World champion Pankaj Advani sounded confident as he finished with his early morning jogging and yoga sessions, a routine he has been following for the last one week at the Karnataka State Billiards Association’s (KSBA) premises in Bangalore where the Macau bound Indian team has been training for the 2nd Asian Indoor Games to be held in the Chinese city from October 26. And as the week-long preparatory camp came to an end on Tuesday, Advani said he is better prepared for the challenge ahead. “We stand a good chance to stamp our supremacy at Macau,” said the billiards ace. “Whatever we went through, like yoga and meditation sessions and everything that was off the table at this camp, I’m sure will translate into our performances on the table,” felt the 22-year-old when contacted. With eight-time world champion Geet Sethi shouldering the responsibility along with Advani, the Indians’ authority in billiards is no secret. “We have very good chances of returning with a rich haul,” said India’s chief coach Subhash Agarwal. Talking about the importance of camp, Agarwal said it was must for even players like Advani and Sethi. “What can one teach to players like these two? We can only correct a few minor problems of these champions as nobody is perfect and even they sometimes suffer from dip in form. But yes, the physical drills, yoga and meditation sessions have really gone down well with the players,” felt Agarwal. Advani, however, is not ready to get over-confident. “There will be best of 500 format at Macau, such short matches can produce unexpected results,” opined Advani. After Punjabi lad Dharminder Singh Lilly’s exploits in this year’s Guinness Asian 9-Ball Tour, India seems to have woken up to the possibility of dictating terms even in pool games. As such, for the first time ever, Jorge Dacer of the Philippines was appointed to coach Indian pool hopefuls. Dacer, the 57-year-old Manila resident, had even worked with Lilly during the world pool games in Manila last year. “Lilly did a fantastic job when he finished runners-up in the Asian Tour event in Malaysia. Now we hope for medals at 9 and 8-ball pool events in Macau,” said Sundar Jairaj, the national pool coach, who was working along with Dacer at the camp. The teams:Men: Billiards: Pankaj Advani, Geet Sethi. Snooker: Alok Kumar, Yasin Merchant, Manan Chandra. 9-ball pool: Dharminder Lilly, Shyam Jagtiani. Carombole: Sumeet Talwar. Women: Snooker: Vidya Pillai. 9-ball pool: M Chitra. 8-ball pool: Anuja Chandra. Coaches: Subhash Agarwal, S Jairaj.
