’I’m now the man to beat’

Cueist Pankaj Advani who was in Mumbai recently, says he's on the ball

Cueist Pankaj Advani who was in Mumbai recently, says he's on the ball

If Pankaj Advani had his way, he would be playing in a colourful, snazzy waistcoat. Not for him the staid, black, formal wear which he believes takes something away from cue sports as a television event.

"The formal wear should go. It's all about packaging," he says. But then at 24, Advani is bound to seek a change, look for more glamour and build on what he has already achieved.

The seven-time world champion, in both snooker and billiards, recently won the world professional billiards title for the first time, an achievement that has taken a weight off his shoulders. Not because the question haunting him was 'will he', but more 'when'.

He followed that up with national snooker and billiards titles, not his first, proving himself as a rare talent. Still his face does not stare down hoardings, unlike a cricketer who can get up there with three wickets in a one-day match.

Advani says the recognition has improved. Recently, he was stopped by a young woman as he entered a hotel in Mumbai. There is the possibility of a film venture, based on his life with Advani playing himself, though that's subject to his availability. He gets mobbed on and off, like when it took him over an hour to leave his alma mater in Bengaluru where he attended a function.

He is conscious of his new status of role model and youth icon, "enjoying the fact that he is representing the country". The consciousness is amplified as he fusses over his hair before a photo shoot and nervously fidgets while answering questions.

But that's still an aside: Advani is remarkably confident, self-assured and mature for someone his age. He credits that to playing with legends like Geet Sethi and Yasin Merchant among others from a very young age, an experience that not only lifted his game but also polished his demeanour.

You would think that having achieved so much in such little time would make him complacent. "I have to defend all these titles. I am now the man to beat. When you are at the top, people constantly question your ability. It depends on how you respond to expectations," he says.

Critics are already looking for the next chink in his armour, the fact that he has never had a 1000-break. But Advani dismisses that statistic as a mere number. "Players have had over 500 breaks against me and still lost," he says. His best has been 867, but few would bet against Advani getting the four-figure mark eventually.

In Mumbai for a casual visit, Advani says he enjoys the fact that he excels in both billiards and snooker, which also helps break the monotony. "I started better in billiards; then my snooker improved, which also got me my first world title. Now I seem to have become better in billiards again," he adds.

The difference is not just in the number of balls used three vs 22, or colouru00a0 three vs seven, but in technique, which he adapts to quickly, another indication of a natural gift. As a 10-year-old, he watched his brother Shree play in a neighbourhood parlour till he could wait no longer. Barely reaching the table, he pocketed the first shot he ever tried.

Former player Arvind Sarur initially refused to take him under his wings because at 5'1'', Advani was too short. A year later, the enduring partnership began. Two months later, Sarur told Shree that little Pankaj could reproduce any shot immediately. In 2001, at 16, he was the national snooker champion.

He "grew up faster" in the company of senior pros like Sethi, whom he greatly admires and models after. "Even now, he (Sethi) is giving me a run for my money. I admire the way he has carried himself and for his discipline." Advani beat Sethi last month for his third straight National billiards title.

Success can spoil, but Advani remains grounded thanks to "father figure" Savur, Shree and mother Kajal who, the siblings say, remains remarkably nonchalant about his achievements. Support also came from the college principal who sent him away to play, insisting he bring laurels instead of attending classes.

Youthful exuberance peeps through when he says he is inclined to be fashionable, admitting how much he enjoyed walking the ramp in Bangalore for designer Namrata G wearing a brocade jacket or when he wets his hair before a picture is taken.

Advani realises he is up for a tough battle for fame in a country where the cue sport, despite its rich heritage in Wilson Jones, Michael Ferreira and Sethi, among several others, still falls short.
u00a0
"We are supposedly a sporting nation, but the focus seems to be more on money. I don't want to belittle cricketers, but there are so many achievements that have overshadowed them. Media influences opinion but if you give others a chance, then people might move out of the herd mentality towards one sport. It's not me or my sport that is getting popularity but the magnitude of the achievement."

Advani says his role now is to see the sport grow, get involved in initiatives. For someone who is the world's best in an intense sport, you wonder what he does for fun.

The sport is fun, he says. Like the time when he saw this really short competitor in slip-on shoes stretch hard for a shot, lose his balance after finishing the shot, slip out of his shoes and slide right under the table.
Advani grins. For him, winning world titles is fun.

FACTFILE: Pankaj Advani

World Professional billiards champion:u00a0 2009

World amateur billiards champion: 2005, 2007, 2008
(time format); 2005, 2008
(points format)
World amateur snooker
champion: 2003

National Awards:
Padma Shri (2009),
Rajiv Gandhi Khel
Ratna (2005),
Arjuna Award (2004)