# Saleh Mohammad (snooker player)

Saleh Mohammad Saleh (born 24 February 1973) is a former professional snooker player from Afghanistan. He represented Pakistan between 1988 and 2006. He reached the final of the IBSF World Snooker Championship in 2003 and won two medals at 2002 Asian Games.

## Life and career

He was born in Afghanistan and lived as a refugee among the Afghans in Pakistan. He began representing Pakistan in 1988 as an international snooker player. Saleh turned pro in 1995, but lost his place after just one season. In 2003, he reached the finals of the IBSF World Snooker Championship by winning 14 consecutive matches, but lost 5–11 against Pankaj Advani. At the cue sports competitions of the 2002 Asian Games, he won two bronze medals in doubles and team category. At the 2008 ACBS Asian Snooker Championship, Mohammad compiled a maximum break against Nguyen Nhat Thanh. At the end of the same year, he decided to retire in protest, because he "couldn't bear such injustice where cricketers were showered with cash awards on normal victories" and he "wasn't given anything."
In November 2010, after moving back to Afghanistan, Saleh told the Gulf News, "I want to give back something to my country and the only way I can do this is to assist Afghanistan's development in sports, particularly in snooker as that is what I am good at." He represented Afghanistan at the 2012 ACBS Asian Snooker Championship, reaching the quarter-finals, and at the 2012 Six-red World Championship, reaching the last 32. In the Jubilee Insurance 29th Asian Snooker Championship, he decisively beat his Pakistani, Mongolian and Iranian rivals. On 19 June 2013, World Snooker announced that Mohammad didn't confirm his intention to compete in the Main Tour, and was replaced by Ratchayothin Yotharuck.

## Performance and rankings timeline

| Tournament | 1995/ 96 | 1998/ 99 | 2008/ 09 | 2012/ 13 |
| Ranking | | | | |
| Ranking tournaments |||||
| UK Championship | A | LQ | A | A |
| Welsh Open | A | LQ | A | A |
| World Open | A | LQ | A | WR |
| Players Tour Championship Final | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | DNQ |
| China Open | NH | LQ | A | A |
| World Championship | A | WD | A | A |
| Non-ranking tournaments |||||
| Six-red World Championship | A | A | QF | 2R |
| Former ranking tournaments |||||
| Irish Open | A | LQ | Not Held | Not Held |
| Scottish Open | A | WD | NH | MR |
| Thailand Masters | A | LQ | Not Held | Not Held |
| British Open | A | WD | Not Held | Not Held |
| Former non-ranking tournaments |||||
| Red & White Challenge | QF | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held |
Performance Table Legend :
| LQ | lost in the qualifying draw | #R | lost in the early rounds of the tournament (WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin) | QF | lost in the quarter-finals |
| SF | lost in the semi-finals | F | lost in the final | W | won the tournament |
| DNQ | did not qualify for the tournament | A | did not participate in the tournament | WD | withdrew from the tournament |
| NH / Not Held | NH / Not Held | NH / Not Held | NH / Not Held | event was not held |
| NR / Non-Ranking Event | NR / Non-Ranking Event | NR / Non-Ranking Event | NR / Non-Ranking Event | event is/was no longer a ranking event |
| R / Ranking Event | R / Ranking Event | R / Ranking Event | R / Ranking Event | event is/was a ranking event |
| MR / Minor-Ranking Event | MR / Minor-Ranking Event | MR / Minor-Ranking Event | MR / Minor-Ranking Event | event is/was a minor-ranking event |
* ↑ It shows the ranking at the beginning of the season
* 1 2 3 He was an amateur
* ↑ New players on the Main Tour do not have a ranking
* ↑ The event was called the Grand Prix (1995/1996, 1998/1999 and 2008/2009)
* ↑ The event was called the China International (1998/1999)
* ↑ The event was called the Six-red Snooker International (2008/2009)
* ↑ The event was called the European Open (1995/1996)
* ↑ The event was called the International Open (1995/1996)
* ↑ The event was called the Thailand Open (1995/1996)

## Amateur finals: 8 (4 titles)

| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
| Winner | 1. | 1995 | Pakistan Amateur Championship (1) | Mohammed Shafiq | 8–5 |
| Winner | 2. | 1999 | Pakistan Amateur Championship (2) | Farhan Mirza | 8–6 |
| Runner-up | 1. | 2000 | Pakistan Amateur Championship (1) | Muhammad Yousaf | 4–8 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 2003 | IBSF World Snooker Championship | Pankaj Advani | 5–11 |
| Winner | 3. | 2005 | Pakistan Amateur Championship (3) | Naveen Perwani | 6–2 |
| Runner-up | 3. | 2008 | Pakistan Amateur Championship (2) | Muhammad Sajjad | 3–7 |
| Winner | 4. | 2013 | Asian Snooker Championship | Omar Al Kojah | 7–2 |
| Runner-up | 4. | 2018 | World Amateur Championship - Masters | Darren Morgan | 0–6 |