iSport | For the Fans, by the Fans

Both the old and young super-achievers have similar grace and finesse in their conduct on and off the billiards table. What separates them are three important factors:
1. Age
2. Achievements
3. Responsibility for taking the sport forward

While Sethi may have just one more World Title more than Advani so far, it is evident that the youth icon is far ahead of the his older compatriot.
Let's take a look at the first point - Age. Pankaj has smashed all records both at the International and National levels when it comes to age. Geet won his first Pro title at 30 while the Pocket Rocket did it at 24. He became the youngest National Champion in almost all categories. He is the youngest Asian Billiards Champion and also the youngest Asian Games Gold Medallist. Sethi, almost double Advani's age, is at the fag-end of his career. Advani has just begun.

Coming to the Achievements category, Advani has already won 7 World Titles compared to the 8 Sethi has won across his entire career. Advani was recently reported to have "shut his critics up" by winning the one title that was missing from his kitty - The World Professional one. While Sethi and Advani have won both the IBSF and the WPBSA World Billiards Titles, the missing World Title for the veteran is the Snooker one, which Advani won in 2003 in China. That win takes Advani several notches above any Indian player as he has made his mark and proven himself in every cue sports discipline, barring Pool of course. The other major title eluding Sethi is the Singles Billiards Gold Medal at the Asian Games, an honour Advani claimed at the last Games held in Doha in 2006. Sethi has proven his Billiards prowess while Advani has excelled in both Snooker and Billiards.

Point 3. Advani has been heard to be open to promoting the game as the new ambassador of the sport, not just in India, but worldwide. He mentioned in one of his interviews that he has already been part of the inaugurations of several Billiards Tables in various schools and colleges, to see the sport grow at grassroot levels. He wants to do away with the formal attire players have to sport when on the table. Advani is trying to glamourise the sport. He however lacks support from the governing bodies and fellow players. This is the sad part about individual sport. Not many are able to think beyond themselves! On the other hand, Sethi has been working really hard at signing up obvious potential medal winners with sponsored money to help them gain better practice facilities for the 2012 Olympics. For his own sport, yes, he has played a few exhibition matches in his endeavour to give something back to the sport that has been so very kind to him. The minor contribution ends there!

Signs of curtains are within sight for Geet Sethi. In the ongoing Billiards National Championships in Agra, Sethi survived a scare in the preliminary stage, from an unseeded Rajkumar of Karnataka, Advani's State mate. Sethi also didn't qualify from the group stage to the knockout in the recently concluded World Professional Billiards Championship that Advani won in Leeds earlier this month. Has the time come for the "past" to accept that the "future" is the "present" reality? Is it possible for one to realise the rapid approach of the expiry of their shelf-life and take a call accordingly?

The question in many minds about the current star isn't about Pankaj becoming the greatest Indian and International cueist ever. Many believe he already is. It is whether or not he is or is going to be the greatest Indian sportsperson considering his 'age', 'achievements' and 'passion to see the sport grow'. As for Geet Sethi, it is only a matter of time before he officially and gracefully hands over the mantle to Pankaj Advani to carry on the rich legacy of Indian Cue Sports. Or, has Advani snatched it already?