‘He Enjoyed Embarrassing Me in Billiards’

Robin Uthappa gets personal about the new billiards champion who was also his fellow student in college

Not every Indian named Advani is going through a difficult time. The cueist Pankaj Advani enjoyed the most successful week of his life when he won his first World Professional Billiards Championship recently.  The 24-year-old from Bangalore had won World amateur championships before. But a pro title had eluded him.

“I feel like Roger Federer after winning the French Open,” a re­lieved and joyous Advani said about the victory, which he se­cured after defeating the accom­plished Mike Russell in the final at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds, UK. “I can understand what kind of feeling ran through his mind when you achieve something that always seemed to elude you.”

The cricketer Robin Uthappa was among those happy for Advani. The two are close friends.
“Panks had taken four months off to prepare for the tournament. He was raring to go. I knew he could do it,” says Uthappa. “He is a guy who can practice for seven hours. But this time, he practised three hours at the most. It showed he was relaxed and on top of his game.”

Uthappa adds, “Panks is among the top two or three in his sport in the world and is yet to receive his due, whereas some Indian sports­people who are in the top-50 or top-30 have. I hope at least now he gets what he deserves.”

Uthappa, who turns 24 in November, and Advani studied commerce at Mahavir Jain College in Bangalore. They became friends in the first year of degree college.

Uthappa says he avoids play­ing billiards with Advani be­cause he ends up making a spectacle of himself. “Once, he intentionally asked me to play with him during a television in­terview. He enjoyed embarrass­ing me,” says Uthappa.

Advani, however, has no qualms playing cricket with Uthappa, who too enjoyed a re­turn to form with a century for winners Air India Red in the BCCI Corporate Trophy final. “Panks considers himself a good fielder,” Uthappa says.

Uthappa says theirs is a group of about seven close friends. Sports apart, they like watching films (mostly Hindi), listening to music and eating out. He says Advani has a sense of humour and times his one-liners well. However, when in public, he is loath to acting silly.

“We were watching Hitch at a theatre, sit­ting in the front row,” Uthappa says. “I was laughing so much that I was on the floor. Panks was embarrassed.”

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Akshay Sawai