New Delhi, Oct 29 Fresh off a staggering 29th world title, India’s 41-year-old cue sports legend Pankaj Advani says he gets his inspiration to carry on from tennis icon Novak Djokovic who remains a force even after two decades on the circuit.
In an interview to PTI after winning the WBL World Billiards Championship in Birmingham, Advani spoke about his continuing pursuit of excellence, the joy of winning a major billiards title after two years and the work he put in to win that crown in a field full of former world champions.
“For those who haven’t been following my journey very closely. This is a very, very special victory. And it comes against the very best players of the world.
“If someone had to see the lineup of players that played in this event, all former world champions, current players who are in top form from England, from all over the world, it was a very, very competitive and tough field,” said Advani.
The former champions he beat en route to the title included established names such as compatriot Sourav Kothari, David Causier and Robert Hall.
“…as far as consistency is concerned, I’ve always tried to achieve that. Sometimes the results reflect it, sometimes the results don’t reflect it. But my work ethic remains the same,” he said.
“And I feel this time I worked a little harder than normal because I was super determined and motivated to get to the very top,” Advani elaborated in the online interview from Sheffield in the UK where he is training for the upcoming World Snooker Championship in Indore.
Reflecting on his campaign, Advani said his toughest match of the mega event in Birmingham was the pre-quarterfinal against Ireland’s Christian Kirk.
“Fortunately, in the last 30 seconds, I won the match, but it was so close. I think from there, it just gave me a wake up call to raise my level,” he said.
Want to work smart like Djokovic
====================
After Roger Federer’s retirement, Advani is inspired by 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic who continues to compete against players who are half his age.
“I would say, Djokovic is the epitome of consistency. His career has spanned now for what, for almost two decades. And he continues to be there in the business end of tournaments,” said Advani lauding the 39-year-old superstar.
“But both Federer and Djokovic have had amazing, illustrious, long careers. It just boils down to how much you want it really. And if you really want something, I believe you can achieve it if you work in the right direction towards it, not only hard, but also work smart. And I think that’s what they’ve done in their careers,” said Advani.
He feels fitter than ever having worked on his mind and body over the past one year to meet the different demands of billiards and snooker.
“So they’re two totally different cue games played on the same table. And I’ve realised that each sport requires a different approach. In billiards, it’s all about prolonged periods of concentration. It’s about building stamina, and which is what I’ve exactly worked on.
“I’ve been practising for about four or five hours every day for the last one month. I’ve hardly played billiards in the last two years. I felt like the results were not as expected, which is why I had to approach this (the recent tournament) very differently and prepare methodically for this and put in the hours.
“As far as snooker is concerned, I’ve been playing a little more of snooker in the last couple of years. So that for me comes a little more naturally right now at the moment. And this was a total test of stamina and endurance, which I think I’ve, passed the test with flying colours.”
Advani also owes a debt of gratitude to his coach Arvind Savur and elder brother Shree Advani, who is a sports psychologist.
“Both still push me to become a better player,” said Advani.
More than 20 years after he won his first world title, Advani keeps churning out global trophies with remarkable regularity. Advani said his long journey has been full of ups and downs even though some may not see it that way.
“Honestly, I know how tough my journey has been. I’ve had rough patches. I’ve had years where I’ve gone without winning anything major. Some losses have been bitter to swallow. And some wins have been out of nowhere.
“So I’ve seen it all in my career…it does feel a bit strange that, while if someone makes a century in cricket, it’s celebrated. And if that person, continues to break his own records, people still get as excited,” he said.
Advani hopes that sports other than cricket will continue to grow in popularity and at some point, be celebrated the same way as cricket is celebrated.
“I feel the journeys of athletes who have stood out over a period of time, irrespective of whether they’ve won Olympic medals or not.
“Whether it’s basically their consistency over a period of 5, 10 and 15 years, those are the athletes that need to be celebrated and cherished in the same way as our cricketers are,” added Advani.
(PTI News)
