In India, if you are a cricketer you are compensated well and respected. Players such as Pankaj Advani glow in the background and are hardly ever given the respect they deserve. Brought into the world on 24th July 1985, in Pune, Pankaj Arjan Advani is an Indian Billiards and Snooker player. Cue games are barely showcased in televisions because they seem not as enthusiastic as compared to other games such as Cricket, Football or Tennis. But they do require outrageous concentration and practice.
Furthermore, Pankaj plays and prevails in both Billiards and Snooker. To excel in both these games which have entirely different strategies, rules and methods, Pankaj is indeed more than just perfect.
He was barely 10 years old when he noticed his elder brother, also his father figure, Dr Shree Advani playing snooker. After just observing the game for a few weeks, the child chose to give the fascinating game a try. They say that if you start well, you end well and Pankaj did indeed put the pot in his very first attempt.
Pankaj spent his initial years in Kuwait. In 1990, when the family went for a trip to the USA they had to shift back to India in the wake of catching wind of the Iraq invasion. He played the game exceptionally and dedicatedly which rewarded him the Talent A membership by the managing committee of Karnataka billiards and snooker association.
His brother also introduced him to Arvind Savur who declined him first for being too short but the talent of Pankaj made Arvind change his mind.
When he was just 12 years old, he defeated his own elder brother and bagged his first title. In 1998, he won the state junior title. In 2000, Pankaj seized the Indian Junior Billiards championship. That was not it, he repeatedly bagged the same title 7 years in a row.
Were his gifts limited only to sports?
No. Arvind proved excellence in academics as well and managed a distinction in his ICSE and ISC boards.
Being just 17 years old, he shined yet again by being the youngest to win the Senior National Billiards championship in 2003.
In 2005, Pankaj Advani glimmered all across the world by bagging two world titles, Asian Snooker Championship winner and the double world billiard titles. His nickname rings only true, “The golden boy”.
When he was practising for the Doha Asian games in 2006, his elder brother, Shree Advani, who is also a Sports Psychologist, flew back from Melbourne To India. He gave Pankaj mental training sessions and improved his performance. And when he won it, he dedicated his medal to his brother.
After winning the Asian Games, Pankaj felt pressured to defend his Gold medal, and he did make a small mistake then, but he composed himself because regretting those mistakes would only have wasted time. The mistake did not stop him from winning the games.
Pankaj believes that physical fitness is important, the mind should not be neglected.
When his coach insisted him to play snooker professionally in the UK, he had to neglect Billiards which stole the pleasure out of the game. He revealed in a talk, “Then the life, social life there is tough. Food, weather, all of it just adds up.” Within just 2 years, he was attracted back to his soul.
In 2016, he became the first person in the world to win the Asian 6-Red Snooker title.
Pankaj loves to interact with kids and the kids love his inspirations.
When the world was stuck in lockdown in March 2020, Pankaj shared his views on protecting humanity and creating awareness. He has also been associated with initiatives such as Find a Bed, which provides bed availability information. To help people who cannot afford medicines, he joined hands with Med Friends .Pankaj also wanted to volunteer during the unprecedented crisis of Covid-19 but is unable to do so since he is concerned about his mother now 67-years-old, who had single-handedly raised Pankaj and his elder brother after the death of their father when Pankaj was just 6-years-old.
Pankaj also unveiled the saddening reality that India does not have enough funds to dedicate to talented players. He believes that if India wishes to compete and win in the Olympics, India should follow USA’s and Australia’s model.
The player’s resolute efforts in Snooker and Billiards invited him in winning honours that he solely deserves. Some of them being the Khel Ratna, Padma Bhushan and Arjuna Award. In 2021, Pankaj Advani along with Aditya Mehta, was made the Vice-president of Revived Players’ association. He has won around 23 titles till now.
The success of Pankaj Advani has been obfuscated behind. Some believe that if there was Billiard or Snooker in the Olympic Games, Pankaj Advani might as well win it, just like he always has.
By Ushmil Rimjha
