Advani proposes a professional snooker tour for Asia

Indian cue sport poster boy Pankaj Advani, who quit snooker pro tour last year, rued logistical problems in playing professional league in UK and said the Asian Tour is the way forward.
"I am one of them who chose to come back (after spending two years). While there are many tournaments but the fact remains that you need to be based in the UK to make mark, that's the biggest challenge.
"I'm not complaining but that's what it is. There should be an Asian Tour and I think the BSFI are thinking on these lines," the only Indian to win both the world billiards and IBSF snooker championship said.

Citing the logistical problems, the 29-year-old further said: "To play the professional league in England you have to play more than six months in a year. A lot of Asians have gone and struggled. It's expensive, you've to stay away from family and a whole of lot of factors.
"It needs to spread to different continents. In most professional sport, you just play and come back but in snooker you need to base at least six months, which make it more difficult for outsiders."
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the National Billiards and Snooker Championship at the Bengal Rowing Club, Advani said the motivation to compete here was to qualify for the Asian and World meet.

"We need to finish in top two or four -- depending on the criteria -- to qualify for the international tournaments and representing India. So it's out of necessity we play a tournament like this because if we don't play here we miss a chance to play in the Asia and World Championships."

"As any athlete you look forward to any tournament with quality players, always think of evolving as a sports person, expanding your repertoire, improving your efficiency. The day you stagnate, the day you start going down in sport. Besides achieving success, it's our endeavor to take cue sport to new heights in India," he said adding that he's looking forward to his next target of the Asian Championship in April.

Recollecting his last national stint in Kolkata, way back in 1997, he said: "Incidentally, it all began here (at the BRC) when I had come here for the junior National. It was the shortest tournament of my life. I came here lost 1-3 to Neeraj Kumar and flew back..."
The reigning national snooker champion along with the billiards champion Sourav Kothari further said the sport could become more popular if an IPL-like franchise league was introduced.
"The traditional 15-red game may drag a bit, it needs to be tweaked to make it TV and spectator-friendly. The format needs to be short," Advani said.

Local lad Kothari said IPL could be the perfect mantra to spice up the sport.
"A sport cannot run with 10 or 20 players. You have to have participation that is what IPL does to the game. It will also help improve the standard of the game. If it can be feasible for kabaddi why not here?" he asked.