29-time world champion Pankaj Advani suggests that televised leagues, simplified sport formats, and increased investment in academies are essential steps to make cue sports a mainstream discipline in India and support young talent.

Pankaj Advani's Vision for Indian Cue Sports

Indian billiards and snooker icon Pankaj Advani, who recently secured his 29th world championship title, has emphasised the need to popularise cue sports in India, stating that introducing a televised league, creating greater awareness, simplifying the various forms and formats of the sport and establishing more academies could help advance the discipline in the country. Advani clinched his 29th career world title after defeating England's Robert Hall 1906-1206 in the final of the WBL World Billiards Championship in Birmingham earlier in October, producing a stunning 587 break to seal a memorable victory.

Overcoming Mainstream Challenges

Speaking to ANI about how cue sports could be made more mainstream in India, Advani highlighted the limited popularity of sporting disciplines beyond cricket and a few other sports. "I think besides cricket and a couple of sports, I do not think other sports are mainstream in India. If you come to think of it, even, you know, sports like shooting or even javelin, I mean, yes, we have had super achievers in them. But are they mainstream sports? I do not think so," he said.

Proposing Structural Reforms

Advani further stressed that a televised league could play a significant role in increasing the popularity of cue sports and making the discipline more accessible to spectators. He also pointed out that the multiple formats in billiards and snooker often create confusion among viewers, underlining the need to simplify the sport for a wider audience. "Cue sports specifically, I do believe that a league, a televised league, could do wonders for our game. I understand that there are multiple formats in our sport and we need to simplify them for our audience and the public. People ask me, how did you win 29 world titles at the age of 41. I told them that there are various formats. There is billiards, we have short and long formats. In snooker, we have short and long formats, and I have won them all. Sometimes, people get confused. I feel that we need to simplify these formats and get one quick format out into the open, which will be exciting and easy to consume for spectators. Television coverage is key to making people understand," he added.

Infrastructure and Talent Development

The Indian cue sports legend also said that it is important that state associations and governments invest their money in building academies, pointing out India's prowess in precision sports. "We have a few of them, but we could do with a lot more and open up the doors for many, many more youngsters. Because I believe in India, there is no dearth of talent, whether it is cue sports or shooting or chess or archery. And I feel like we are always better at the precision sports more than the physical sports. This Asian Games showed us that even in disciplines like athletics, we are amongst the best," he signed off.

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