The Khinvasara Billiards and Snooker Academy at the Jairaj Sports and Convention Centre will be host to some world beaters in heyball for the next three days, as the 3rd WPA Heyball World Championships is all set to begin on Wednesday.
Boasting six of the world’s top ten men and eight of the top ten women, the elite 128-player field (64 in each category) is the richest cue sports tournament in Indian history, eclipsing the 300,000-pound Indian Open snooker tournament, which will conclude on Saturday, August 15.
“Pune hosting the Worlds is a landmark moment, not just for India, but for the sport globally. India has all the right ingredients for heyball to thrive: a massive, young, sports-loving population, growing infrastructure for cue sports, and incredible passion at the grassroots,” said Ishaun Singh, president of the World Pool Association (WPA).
“This big-ticket event will greatly boost the popularity of heyball in the country,” said BSFI president S Balasubramaniam. “We hope to host at least one international event a year,” he said, adding that the need of the hour is to work on the infrastructure and provide more opportunities for aspiring cueists to take up the sport in a big way.
On the competition front, world No. 1 Jack Whelan and defending champion Gareth Potts, a four-time World pool champion, among men, and top-ranked women Wendy Jans of Belgium and reigning champion Kelly Fisher will be the cynosure in the four-day extravaganza.
Whelan, coming off a stunning Champion of Champions triumph last month in Malaysia, will look to carry that form into this week’s event. No stranger to India – he won the International Open last year in Chandigarh – the favourite will hope his love affair with the country continues.
Besides Whelan and Potts, there are a host of international stars with the ability to be the last one standing. The men’s field also includes 15 Indians, including direct entrants Sundeep Gulati and Shivam Arora (the CEO of Apex Sports, appointed by the BSFI as the organiser and commercial rights holder of the WPA event).
Pankaj Advani was handed a wildcard following a few pullouts. The 28-time world champion in billiards and snooker is familiar with the newest cue sports discipline, having tried his hand at it three years ago. With heyball requiring tactical play besides precise potting, the 41-year-old will rely on his snooker safety skills to go deep in the tournament.
In the women’s section, Fisher, one of the all-time greats in cue sports with world titles in four disciplines, will start as the favourite. The Briton will have to contend with Jans, who has several international honours in snooker, including being a 14-time European champion and nine-time IBSF World champion. The Belgian cueist will now set her sights on more laurels in heyball.
Competition for Fisher and Jans is likely to come from Thailand’s Waratthanun Sukritthanes, Mongolia’s Narantuya Bayasaikhan, and a host of others.
Among the 11 Indians in the fray, Amee Kamani, a bronze medallist at the previous edition in Australia, Vidya Pillai, the Commonwealth Billiards Championships gold medallist, and Natasha Chethan, the World junior bronze medallist, will carry the hosts’ hopes.
Anupama Ramachandran, the IBSF World snooker champion, and Varshaa Sanjeev -- who is back on the circuit after a three-year hiatus -- can both be threats on their day.