No cue sports in 2010 Commonwealths

The bid to have cue sports included at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India has been turned down. Instead, tennis and archery will take their place alongside traditional Commonwealth sports at New Delhi.

The decision was taken this week by the Board of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) at a meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

The Indian organising committee had been keen for cue sports, particularly billiards, to make their Commonwealth debuts.

Mike Hooper, CEO for the CGF, praised the presentations of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association and the International Billiards and Snooker Federation.

But he said the CGF Board had raised a number of concerns, including the required levels of excellence throughout the Commonwealth, the marketability of the sports and the UK centric nature of snooker in particular.

"More work needed to be done on the growth of the games throughout the Commonwealth. Remember, New Delhi didn't just want snooker, they wanted cue sports as a package," Hooper said.

Cue sports, including pool, are regular disciplines at the Asian Games and the South East Asia Games.

Neil Robertson recently became the first Australian to win a snooker ranking event with his victory over Jamie Cope at the Grand Prix.