Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Homegrown hero
|
In spite of all the accolades, billiards and snooker champion Pankaj Advani is still pretty level-headed
|
Photo: K. Gopinathan
Pankaj Advani: `I love to live in the present and enjoy every moment.'
WELL PANKAJ Advani, the 19-year-old billiards and snooker sensation may not have been born in Bangalore but he has been living in the city ever since he can remember. He spent his early years in Kuwait but the Gulf War drove his family back to India.
"The first four years of my life were in Kuwait. But it was when we we're holidaying in the U.S. that the Gulf War broke out. My father then decided to shift base and we moved to Bangalore. Since then, I have called myself a Bangalorean," he recollects with pride.
His only brother, Shree, a former State number two in the juniors and who was instrumental in initiating Pankaj to cue sports, has moved to Australia.
"We (along with a few select friends) used to visit parlours for a game of snooker and Pankaj soon found his way along. But since taking to the sport at a tender age of 11, my kid brother has come a long way," said Shree while on a brief recent visit to the city.
Eight years after taking to the sport, Pankaj has won an array of titles, including three IBSF World Championship titles, one in snooker (2003) and the recent twin titles at the World Billiards Championships in Malta. The Asian Billiards title too came Pankaj's way in February, at Pune. "He used to run me broke since I had to foot his parlour bills and he has not changed even today. He wins all these titles and I am forced to fly down from Australia, to shake those `golden' hands," added Shree in a lighter vein.
His mother, the soft-spoken and articulate Kajal, has been a steadying influence on Pankaj. Having lost her husband when Pankaj was still in pre-school, Kajal focused all her attention on her two sons, moulding them. A strict vegetarian, she prides herself that though both her boys sons have travelled far and wide — be it their sporting careers (Pankaj) or professional (Shree) — the two have remained vegetarian.
Another champion who is very much a part of Pankaj's life is Arvind Savur, his mentor and coach. Savur, a former national champion and world number three in the early '70s, was the first Arjuna Award winner from the cue sport.
"I have taught him everything there is for him to learn. Every trick in the book. Today he has achieved everything that I did not. I'm proud of him," says the genial coach. And Pankaj has not spoken at any platform without attributing his success to his Savur and his family.
Pankaj, who enjoys music and movies during his leisure hours away from the table, takes pride in his friends. "That's where I like to be seen (apart from home, of course) and unwind. I love to live in the present and enjoy every moment."
The Karnataka State Billiards Association (KSBA) has been a virtual second home for Pankaj, where he honed his skills, putting in long hours. The Association in turn has stood by the prodigy with timely moral and financial support.
Since the double delight at Malta, Pankaj has been bestowed with accolades from various quarters, including the State Government and the Karnataka Olympic Association (KOA). Even his building society hosted a dinner in his honour.
"He is soft-spoken and very suave. Totally down-to-earth and volunteers to take part in every community event. He has taken his success well," says Deepak Mahtani, his neighbour.
It's party time now for Pankaj, but special classes in college and exams are just around the corner. "Yeah, it's exams now and have to get bit of studying done," he says nonchalantly, when asked what next.
AVINASH NAIR
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
|
