The Hindu : Sport / Billiards & Snooker : All eyes on Anuja

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jan 08, 2005

Sport

Sport - Billiards & Snooker

All eyes on Anuja

By G. Viswanath

MUMBAI, JAN. 7. Anuja Thakur is now a celebrity in her own right on the National billiards and snooker scene. India has a fine history in cue sports and a rising star in Pankaj Advani, who has kept the nation's flag flying at Asian and World amateur meets.

Very recently Anuja, the 22-year-old Mumbai girl, finished third at the World women's amateur snooker championship in Holland. According to green baize maestro Michael Ferreira it's an achievement the country and the small group of women players can be proud of. A feat that should trigger further interest and development of women's billiards and snooker.

Anuja will be in action on the opening day of the Goregaon Sports Club 13th women's National billiards championship on Saturday, and there will be ample interest, at least among the competitors, on the improvement she has made since Jammu where she won the 2004 National billiards title.

The matches up to quarterfinals has been set to three games and the semifinal and final to five on a 50-up points basis.

The schedule: Jan. 8: Women's billiards and qualifying rounds of junior billiards: Jan. 9: Women's snooker and qualifying rounds of junior snooker; Jan. 11: Women's billiards final; Jan. 12: Qualifying rounds of men's billiards; Jan. 13: Women's snooker final and qualifying rounds of men's snooker; Jan. 12-15: Main draw of junior billiards; Jan. 14-18: Main draw of junior snooker; Jan. 16-22: Main draw of men's billiards; Jan. 23-29: Main draw of men's snooker.