New Delhi, Apr 27:
Back in India after a challenging snooker season, India’s poster boy of cue sports Pankaj Advani feels the game has to move out of the United Kingdom for Asian players to thrive and compete on a level playing field.
“I think the sport needs to move out of the UK. I have been very very vocal about it. I still stand by it, although I know that the players from UK are class apart and that also has to do with the fact that the sport is played in their land,” he told PTI in an interview.
Advani, who has won eight world titles, five Asian titles, two Asian Games gold medals and 24 national titles, argued that all professional events, even if it is a China ranking event, all qualifying matches take place in the UK.
“Even if it’s the Indian Open then the qualifying rounds will be played in UK. So there is a clear cut advantage for the local players. This is not the case with other sports where a qualifying round of an event takes place in the host nation,” Advani said.
“I am not taking anything away from them. I think they are fantastic players. They obviously have proved that over a period of time. It’s just that it is very very difficult for outsiders to make a mark,” the 28-year-old said.
Noting that among the Asian players only three stand out namely James Wattana, Marko Fu and Ding Junhui, Advani asserted that when the game is truly played internationally and the UK players have to travel as much as everybody, then it will be a more “level playing field”.
Advani said for cue sports to gain popularity the Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI) should focus on TV coverage.
“I think the only thing they (BSFI) need to focus on is television coverage. I have obviously spoken to the president of the BSFI and that seems to be the only area that needs to be explored and the focus should be on that right now,” Advani said.
“It is entirely up to them as to how they want to make it more popular. But I think television coverage is the way to go,” he said.
The ace cueist suggested that India’s top players could be used to spread the game in different parts of the country.
He noted that big events had been organised where we have the top players coming to India to play against the finest Indian players. Another way of spreading the game, he said, was by educating the public about the rules of the sport. (PTI)
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