What makes Pankaj so special, so unique and so deserving of a crown
Whatu00a0makes Pankaju00a0so special, so uniqueu00a0and so deserving of a crown
To be woken up at 7.30 am by a news channel after a particularly tiring night for a news byte can hardly be described as the best start to a Monday morning. But when I heard that young Pankaj Advani had won the world professional billiards title against the redoubtable Mike Russell in the latter's own back garden, it was enough to banish all further thoughts of sleep. It was, to use a tired adjective, a dream victory and his seventh world title.
Carping critics may point out that Russell has been sequestered in Qatar as that country's official cuesports coach for quite a while now and consequently was short of serious billiards practice. In bald terms that may be true, but the hard world of sport is concerned only to the here and the now.
It's like saying that Maria Sharapova could have won the US Open had she not come off a year of injuries or that Sania Mirza would have been ranked higher but for that pesky wrist, ankle shoulder or whatever. Injuries, absences from home because you have to earn a living and other such issues u2013 hey, that's life.u00a0 At the end of the day, despite relatively less chances to practise like he used to, Russell still reached the final in a tournament that featured the best players in the world, including the likes of Geet Sethi, Peter Gilchrist and David Causier whose names are familiar to India. So, I for one, hold that the 'ifs' and the 'buts' of the critics are to be consigned to the rubbish bin.
I first met Pankaj as a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed ten- year-old with an impish sense of humour. The little brat used to raise many laughs behind my back with his imitation of how I used to walk. He also had a great love of the game and in those early days it was interesting to see how he coped with the demands of falling into a proper stance despite his short stature.u00a0
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AS he was making his mark on the national scene at the junior and senior level, I found the youngster was very clean-living and level-headed, had a great work ethic, self belief and a clear idea of exactly where he wanted to be. In these respects, he reminded me of a youthful Geet Sethi and it is no surprise that both translated these qualities into manifold titles and serious silverware. It was when I was appointed national coach and travelled around the world with him and other members of the Indian contingent that I really got to know him.
One of his finest hours came in China in 2003 when he beat Pakistan's Saleh Mohammed in the IBSF World Snooker Championship. It was a triumph of composure, clinical efficiency and mental strength more than blazing pyrotechnics that won the day for him and India.
As coach I was pleased to be in his corner and talk him through the stress of that fateful day. Since then, he exploded into an orgy of collecting national and other titles in both billiards and snooker, five more world titles in both time and point format, an Asian gold medal, the Arjuna Award and the Khel Ratna award.
At just 24, the imagination boggles at what this lad can achieve before he finally calls it a day. As I see it, his biggest challenge will be to keep up the motivation and focus that is such an integral part of his persona today.
In cuesports, achievers are self-driven individuals who have a fierce pride of performance. As long as he is able to plug into that pride, he will be unstoppable in the foreseeable future.
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