Billiards, snooker can have mass appeal: Advani
PANKAJ ADVANI SAID PLAYING CUE SPORTS DOESN’T REQUIRE THE SAME KIND OF INVESTMENT ONE REQUIRES TO PLAY OTHER SPORT.
MUMBAI: Despite the continuous success of Indian cueists at world stage, snooker and billiards have remained elite sports in India with its reach limited to big cities.
However, cue sports legend Pankaj Advani blames it on the wrong perception that people have developed about these games. In his view, cue sports have potential to be mass sports if they begin to be marketed properly and brought to the attention of Television audience frequently.
“I would blame it on people’s wrong perception. People think snooker and billiards are elite sports, but they are not. There is always an argument that you need to be a member of a club in order to play the game.
EASY ACCESS
“But, the reality is that you also get sports membership and you don’t have to be a member of a professional club to avail facilities,” Advani said on the sidelines of CCI All-india Open Snooker Championship here on Friday.
He also pointed to the fact that playing cue sports doesn’t require the kind of investment one requires to play other games.
“It’s not that expensive. You need to buy one a good quality cue which you would get in the range of ~000 to 5000. You look at games like golf, tennis and badminton, they are much more expensive.”
PROMOTE SPORT
The most successful cue player in the history of the country with a total of 18 world titles, Advani though added that this perception would not be broken unless a vigorous effort was made by Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI) to promote it as mass friendly games.
“You should ask the federation. They need to get sponsor. It doesn’t matter what I say. They must answer.
“Their job is to promote and bring it to television and make it more mass-friendly game. Only then this perception will break,” he said.
A GREAT HONOUR
The 32-year-old, who was recently conferred Padma Bhushan — India’s third highest civilian honour — was ecstatic at the recognition, saying it gave him a special feeling.
“It feels special to receive the third highest civilian honour from the Government of India. It’s wonderful to be recognised for your achievements. It’s a great honour.”
GREAT CURRENT LOT
The Pune-born player was also all praise for the current lot of Indian cueists.
“We have plethora of stars in snooker and billiards. It’s not necessary to win world titles to be recognised as a good player. We have many silver and bronze medallists at world level and they are really good.”
Advani, who is an avid admirer of tennis great Roger Federer, concluded by saying that he is really enjoying his life at this moment and would like to open his academy in future.
“I am really happy with my life at both professional and personal fronts. Somewhere down the line, I would like to open an academy and give something back to the game.”