‘Kreishh can survive on pro snooker circuit’

Mumbai snooker player Kreishh Gurbaxani with the trophy he won at the Asia-Oceania Q-School (Event-2), a Professional Tour Qualifier snooker event, in Thailand recently

Cuesport great Yasin Merchant is proud that his ward Kreishh Gurbaxani, 21, has qualified for the World Pro Snooker Tour for next season. Recently, Mumbai-based Kreishh showed tremendous fighting qualities to win four successive frames to turn the tables on Pakistan's Muhammad Naseem Akhtar clinching a 4-2 win in the final round of the 2024 Asia-Oceania Q-School (Event-2) Professional Tour Qualifier snooker event at the BSAT Academy in Bangkok, Thailand.

Khar Gymkhana cueist Kreishh lost the first two frames tamely, but played to potential to stage a recovery. He carved out a come-from-behind 23-56, 9-71, 65-34, 73-66, 67-15 and 76-20 win in a tense, engrossing encounter and earned his two-year pro tour card.

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Kreishh's coach Merchant met him on Monday to chat with him about the circuit since he has the experience of playing on the pro circuit himself from 1992-98. Merchant said, "I am really proud that Kreishh has managed to qualify for the pro circuit in England. What makes it more satisfying as a coach is the fact that there are currently two Indians playing on the pro circuit. One is Ishpreet Singh Chadha and the other is Kreishh. Both are Yasin Merchant Snooker Academy students, from Khar Gymkhana and Mumbai. So I must have done something right to have achieved this feat," Merchant, who is a 2002 Asian Games snooker doubles gold medallist, told www.mid-day.com.Snooker coach Yasin Merchant. PIC/Merchant's personal collection

Meanwhile, Merchant, who has been coaching since he was 26, when he was the national coach of UAE in the 1990s, felt that in order to shape up for the pro circuit Kreishh needs to be on his toes. "The pro circuit is like a shark tank. For Indians it is a step up, but for the locals in England it is their job. They are ruthless. To face them he [Kreishh] needs to be 100 per cent sharper and level up. You need to play aggressive snooker. In order to polish his skills I had suggested he train in the UK under Nigel Bond. So he did take a couple of sessions with him. Coming to his win in Thailand, there was unimaginable extreme pressure and everybody was playing in a dog eat dog kind of a situation. I am glad despite having his share of ups and downs, Kreishh held his nerve when it was needed the most," explained Marchant, a World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) World Snooker Coach Grade 2 coach.

When asked about the funding for Kreishh the cuesport great replied: "Things have changed now. Kreishh will receive 20,000 pounds (approx R 21.33 lakh) per season to have earned a two-year pro tour card. So that's pretty decent to survive there. Plus the money he will get from his wins. In order to continue playing on the circuit, he needs to be in the Top 64 at the end of these two years, which I am sure he will. The first year is tough, but I am sure he can break through."