World snooker championship: Dress code may be relaxed

Pankaj Advani, who was sweating profusely after his match against Hong Kong’s Chi Wai Au, said, "The air conditioning does not work properly, which makes the hall hot and sticky.

The faulty air-conditioning system at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium here has caused the players a fair amount of distress, forcing the authorities to reconsider the dress-code at the IBSF World snooker championship.

Advani, who was sweating profusely after his match against Hong Kong’s Chi Wai Au, said, “The air conditioning does not work properly, which makes the hall hot and sticky.

“I’m not complaining, but with us wearing a bowtie, it gets very hot in there. It is hard to concentrate during the matches. This is not ideal for snooker.”

His peers, especially those from Europe, agreed with Advani’s views. Players at snooker events are required to wear formal clothing, with a waistcoat added to complete the ensemble.

Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI) Secretary S. Balasubramaniam admitted that conditions were less than ideal, and stated that the players could be allowed to play without a bowtie, starting Friday.

“Work is on to fix the air-conditioning, and we hope that it will be fixed. If the work is not completed, we will talk to the IBSF officials about relaxing the bowtie rule.

“We will take a call on Friday morning, after talking to the players,” he said.