life long struggle succeeded in 1994.

 In 1994, at the IBSF World Snooker Championship, he defeated Iceland’s Johannes R. Johannesson 11-9 to become the IBSF World Snooker Champion.In 2006, he beat Glen Wilkinson of Australia in Amman 5-4 to win the IBSF World Masters Championship. He competed at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha.