The Hindu : Sport : Sethi satisfied with pool's progress

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Sep 02, 2005

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Sport - Sports : General

Sethi satisfied with pool's progress

Special Correspondent

MUMBAI: Cue sport maestro Geet Sethi is impressed by the sheer numbers at the BPCL-ONGC V 9-ball pool National championship at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club.

According to the World amateur billiards champion, Sethi, the enthusiasm for the sport is reflected in the number of players who have come from South, North and even Mizoram and Aligarh to take part in the nationals.

"It's a good sign. And out of the 180 players, 60 played with a pool cue. I have enjoyed every moment of the last 25 years of my life playing billiards snooker and 9-ball pool and am happy to see tremendous interest for 9-ball pool. Look at this event. Players have paid an entry fee of Rs. 750 and travelled to Mumbai from all over the country. We have excellent pool players in Manan Chandra, Alok Kumar and Dharmender Lilly. All of them play snooker. What we need now is a dedicated pool players. India needs a maverick at the world level and seen on television. Once this happens, I am sure, 9-ball pool will explode in India,'' said Sethi at a get-together organised by the Billiards and Snooker Association of Maharashtra at the BPGC on Tuesday.''

Sethi is back in the national and international circuit after spending four to five years looking after personal business. Now he's focused on the Asian Games in Doha next year. Well, if snooker is ten times more appealing than billiards, 9-ball pool is 25 times more appealing than snooker,'' said Sethi.

"Lilly is concentrating on 9-ball pool these days, practising for almost five hours a day. I was also impressed by the showing of Delhi's Sandeep Gulati. I organised an impromptu `Race to 3' event for 16 players on Monday and Delhi's Anuj Uppal beat Gulati. I could see great pool talent. Ideally India should have dedicated pool players.''

He said pool will automatically develop once India produces a champion player. "Always a tough customer, Alok Kumar beat two world-class players last year. We have always been good in sports where skill is involved.''

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