Aditya Mehta takes questions from young cueists Sparsh, Mahema, Kreishh, Rayaan and tells them why physical fitness is important
Aditya Mehta is flanked by aspiring cueists (left to right) Sparsh Pherwani, Mahema Singh, Kreishh Gurbaxani and Rayaan Razmi. Pic/ Pradeep Dhivar
Kreishh Gurbaxani: It is said that most cue sports professionals are shy and introverts. Is this true in your case?
Aditya Mehta: You can't generalise but it does happen more often than not because right from your childhood, you're isolated in the snooker room, on your own for six to eight hours a day. No sunlight, no friends, nothing, so you get used to it. As far as your personality goes, you could be introverted or extroverted but yes, it does take a little bit of a hit on your social life because you give up a lot. I stopped going to college and started my correspondence after school as I needed time to play snooker. All young snooker players experience this. To some extent, they don't get to socialise like the rest of their friends do, but eventually you get accustomed to it. I think it's a good thing because you learn how to survive on your own. I did that in the UK and that was my biggest learning. I learnt to survive in the world on my own. So, it's not the worst thing.
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Sparsh Pherwani: What physical fitness drills do you need to do? Also, what sort of diet do you follow?
AM: Your upper back and neck are most important. Many consider the lower back but what I realised with my physiotherapy is that you need a good spine. In snooker, the body takes a massive hit every day as we play a thousand shots. So we need to make sure that the fundamentals of the back or the structure of the muscles that support the spine are strong enough, so that the spine is not damaged. As far as the neck and shoulders go, we don't need strength but those muscles in our back must be more endurance-friendly. Everyone is different and I recommend it's always good to get professional help. I have learnt the hard way.
On the diet front, obviously, you don't want to be unhealthy internally because that affects everything. Inflammation is big problem in any sport, especially muscle inflammation. It's quite common because of the overuse of a certain muscle, and certain foods impact inflammation. So, it's good to know what suits your body and what doesn't. I wouldn't say that I am most disciplined. I enjoy everything. I am vegetarian but I don't hold back when it comes to food. I like Italian food. In Myanmar, my lunch for seven days out of 10 was the same pasta every day. It was a safe dish to eat. It was non-spicy, everything has to be non-spicy, and simple carbs. Eat at the right time to fuel your body for matches.
Mahema Singh: There was this huge fad for pool and snooker till a few years ago but then it fizzled out. What do you think needs to be done to attract youngsters to cue sports?
AM: I wouldn't call it a fad, instead there was a great opportunity for snooker, pool and billiards because suddenly there was so much infrastructure. I think there were certain government issues that caused all those avenues to shut down. But there are still plenty of opportunity for snooker and pool players in the country. We must do more. There is absolutely no doubt that infrastructure is one of the major issues for our sport but at the same time, a lot of clubs are offering specific sports memberships to budding cueists. So, you don't necessarily have to be a member of the club as far as you have a certain amount of talent and drive to play at a decent level. We are in our infancy when it comes to developing talent in numbers. We are nowhere close to the likes of China and the UK. I think if players like Pankaj and myself lay the right foundation, we can help popularise the sport. Then, I think there would be no option but to create the infrastructure given the rising popularity. Like what Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu have done in badminton. Though the infrastructure was there, they have absolutely revolutionised the sport. They have taken it through the roof purely through their success. Some of us can get together and really push this sport through our success.
Rayaan Razmi: Who is your hero in the world of sports and why?
AM: One sportsperson I admire is Rafael Nadal because he works so hard. His intensity, drive and hunger is stunning. When I look at him, I feel inspired to work harder. Also, I'm reading his book, Rafa. Everyone should read that. As far as snooker goes, Ronnie is the most talented and I've had the pleasure of practising with him and also playing multiple matches with him. And you can't fail but learn something during every minute that you have spent time with him.
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