Five world titles for Pankaj Advani, more to come

By Anand Philar, Chennai, Sep 6 : At 23, Pankaj Advani has already five world titles to his credit, much more than any Indian cueist can ever boast of at such a young age. In his hometown Bangalore Friday night, Pankaj scored a significant 6-1 win against his idol Geet Sethi to clinch the World billiards championship (points format).

Pankaj would probably treasure this win for more reasons than one. He finally emerged from the long shadow of Geet, the winner of nine world titles, a target that Pankaj doubtless has in his sights, and could surpass sooner than later.

In 2006, the relationship between the two soured after Pankaj was denied a shot at a possible second gold medal at the Doha Asian Games when the Billiards and Snooker Federation of India acceded to Geet's suggestion of “one player-one discipline”. It meant that Pankaj could play just the billiards singles that he promptly won at a time when he wanted to participate in more cue sport events.

The differences between the two became public with both issuing statements and counter statements in the media. It nearly split the players, with the younger lot not favouring Geet's suggestion.

Thus, the ruthless annihilation of Geet in Friday's final carried certain connotations that cannot be glossed over despite the apparent bonhomie the two displayed. After the one-sided encounter, Geet showed typical grace in acknowledging Pankaj's overall superiority and acknowledged the fact that at 47, age was not on his side.

Pankaj took to cue sport when he was about 11 and could just about look over the top of the table, in contrast to Geet, who gave up a promising swimming career for billiards in mid-teens. But both enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame while showcasing their natural talent.

Born in Pune, Pankaj was first noticed when he won the BS Sampath Memorial Handicap tournament in Bangalore when he was only 11 years and seven months old, defeating his elder brother, Shree, in the final.

Potting every ball in sight with the confidence and audacity of the youth, Pankaj stood out from the rest with his accuracy as most of the balls disappeared into the pocket without touching the "jaws". More importantly, the little boy knew why he had to play or played a particular shot and that reflected a special ability to grasp the situation on the table.

The Karnataka State Billiards Association (KSBA) soon drafted Pankaj into their coaching scheme headed by former national champion S. Jairaj. “Even at that young age and despite his lack of height, his talent was apparent. All it required was a bit of polishing through constant practice. Since he was a good student, Pankaj was a quick learner and once he got his basics right, it was just a question of time for the talent in him to blossom,” recalled Jairaj.

A year later, Arvind Savur, also a former national champion and once ranked No.4 in world snooker, took Pankaj under his wings. The two developed a father-son relationship as Pankaj spent long hours at Savur's Bangalore residence that had a competition billiards table.

Speaking of his protégé, Savur had once remarked: “During practice he played shots that even I had not thought of. It was not blind hitting or flukes, but like any quality snooker player, he had planned at least three to four follow shots. I realised then that Pankaj was a special player. It was just a question of gaining experience and exposure.”

Pankaj's development as a player was quite dramatic and stunning. At 13, he represented Karnataka in the senior National championship, the youngest ever to do so. With every success, he emerged as a prodigy, the likes of whom Indian cue sport had not seen before.

In 2003, he became the second youngest and only the second Indian after Om Agarwal to win the IBSF World amateur snooker crown. Earlier in the year, he had won the senior National snooker crown, the youngest to do so, at 17. His next obvious move was to shift base to England and turn professional, but financial constraints forced him to look at billiards as a better option.

“I like billiards much more than snooker and I feel, I am better at the three-ball game (billiards),” Pankaj had said while explaining his decision to give up on professional snooker.

The discerning, however, point out that Pankaj did not have to contend with eight times World champion Mike Russell, arguably the greatest billiards talent in the post-war era. The gifted Englishman was Geet's nemesis although the Indian champion did score a few notable wins, and the battle between the two were legendary. Perhaps, Pankaj's conquests would be more complete if and when he takes on and beats the temperamental English genius.

Pankaj Advani -- FACT FILE

Born - Pune, July 24, 1985
World titles - IBSF amateur snooker in 2003; IBSF billiards (time and points formats) in 2005, IBSF billiards (time format) in 2007; IBSF billiards (points format) in 2008.
Asian titles - Asian billiards championship in 2005; Gold medal at Doha Asian Games in 2006.
Awards - Arjuna Award in 2004; Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2006.
First century breaks: Billiards - 118 at 13 years (1998 Karnataka State Ranking tournament); Snooker - 127 at 14 years (practice, 1999); 109 (1999 Junior Nationals).

--IANS