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Pankaj Advani’s name continued to sum up Indian snooker for yet another year as the long-time poster-boy took his world title count to an unprecedented 15.
It started with Advani winning his 13th world title after winning the World 6-Red Snooker Championship convincingly in August. Defending champion outplayed China’s Yan Bingtao 6-2, stamping his authority on the green baize in the final in Karachi.
Pankaj Advani’s Fine Run
Bengaluru’s ‘Golden Boy’ continued his fine run to win the World Billiards Championship after outplaying Singapore’s Peter Gilchrist in the title clash.
The win also came as a sweet revenge for Advani as he had lost the final of the point format championship to Gilchrist.
On a roll, the unstoppable Advani won his 15th world crown in November after battling past his Chinese opponent Zhua Xintong in a tough final in Hurghada, Egypt.
He once again enthralled the audience to prevail over the teenage sensation 8-6 in the best-of-15 final. He also became the first person in history to take the short (6-Red) and the long snooker format in the same calendar year.
This was Advani’s first 15-Red Snooker title since 2003 when he won the crown in China. But Egypt proved lucky for the champion, who had won his first 6-Red world title here last year.
Sitwala’s Competition
Earlier, the ace cueist started the year with a bang when he won the National Billiards and Snooker Championships in January.
Advani faced some competition from Dhruv Sitwala in the National Billiards final but managed to emerge triumphant and then got past Varun Madan to win the snooker title.
This was the fourth time in his career that Advani has won both the billiards and snooker national titles. Advani also has seven senior national billiards titles, taking the total count to 26 in all age groups.
Indore’s Amee Kamani, on the other hand, won her maiden title when she defeated experienced Vidya Pillai in the Ladies Snooker finals.
Controversy
The sport though ran into some controversy in the country when some deserving cue stars were left out in the Arjuna Awards list and top cueists including Advani were vocal in their displeasure regarding the snub.
Asian billiards champion Sourav Kothari also requested the sports ministry to reconsider his nomination for the Arjuna award as a denial he thought would also affect aspiring snooker players.
The Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (IBSF) issued a media note when 2013 World Snooker Champion Vidya was not included in the Arjuna list.
It opened up a can of worms, with many cuesport players alleging that they haven’t got their due in terms of money returns by the Central Government despite their consistent performances on the green baize.
The Billiards Premier League
Controversies apart, the year saw an auction take place for the first time in the sport with players in the second edition of the Mumbai-based Billiards Premier League going under the hammer.
Team Ottomans skipper Dhruv Sitwala, who won his first international title - the Asian Billiards Championship, in April was the most expensive player, going under the hammer for Rs 38,500.
Indian Women Shine
Meanwhile, Indian women snooker players also made significant strides in their respective events as the World Billiards in Adelaide was an all-India affair with Maharashtra’s Arantxa Sanchis edging past veteran Bengaluru cueist Revanna Umadevi Nagaraj.
The country also hosted its second edition of the world ranking tournament, Indian Open in Mumbai.
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