In the northern English town of Sheffield, the stars of the green baize are gathering for a storm of snooker.
MUMBAI: In the northern English town of Sheffield, the stars of the green baize are gathering for a storm of snooker. The Professional World Snooker Championships are played out every year at the Crucible Theatre, and once again, as Ronnie O’ Sullivan, John Higgins, Ding Junhui and the rest of snooker’s greats fight for the top crown, there will be no Indian in sight.
The lack of Indian players at the World Championship, a sport that has remained consistently popular in this country, is a source of disquiet for fans of the game. Indian snooker coach Subhash Agarwal explains the fundamental reason for this by saying that
“This is the professional championships, and Indian players operate only at the amateur level.”
Pressed on why his employer, the Billiards and Snooker Federation of India, has not remedied this, he responded, “This is the individual’s affair We will support any player who decides to compete as a professional.”
Former Asia Snooker Champion Devendra Joshi was clear about the reasons for the lack of Indians at the top level. “Qualifying for the Professional Championship means spending up to three years competing in the UK. Even aside from the problems with finance and sponsorship, players are reluctant to take that step.”
He believes that the talent does exist however: “They just need the backing and confidence. I tell youngsters with potential they have to go abroad when they are young, dive in and see how deep the water is.” One of those talented youngsters, 2003 IBSF (Amateur) World Snooker Champion Pankaj Advani, does not think it is so simple.
“The professional circuit is entirely based around the UK. It’s just not feasible for our young players to move there. It would not be a sensible gamble.” He believes change should come from India, saying “we need to foster a snooker culture, the way China has, that has produced players like Ding Junhui. A Centre of Excellence would be a first step towards that.”
Agarwal did confirm that there would be a Centre of Excellence in India for young snooker talents. “We will take the best and give them professional coaching before sending them abroad to play,” he said. “Then, some time in the future, there will be Indian professionals.”
One thing all agreed on is that this will take some time. So until then, India must watch how the rest of the world does it.
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