Rafat returns to tumultuous welcome

Talented cueist Rafat Habib, who gave India its first gold medal at the Asian Games in the company of Mumbai's Yasin Merchant in the snooker doubles, was accorded a rousing reception on arrival back home in Chennai on Friday.

"I am immensely happy for my country and my home Chennai, where I have been playing this sport," the bearded cueist declared, as officials of the Tamil Nadu Billiards and Snooker Association welcomed him at the airport with banners, which read: 'Tamil Nadu is proud of the son of the soil'.

TNBSA president R Mohan presented Habib with a traditional shawl while others, including his sister, offered floral tributes.

His proud father Syed, rated one of the best snooker players in the country, was also there to congratulate him, and he did it with a warm hug.

Narrating how Merchant and he were able to pull it off, Rafat said he owed his performance "in the first place to his partner and professional Yasin".

"Sensing that we had every opportunity of going for the gold, having reached the final after overcoming the favourite Malaysia, Yasin advised me to keep cool as the pressure was off us. And even in the final, after losing the first frame to Marco Chun Fu and Au Chu Wai, in a tactical move, Yasin asked me to attack while he, a naturally attacking player, switched to defensive play," said Rafat, currently the India No 9 in snooker and No 6 in billiards.

His father Syed was ecstatic. He rated the showing as the best in his son's career.

"He has won many good matches at the national level. But this one was the best because he won a gold for the country," Syed declared.

Rafat attributed his rise in the game to his dad, who was a former India No 2.

"I have learnt the game watching dad play. He always fine-tunes me, pointing out the faults and correcting them," he said.

He added: "The achievement was special because we went to Busan with the objective of bringing home at least a bronze, and thinking of a gold medal only if we made it to the final.

"Once we got past favourites Malaysia and had it easy against Chinese Taipei in the semis, Yasin sensed that we could go for the gold in spite of the presence of world No 26 on the professional circuit, Marco Chun Fu, in the Hong Kong team."

The reception would have carried on all day but Rafat said it was time for Friday prayers... "to thank Allah for having blessed me with such high honours".