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“Professional
snooker is UK-centric, it’s
almost a
UK
circuit, ideal for
UK
players,” said the World
billiards champion.“It’s not
easy to play the circuit.”
Life
can be very tough for a
first-timer in the pro world.
“It’s a culture shock when
you go there. It’s lonely
too,” said the
Bangalore
youngster. “One has to go
through it to feel it. It’s a
different ball game
altogether.”
The
circuit could be pretty
expensive, even for a World
champion. “The first two years
are really difficult. Only the
top 40 to 50 make money,”
explained Advani.
“Earlier,
the winner of the amateur World
got a direct entry into the pro
circuit. But the year I won that
rule was scrapped. Now, the
qualifying tournament is huge,
there are some eight tournaments
spread over six months.
Probably, if I get a direct
entry, may be I’ll play a
couple of years.”
But how
are the Chinese managing in the
pro world? Some of them, like
Ding Junhui, the current World
No. 9, seem to have taken the
circuit by storm. “The Chinese
have full backing from the
Government, they need not worry
about anything, they just have
to play,” said Advani.
“There are quite a few Chinese
on the pro circuit, and they
come with support staff, they
don’t feel lonely.
“And
Ding is exceptional, he’s a
genius. He’s a perfect example
of a Chinese sportsperson,
extremely focussed, no emotions
and he has an army of
supporters. All he has to do is
play the game,” he said.
India
’s former Asian champion Yasin
Merchant did reasonably well —
he was ranked No. 64 once —
when he played the professional
circuit nearly a decade ago and
more recently Manan Chandra was
just outside the top 100.
But
there is a positive side too, to
Advani shutting the door on the
pro snooker circuit.
“When
I knew that I wouldn’t get a
pro circuit berth, it made me
concentrate more on my
billiards. It became my main
focus. In billiards, the pro and
amateur circuits are almost
integrated.
“Had
I entered the professional
snooker circuit, it would have
been difficult to handle
billiards. I don’t want to
give up billiards because it has
given me so much in my life.”
It also
brought him the 2006 Rajiv
Gandhi Khel Ratna award – the
highest honour bestowed by the
Government on an Indian
sportsman.
With
stars like Pankaj Advani and
Manan Chandra around, the green
baize game wears a young and
fresh look. But the sport needs
to look more attractive.
“Cue
sport has an old English look
about it. This has to change,”
said Advani. “The federation
has to take steps to make the
sport a little more glamorous.
“Shortening
the format, adding bright
lights, making the game quicker
— 25 seconds to play one shot,
25 minutes per frame — and
getting a few big stars for
major matches are some of the
things the federation can work
on. And you can have a
best-of-five in the 100-up
format in billiards, each 100-up
will last about 10 to 15
minutes. These are interesting
things we could possibly try to
make the game much faster and
more spectator-friendly.”
There
is also a need to bring in more
youngsters, to help the game
reach new highs, says the young
star.
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