International cuiests Sourav Kothari and Brijesh Damani on Tuesday lamented the lack of adequate push for cue sports to be included in major multi-sport events, including the Asian Games and the Olympics.
Interacting with mediapersons at the announcement of the Bengal Premier League here, Kothari, a former Asian billiards champion, said, “Snooker is one of the top sports in China and is played in more than 100 countries around the world. The World and Asian bodies are probably not doing something right. That’s why it was unceremoniously relegated (from the Asian Games to Asian Indoor Games after the 2010 Games).”
He said people associated with the National federation should think about the growth of cue sports instead of restricting themselves to the conduct of some events. “You always here the same names featuring in the quarterfinals or semifinals of a tournament. Where are the new guys? We should be churning out players like China in order to make our future better,” said Kothari.
Damani, a 2010 Asian Games silver medallist, hoped that cue sports got back to major multi-sport events. “I have fond memories of the 2010 Asian Games and hope it is re-inducted in future,” said Damani.
Meanwhile, Damani, who got a last minute invite to team up with Aditya Mehta to represent India in the upcoming snooker World Cup to be held in China from July 3 to 9, was excited about his maiden appearance in the elite event featuring a lot of professionals.
“The tables will be different. They will be very smooth with less friction, but I have got the experience of playing on those tables. Besides, I have won the Asian Games team silver with Aditya (and Yasin Merchant). Hope, we do well in the World Cup as well,” said Damani.
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