It is rare to see an active sportsperson start an academy to give back to the game. It’s even more difficult to do the same in cue sports as the cost of infrastructure and maintenance is steep. Despite the challenges and the risks involved, Neena Praveen, a former snooker champion and one of the finest players from Tamil Nadu, has opened her academy recently, while still being an active player.
The Chennai 147-Sports Academy is situated at Velachery and is affiliated to the Tamil Nadu Billiards and Snooker Association. The spacious centre has all the facilities to play snooker, billiards, pool and heyball. Lack of international-standard tables and an urge to push budding players, made her take this leap. “We lack international tables for snooker, pool and of late, heyball. So I wanted to start a place to help the budding players to come and play with quality facilities, Secondly, I wanted to give back to the society my rich experience and motivate all budding players to win medals at leading tournaments, both in India and overseas,” Neena said.
Her family, and coach N Suryanarayanan have provided her the much-needed push to pursue this passion. "Starting an academy is very difficult. One should have a lot of money, then there should be about 3,000 sqft space with no pillars. My family and coach Suryanarayanan were of great support for me," she said.
Neena, along with several other reputed coaches, will be imparting lessons at the facility. “There are three snooker tables, two heyball tables and two pool tables. All tables are imported and coaching will be given from 10 am to 11 pm every day. I will coach, plus several other reputed coaches will train the players,” she said.
Neena started when she was 19 and steadily climbed the ladder to represent the state and the country. “I got initiated into cue sports by some of my friends. One of them told me to just play, give the game a try, and then I started liking it almost immediately. The first major tournament I won was the TN State Ranking snooker tournament 2011. Around the same time I represented India and won a medal,” she said.
Tamil Nadu has a rich culture in cue sports. The clubs in the city have good facilities. “When I began there was a good cue sports culture. Although there were not that many facilities like what we have today, the quality of the game, in general, was good. Thus, I was able to be national champion twice, four-time silver medallist and one-time bronze medal winner,” said Neena.
Being an active player and coach can help one keep in tune with the changing times. Like T20 in cricket, 6red ball snooker is very popular now. Heyball has also attracted the minds of cue sports enthusiasts. “I want to share my experience with the young players. My aim is to give them an opportunity to learn the game and excel. We will have a good pool of coaches and also plan to conduct tournaments along with TNBSA,” said Neena.
Suryanarayanan felt that Neena’s valuable inputs will lift young aspirants. “Her experience of having played the game over two decades will come in handy. Her tendency to attack, her passion to perform was the hallmark of her game and she will try to pass on these qualities to the players,” he noted.
With her countless experience and her passion for the sport, Neena could go a long way in her fresh endeavour.