Rupesh Shah doubtful for Australian Open Billiards Championship

World billiards champion Rupesh Shah, who is nursing a thumb injury, may miss the Australian Open Billiards Championship, a Gujarat State Billiards Association (GSBA) statement said.

"Rupesh Shah is nursing a thumb wound and hopes to recover by the time they leave (for Australia) or else he may be forced to exit from the championship," GSBA said.

But even if Shah is forced to withdraw from the competition because of the injury, he will get a direct entry to the World Billiards championship, being the current world champion, it said.

Apart from Shah, National Junior Billiards champion Dhvaj Haria and former state national player Gunjan Patel will also participate in the 2013 Australian Open Billiards Championships.

While Shah and Haria have been nominated by the Billiards and Snooker Federation of India, Gunjan is playing through a open entry system. Alok Kumar, Devendra Joshi, Sourav Kothari and Ashok Shandilya are the other Indians in the fray.

Haria will be playing in his second international outing, the first being the World Championships at Leeds last year.

The Australian Open Billiards Championships, which will be played at the Yarraville Club in Melbourne from June 18 to June 22, is a points-based qualifier for the World Championships. The matches shall be played on a 150 up points format. The players are expected to leave for Australia on Sunday.