Hassan stamped his class as a rare sportsman
M.S.A. Hassan
M.S.A. Hassan won the first All-Ceylon Amateur Snooker Championship in 1935 organised by the Central YMCA.
Hassan’s record in YMCA billiards since 1933 has been unsurpassed. He won every single event at one time or another, sometimes multiple events at the same time. He was the national champion of snooker for three years in succession in 1936, 1937 and 1938 and showed his remarkable mastery of the game by winning the title again in 1952. Hassan’s record at billiards and snooker at YMCA are still unbroken.
He was the Chairman of the YMCA Billiards Club from 1948 to 1953 and guided the activities of the club with great acceptance. Hassan was the co-founder of the All-Ceylon Amateur Billiards Association and Control Council of Ceylon in 1948.
In 1937 he was named the ‘Best All-round Ceylonese Sportsman’. An old boy of Zahira College, Colombo, Hassan played cricket and rugger for his school. While he was in the rugger team in 1932, Zahira College beat Trinity College for the first time. Hassan was awarded the School’s Best Rugby Player prize. The most notable feature of the YMCA Billiards Tournament in 1952 was the welcome return to form of veteran M.S.A. Hassan.
It is a tribute to the YMCA that Hassan refreshed by his success at the internal tournament, went on to regain after many years, the All-Ceylon Snooker Championship. The former Chairman of the club and Vice President of the Billiards Association of Ceylon, M.S.A. Hassan was the Chief Guest in the final of the YMCA Billiards and Snooker Championship in 1958.
Hassan captained the YMCA Billiards team in 1950/1951 and won the championship trophy. In 1949 M.S.A. Hassan, a former snooker champion decided to concentrate on billiards and gave an opening to M.J.M. Lafir. Hassan played for the Moors Sports Club from 1952 onwards, and was one of the many top class players at Moors Sports Club.
In 1966 he was appointed a member of the Advisory Committee on billiards by the then Minister of Sports V.A. Sugathadasa. In 1937, Hassan played rugger for the Islam Gymkhana Club and in 1936/1937 played cricket for Moors Sports Club. In 1937 he played soccer for Walker and Sons in the Mercantile League and were champions.
Hassan coached St. Joseph’s College soccer team from 1944 onwards and produced star players namely Christopher Ranasinghe, Hubert Bagot, L. Pestonjee, T. Don Allen and Peter Ranasinghe who later captained the All-Ceylon soccer team in 1946/1947. Hassan was the proud coach when St. Joseph’s College were the inter-school champions and in 1949 the unbeaten schools soccer side. In 1939 M.S.A. Hassan was a football referee and in the same year he was the first secretary of the Ceylon Referees’ Association.
In 1949 he was awarded a certificate as a Class I Referee by the Ceylon Referees’ Association and officiated in many international matches played in Ceylon, and in 1949 he was the Hony Treasurer of the Ceylon Referees’ Association. In 1952 M.S.A. Hassan refereed the C.F.A. Cup competition between Saunders Sports Club and Badulla YMCA.
M. Kamil A. Hassan is one of the sons of the late M.S.A. Hassan who followed his father’s footstep and played soccer for the Old Josephians Sports Club and represented the Old Joes in all major football tournaments and also captained the Old Josephians Over-40 match against Old Bens.
M. Kamil Hassan