Mohammed al Joakar is keen to improve on his quarter-final appearance at the last Asian Snooker Championship when the tournament begins in Thailand today. Al Joakar reached the last eight in China last year before falling 5-1 to losing finalist Shi Hanqing, and he is confident of going one step further this time at the event in Chanthaburi.
"We have been preparing well for the tournament," said al Joakar, who will start his campaign tomorrow morning with a match against Yutaka Fukuda of Japan, an opponent he beat 4-0 in the group stages last year.
"We feel ready and hopefully we will do something. Last year I reached the quarter-final and am hoping to do better this year. I will do my best."
Al Joakar has been drawn in Group C, which is headed by Supoj Saenla of Thailand and also includes Singapore's Peter Gilchrist and Basem Aboud of Syria.
As he waits for his first match, al Joakar will be out today cheering for his compatriot Mohammed Shehab, the fourth seed who meets Nader Khan Sultani of Afghanistan in his opening match today.
"Shehab has also been looking good in practice," added al Joakar. "So everything is going well and hopefully we will get some good results."
Meanwhile, India's No 1, Pankaj Advani, has pulled out of the championship citing "personal reasons".
Advani was placed at the top of Group H. His place will be taken by Saurav Kothari.
arizvi@thenational.ae
Profile of Whizkey
Date founded: 04 November 2017
Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 10
Sector: AI, software
Cashflow: Dh2.5 Million
Funding stage: Series A
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
What is an FTO Designation?
FTO designations impose immigration restrictions on members of the organisation simply by virtue of their membership and triggers a criminal prohibition on knowingly providing material support or resources to the designated organisation as well as asset freezes.
It is a crime for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to or receive military-type training from or on behalf of a designated FTO.
Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances removable from, the United States.
Except as authorised by the Secretary of the Treasury, any US financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which an FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to the Treasury Department.
Source: US Department of State
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
