M.S.A. Hassan

Though M.S.A. Hassan is no more in the land of the living, connoisseurs of sport still speak with awe of his colossal deeds on the cricketing and Rugby fields and more so in the sport of Billiards and Snooker where he reigned Supreme during his era. As a schoolboy of Zahira College, Hassan's extraordinary talent made Zahira's Cricket and Rugby teams stand out as exceptional ones and for the very first time Zahira went on to beat the invincible Trinity College Rugby team in 1932. This paved the way for Hassan to be awarded the School's Best Rugby Player title.

Hassan however proved to be a prodigy in both Billiards and Snooker, where he showed his mastery of the game by winning the 1st ever All Ceylon Amateur Snooker Championship in 1935.

His affiliation to the Y.M.C.A. saw him emerge as a Mega Star in both these disciplines. In addition to being the National Snooker Champion for 3 successive years in 1936, 1937 and 1938, Hassan won every conceivable title at the Y.M.C.A tables both in Snooker and Billiards. Hussan's inherent talent did not desert him even after a lapse of 14 yrs and in 1952 went on to bag the Billiards title of the Y.M.C.A followed by his regaining the National Crown in snooker after an equally lengthy lapse. Captaining the Y.M.C.A. Billiards team in 1950/51 Hassan guided his team to capture the club championship trophy.

After his competitive, playing days were over, Hassan shifted to the Moors Sports Club where he revolutionized their Billiards and Snooker sections with his uncanny experience and expertise. His versatility in sports can be gauged by the fact that he coached St. Joseph's College at soccer producing quality players like Christopher Ranasinghe, Peter Ranasinghe, Hubert Baggot, L. Pestionjee and T. Don Allan and during his tenure as coach St. Joseph's were Inter-school soccer champs and were unbeaten. He also revived both Billiards and snooker at the Old Josephian Sports Club and made them a formidable side. He was also a top class soccer referee, officiating in many international fixtures. That he was able to be the first secretary of the Ceylon Referees Association was another feather in his cap. This then is the Saga of a great and talented sportsman and administrator whose love for sports knew no bounds.

Unlike administrators of today who are assured of a rewarding salary for their efforts, Hassan and his likes were true ambassadors of sports who used their own funds to see that the benefit from sports would pass on to the poor but deserving sportsmen and sportswomen. This indeed is the legacy left by M.S.A. Hassan before his untimely death which left a Great Void in sporting Circles.