A gentleman champion

Updated On: 25 August, 2024 10:24 AM IST | Mumbai | Yasin Merchant

Pankaj Advani has now graduated from India’s most celebrated cueist to a study in how to attain unparalleled success and still be hungry for more. His calm demeanour on and off the table is an education for aspiring champions

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Pankaj Advani

Yasin Merchant There is a distinct aura of authority when Pankaj Advani walks into the room. What he lacks in height, he makes up in stature. Pankaj, the undisputed king of cue-sport in India currently (read that as the entire last decade) commands respect and instils fear at the same time, as one reads his name in any tournament draw. The questions that envelope the minds of all other participants are, “Am I in the same half of the draw as him? Who is going to meet him in the final?” It’s a given that Pankaj will make it to the last day, barring an unusual off day, where he probably himself gets bored of making the effort to win. Such is the impact this man has left on the minds of all other cueists in India.