New Delhi, Oct 20: Before the Indian Open began, both the BSFI and WPBSA were sceptical about the tournament’s success, let alone its sustainability over a three-year period as per the contract, but what they have been left with after the five-day snooker extravaganza is only delightful memories.
October 14 marked the beginning of a new chapter in the history of snooker in the country when the world’s leading 57 professionals descended on the city to make the country the newest destination on the pro circuit.
Who would have known that the game will return to its birthplace 138 years after the sport was invented in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh in the form of 300,000-pound Indian Open world ranking snooker tournament.
The inaugural edition left a lasting impression on the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) administrators as they went back home completely overwhelmed with the sport’s progress and after discovering a new market for snooker in India, a country with a 1.2-billion population.
India is emerging as a force in snooker with top cueists — Pankaj Advani and Aditya Mehta — reigning supreme on the professional circuit.
Mehta also created history by becoming the first Indian to reach the final of a ranking event in the Indian Open. However, he ran out of luck in the summit clash against World No.4 and Chinese prodigy Ding Junhui, who defeated the 27-year-old Mumbaikar 0-5.
The world body is, therefore, keen to tap into the market here and the massive media coverage, both electronic and print, the event received in the last five days and the good crowd support only strengthened the belief of the game’s custodians that India could be developed as a new snooker territory.
“The tournament has been a grand success. Full credit to the BSFI and World Snooker, their officials and all those involved in making it happen. The crowd support was phenomenal. They showed that whether one is well-versed with a sport or not, the love for sportspeople is unconditional,” eight-time world champion Advani said.
“It is really heartening to see this beautiful sport slowly but surely spreading across the world. Wishing for many more events to come to India,” added the Bangalorean, who lost 3-4 in the quarter-final against his countrymate Mehta.
Many officials also believe that India could become the new China, where the sport is hugely popular, thanks to Junhui’s eight ranking tournament victories.
According to the world body, there are 77 countries across the world which televise snooker with a global viewing audience of over 450 million.(PTI)
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