LONDON: The partnership World Snooker signed with UK-based India Business Group (IBG) last November “to help expand the cue sport’s global footprint, with particular focus on the Indian market” is not going quite according to plan.
The sport’s world governing body has announced that the Indian Open world ranking event has been postponed. The tournament was due to take place from March 24 to 28.
“We have worked closely with our partners in India to try to find a suitable host city for the event, but without success,” World Snooker stated.
“We continue to believe that there is great potential for snooker to grow in India, and it is our intention that this tournament will return to the calendar during the 2020/21 season,” the statement further reads.
The Indian Open was first staged in 2013, won by Ding Junhui. The title subsequently went to Michael White in 2015, Anthony McGill in 2016, John Higgins in 2017 and Matthew Selt in 2019.
This event and the qualifying dates of February 17-19 have been removed from the World Snooker calendar.
Rewinding to the agreement signed in November, as part of the collaboration, IBG was to assist in the promotion of the Indian Open.
World Snooker’s commercial director, Miles Pearce had then said: “We are delighted to be partnering with IBG at a time when both of our respective organisations are hosting world class events aimed at promoting closer bilateral relations between the UK and India.
“We look forward to working with IBG to help take snooker to new heights across the country and to replicate the success we have had in both Europe and the People’s Republic of China.”
The Indian Open was first staged in New Delhi in 2013. The 2019 edition was held in the port city of Kochi, with England’s Matthew Selt winning his first world-ranking snooker title since turning pro 13 years ago.
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