New Delhi, July 1 (SocialNews.XYZ) As India’s ace cueist Pankaj Advani gears up for his third consecutive Asian Billiards Championship title, he has revealed the secret to his continued success for nearly two decades. He said that the game itself transports him to another world and to stay focused during matches, he keeps his mind calm and not communicate with anyone.
The 2024 Asian Billiards Championships kicks off in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday and is set to showcase top talent from across Asia, including Indian billiards maestro Advani, a nine-time champion, Sourav Kothari and Dhruv Shitwala.
The 38-year-old cueist has won the Asian Billiards title in 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2017, 2018, 2022 and 2023. He has also won the Asian Snooker title in 2016, 2019 and 2021 as well as the Asian Team Snooker title in 2017.
Ahead of the start of his campaign in Riyadh, Advani, who is bidding to win his 10th Asian Billiards Championship title, spoke to IANS about his journey, cue sport’s entry into the Olympics, his first world title and more.
IANS: You are competing in the Asian Snooker Championships. If you win, it will be your 10th overall and third consecutive title. How confident are you of winning?
Pankaj: It’s going to be very fast. You have to start from scratch. It’s not like the traditional billiards format where you have enough time to get used to the table and the situation. Also, even if you make some mistakes and start slowly, you can make up for it later. So it’s one of the most difficult tournaments. Having said that, of course, you know, I’ve been doing pretty well in the last 20 years. And I’ve won nine Asian billiards titles. So if I win this time, I’ll be looking to win my 10th title and my third in a row.
But I am not thinking too far ahead because I know there are many talented players from India, Thailand, Myanmar and Singapore who will be very tough opponents.
ianz: How do you see yourself competing against other Indian players in the tournament?
Pankaj: Yes, that’s amazing. India is a strong country in billiards. If you look at the records of the last 40-50 years, the first person to win a world title from independent India was billiardist Wilson Jones. So, he started the tradition of India winning in every sport. Since then, billiards has remained one of the strongest sports for India, with Asian titles, world titles, Asian Games medals.
So, of course, given the current situation and the players, they’re all very talented. Some of us have been playing for over 20 years. And some of us just started playing in the last 8 to 10 years. And with this format, you really need people who are fearless. So, because this event is a hit-and-run format, obviously there’s a good chance that a young person will beat a top-seeded player. And then it all depends on the day. If you get off to a good start, if you’re a little bit lucky, things will go well. And if you attack at the right time, you can win in the end.
Ians: Going back to your accomplishments, you were inducted into the Billiards Hall of Fame. How do you evaluate this achievement?
Pankaj: Yes, I personally feel very honored because this is the first ever World Billiards Museum and China took that initiative. So I would like to congratulate the Chinese Association and all those who have worked hard to make this museum a reality, which celebrates the achievements of champions of different cue sports from around the world. There are many different versions of cue sports – snooker, English billiards, carom pool – they are played on different tables, they have different competitions around the world, they have their own circuits and tournament series. So it’s a great honor.
I’m really happy that they honored me and inducted me into the Hall of Fame. And I think this is a great thing for our sport, for our country. I hope that in the future, there will be more people who can be inducted into the Hall of Fame. And I hope that there will be more museums like this built around the world so that we can all learn about our great sport that has been entertaining fans for years and decades.
IANS: Cue sports is a sport that requires a lot of concentration. So how do you train? Is there any special routine that cue sports players follow before playing a major tournament?
Pankaj: Yes. So when I go abroad, I try to have almost no contact with anyone, especially for international and national competitions. But it’s more international because it’s far away and different time zone. I don’t want to know at all what’s happening in India, what’s the news. So, when I have a clear head and not too many things going on in my head, I can just focus on what I’m there for, and that helps me.
Everyone understands that I don’t have a lot of contact with my family and friends, I don’t use the phone, but apart from that, I do a bit of meditation, and I think gaming itself takes me to another world.
So when I sit down at the table I forget about my life and everything else, so it’s great to play a sport like this where I can immerse myself mentally, forget about everything else in the world and just enjoy, and of course at the same time try to win medals for my country.
IANS: The World Billiards Federation is keen to include cue sports as an Olympic sport and has also applied for it. How confident are you that cue sports will one day become an Olympic sport?
Pankaj: Are we talking about cue sports becoming part of the Olympics? Actually, I don’t know if it will happen anytime soon because there are various reasons we don’t know about. It has to do with international organizations. Maybe they need to advocate or lobby harder. But one thing I do know is that cue sports are played by millions of people in many countries around the world, like billiards, snooker, pool, etc.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that all you have to do is hold a cue stick in your hand and put a ball in your pocket. It’s not that simple. Mastering and excelling at cue sports also requires a lot of physical training: core strength, flexibility, stamina, endurance, and of course, all the things that go into the mental focus that we asked about earlier.
So, I would love to see cue sports in the Olympics, but I don’t see it happening anytime soon. I don’t know if it will be in the next Games or the next two. But I can say that as an athlete, it is an honor to represent my country, whether it is the Olympics or the Asian Games. I have won two gold medals in the Asian Games in the past, so I know what kind of feelings and emotions I go through when the flag is raised and the national anthem is played.
But I am not just representing India at the Asian Games or the upcoming Olympics – my aim as a representative of India is to win as many medals as possible in all international competitions and put India on the map consistently, not just once every four or eight years.
IANS: Going back to your career, you are a 27-time world champion in billiards and snooker. So out of those 27 titles, which is the best and why?
Pankaj: Well, I’ve said that many times. People often say that your first love is always special. In the same way, in my journey so far, or rather in my successes and victories, especially in World Championships, my first World title was definitely the most special. For many reasons, especially because it was my debut. And if you asked me before the tournament started if there is anyone that you should look at as a favorite or a title contender, I wouldn’t even be on that list. The odds of winning the tournament are 300 to 1 or something, and I would be way, way out.
But I was young, I was fearless and I had a different approach back then and it paid off. And best of all, I made it to the final and played against a Pakistani player on Diwali Day, October 25, 2003. So there were a lot of reasons why my first world title was really special. And it’s definitely one of my greatest achievements to date.
IANS: So, overall, how do you look back on your journey so far?
Pankaj: Most of the cueists that came out of our country and the world felt that they could only specialize in either billiards or snooker. But looking back at my journey, I always felt that the greatest satisfaction and achievement that I got was the fact that I was able to overcome that challenge and redefine the concept of specialization by playing both billiards and snooker and excelling equally in both. And I really wouldn’t want to change anything in these 20, 25 years. I really wouldn’t want to change anything.
Yes, of course I would like cue sports to become more recognised and more accepted, rather than being a niche sport or something that you have to be a member of a club to participate in. I would like to see that change and I would like to play my part in that. But these are medium to long term plans and I will be able to let you know when they are in place.
Source: IANS
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