Pankaj
Advani is a talented all round cueist, already a world champion at billiards
and in amateur snooker and now making his way in the professional ranks.
He
has qualified for the International Championship, alongside his fellow Indian,
Aditya Mehta.
Snooker
was invented in India but it has been in billiards where their cue sports
success has come.
And
it is billiards which is threatening to derail Advani's snooker progress. The World
Professional Championship in Leeds ends on the day the International
Championship in faraway Chengdu begins. Advani is due to play the following
evening but it would surely be a race against time were he to feature in the
billiards final, which could easily happen.
This
is an unfortunate dilemma for Advani but I imagine many players will see it
this way: if he had no intention of playing in the International Championship then
he shouldn’t have entered it. He has eliminated four players from the
tournament who would like to have played in the final stages.
If
he withdraws to play in the World Billiards Championship he will face
disciplinary action.
In
India, billiards is considered a more prestigious sport than snooker so his
country may expect him to prioritise the three-ball game. But Advani has
already been world champion in this sport, in 2009.
His
snooker career is just taking off. He played well to beat John Higgins at the
Paul Hunter Classic and can only now improve.
The
experience of playing in the final stages of a major ranking event would be
invaluable.
Advani
loves billiards but it isn’t a profession: they have only one tournament.
Snooker is and, as such, he could live to regret it if he decides not to go to
China.
EDIT: in fact, as commenters have pointed out, the Indian press have today reported that Advani has withdrawn from the International Championship to play in the billiards. Story here
EDIT: in fact, as commenters have pointed out, the Indian press have today reported that Advani has withdrawn from the International Championship to play in the billiards. Story here
13 comments:
He was actually double world billiards champion in timed and points format in 2 seperate years, 2005 and 2008. For more information on the lure of billiards and why Pankaj has this dilemma, and why it's not as simple as denying 4 players a place in China who he beat fair and square, read his excellent* interview here http://www.snookerisland.com/blog/interview-with-pankaj-advani/
(*not biased, honest)
He's chosen billiards. I don't think it's the right choice. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/284632/advani-opts-billiards-withdraws-snooker.html
According to several Indian media, Advani has now decided to pull out of the International Championship.
Will he still get the ranking points he earned by qualifying? If not, than it was a wrong decision to enter this event in the first place.
Has nobody heard of communication and compromise
:(
@Eric - no he has earned his ranking points so they are in the bag already.
@2:40pm - believe me he tried to get it sorted so he could play in both, and I don't know why those with the capacity to do something with respect to the running of the International couldn't at least give him the last wildcard slot in the schedule, which I believe would be the Monday evening session. In this scenario he would have been able to play in the second of the billiards finals (assuming he reached it) on the Sunday and made it to the venue with just enough time to play his wildcard match in the snooker, but let's face it he would be strongly odds against given the length of journey and recovery time required which I guess is why he's chosen one over the other.
I think the thing to bear in mind before vilifying him for his decision is that this is the biggest billiards event on the calendar, his success in this event has made him a household name in his home nation, billiards is a great sport in its own right and there are plenty more snooker events for him to focus on over the next season and two thirds.
Those who have read the interview and have seen his 67 clearance against John Higgins linked in the interview will see that he is one hell of a player and it's almost nailed on that he will reach more venues before this season is out.
The 'B' in WPBSA stands for Billiards. The Snooker calendar is now TOO full. They need to drop some (or all) PTC's and concentrate on proper main tour events. That way Billiards and Snooker can run side by side. This is the most important event on the Billiards calendar and they mean to say they couldn't find a clear space for it? If anything, it should have been scheduled to co-incided with a PTC or APTC.
Advani cannot be blamed for entering the International as it allowed him to build up his ranking points.
Come on BH, get a grip!
no its not nailed on he was one frame from defeat against Steve Davis in the Last 80 of the IC he hardly blew players away.
Isn't the WPBSA the organizer of the World Billiards Championship? If so, why has it scheduled a conflict? It's not exactly unheard of for snooker players to enter billiard events is it? I think he has made a mistake here: it doesn't really make much difference if he withdraws now or an hour before his snooker match, and this conflict would only exist if he reached the final, so why jump the gun?
My apologies, I've just seen that he was due to play on the Monday evening session. Still, surely it would've been better to alert World Snooker that he could withdraw if he reaches the billiards final on the Sunday and wait until that eventuality before making it a final decision.
The 'B' in WPBSA stands for Billiards. The Snooker calendar is now TOO full. They need to drop some (or all) PTC's and concentrate on proper main tour events. That way Billiards and Snooker can run side by side. This is the most important event on the Billiards calendar and they mean to say they couldn't find a clear space for it? If anything, it should have been scheduled to co-incided with a PTC or APTC.
Advani cannot be blamed for entering the International as it allowed him to build up his ranking points.
Come on BH, get a grip!
___________________________________
Barry Hearn does not Run the WPBSA Thats a Rule and disciplinary Body that he doesn't sit on the Board.
Barry runs World Snooker Ltd no B Anywhere to be seen he has no interest in Billiards.
It probably makes a bit of difference that he has a 2 year card, and wouldn't move up into the top 64 even if he won the international championship.
I trust this Advani will receive the severist punishment for the violation of his players contract, just like O'Sullivan.
A negligible fine and a slap on the wrist then, 12:53?
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