Pankaj Advani is a name synonymous with cue sports. The 37-year-old has done everything possible there is to achieve in a glittering career. He has bagged a whopping 25 world billiards and snooker titles, and he is in no mood to hang up his boots.
In an interview on Sunday, on the sidelines of the Syed Habib invitation snooker tournament here, Pankaj stressed that the need of the hour is to get a proper billiards and snooker league on the lines of Kabaddi league.
“We need to televise the sport, and the earlier the league begins, the better it is for the sport. It last happened in 2017. A short, crisp league like the prokabaddi league will be great. I am sure there will be sponsors,” he said.
Asked if there were any urgent reforms the sport needs, Pankaj said: “[We need] more tournaments for the juniors, workshops for them at the National level. We need more academies used not just by members of social clubs, but by those who want to try their hand at the sport. We need to make the sport more accessible,” he remarked.
Pankaj praised the reigning World Under-21 snooker champion from Tamil Nadu Anupama Ramachandran. “She has grown leaps and bounds. I’ve never seen women play so positive and aggressive. She is like a breath of fresh air.”
Pankaj said he will next take part in the Asian team snooker & 6-red individual championships, which begin in Tehran on June 17. India, he said, has fielded all the top players. “It’s a short format, we don’t know how things will pan out,” Pankaj said.
