BENGALURU: India’s chief cue sports coach Manoj Kothari and national coach Ashok Shandilya are keeping a close eye on the proceedings of different tables at Karnataka State Billiards Association (KSBA).
They take notes at times, as six billiards (men) players and eight snooker (women) players compete in the national selection-cum-training camp matches, which started on Saturday.
At one of the tables, national billiards champion S Shrikrishna makes an error, which costs him the frame. After the match, Manoj walks to him and asks him to replay that particular shot. The coach explains how he could have done better.
“See, all billiards players at the camp are top-class. Technically, we do not have to do much, but help them with the shot selection and other things,” says Manoj.
Besides Shrikrishna, Dhruv Sitwala, Sourav Kothari, Siddarth Parikh and B Bhaskar are competing at the camp to represent India at IBSF World Billiards Championships (150-up format), scheduled next month in Myanmar.
Devendra Joshi and Rohan Jambusaria are the notable absentees from the top eight, while Pankaj Advani — part of the camp — has already qualified for the event as the defending champion. This camp also acts as selection for the WBL World Billiards Championships, in Melbourne from October 6-12.
Like Advani, Kothari is also an automatic entry after his WBL victory last year.
“In many ways, this a practice for the Worlds event in Myanmar. I have to build momentum to do well there. There is hardly a month left. Playing well here gives you the confidence, and I am happy to be striking well,” he remarks.
India, who will pin major hopes on Kothari and Advani, has always had a strong presence in billiards. The likes of Peter Gilchrist, Mike Russell, and Thailand’s Prapud will be contenders as well.
“It depends on the given day. They (Indian players) have to play to their potential. The guys here are so good that they have it in them to beat anyone. Advani is too good; a cut above the rest. We will win medals in billiards, surely” said Shandaliya.
All players are pleased with how things are moving at the camp. The table and cloth used at KSBA are almost similar to the one that will be used in Myanmar. It will help especially for the women’s snooker team championship, which comprises teams like Hong Kong, Thailand and China.
The team list for both competitions is expected to be finalised after the camp gets over on Friday. After that, the men’s snooker camp will begin on Sunday. The selected personnel in snooker will represent India in IBSF World Team Snooker Championship in Myanmar and IBSF World Snooker Championship in Turkey in November.