BENGALURU: It’s no child’s play being a 23-time world champion in billiards and snooker. But for Pankaj Advani, simple pleasures include a visit to Corner House, an activity that he believes carries the old Bangalore charm. Though born in Pune, the 34-year-old shares a strong bond with Bengaluru, after his family moved here from Kuwait due to the Gulf war, when he was five years old. “I remember my schooling at Frank Anthony Public School, the beautiful city weather and the laid back pace of life, which has changed due to the IT boom and traffic. Not that this is bad, just that the city has developed a lot more,” says Advani, who won his 34th national title last week with the National 6-Red Snooker Title.
Advani credits his educational institutes for helping him balance academics and sports. Recalling the instances of support he received, he says, “I was on my way to class at Mahaveer Jain College, when the chairman, Chenraj Jain, spotted me. He told me to get back to practice.” Jain then went on to ask Advani when he would become the world champion, to which the latter told him it would be a couple of years. “As destiny would have it, I won my first world title in the next six months at the age of 18,” he says, adding how his college threw him a grand reception for this. While college life was interesting, Advani does admit he missed out on “normalcy” due to his profession.
Speaking of the city he is fond of, Advani points out how Bengaluru’s greenery has reduced to a massive extent, along with a dire need for preservation of city lakes and water bodies. “We have lacked in that department but nature has a way of restoring balance and teaching us lessons in the form of a pandemic like the new coronavirus,” he says solemnly. “If we took care of our environment and understood the importance of climate change and water scarcity,then we wouldn’t have such disasters.”
But these times have also shown the importance of health and safety, he says while speaking about his upcoming plans. “I have qualified for most of the international events this year, which will hopefully be conducted if the situation is better. In a way, a virus like this teaches us lessons on how we should spend more time with our families, internalise and reflect upon various things in life rather going after the materialistic things,” he says.