ISLAMABAD - The 17th National Ranking Snooker Independent Cup plunged into turmoil as 10 national players refused to take part in the competition which was scheduled to start from Wednesday here at Snooker Hall Pakistan Sports Complex. Only four players - Saleh Muhammad, Khurram Agha, Naveen Pervani, Qasim Kamani- are competing for the title. The main round comprised of 16 top national cuemen, as 10 players boycotted the event while other two did not come at the venue. Besides defending champion Sheram Changazi, Atif Mughal, Muhammad Asif Toba, Sohail Shehzad, Raees Khan, Muhammad Sajjad, Imtiaz Sarwar, Imran Shehzad, Qadeer Butt and Muhammad Asif refused to fight for the top honour of the national snooker championship by saying that the high ups of the Pakistan Snooker and Billiard Federation (PSBF) are not taking any interest to solve the basic problems of national players. However, a meeting between the players and an official of federation was also held at the venue to settle the affairs but that could not produce any result despite arbitrating role by the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB). Venash Gir and Muhammad Raiz did not come from Karachi and showed solidarity with the boycotting players. Director Federation PSB, Syed Habib Shah told reporters after the meeting that the cuemen were demanding government jobs. This subject could not be solved at the moment, as the players of other sports including hockey were facing similar problems for last many years. "We will put up this matter of the players at top level to meet their demands. Also, Director General PSB, Amir Hamza Gillani is taking serious steps to solve these types of issue but they are not ready to come back for the competition, "he added. Vice president PSBF, Alamgir Sheikh said that it was not right time to boycott the national event. "We will hold this national snooker showpiece. The problems of the players are common and cannot be overcome in a few days. The federation is serious in handling the problem of national players. They should obey the code of conduct of the federation, which they have signed, "he added. He said that the federation would not select these boys for the upcoming international event in which Thailand and India would also participate in Karachi event. "We will provide opportunity to new players for the international competitions. Former world champion Muhammad Yousaf said that the demands of the players were fair. "No one is pay attention to these boys who are jobless and have no other source of income. The government should give jobs to national players as soon as possible," he said. He said that the organisers of The 17th National Ranking Snooker Independent Cup ousted the high profile players from the competition by making a strange format. "The federation kept three champions out for the title race by making 16-man format. The high ups of the federation should heed the problems of the national players," he concluded.