Cue sports in India

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Governing body Billiards and Snooker Federation of India
First playedDecember 1881 [1]

Cue sports have a long history in India. The game of snooker originated among British Army officers stationed in India in the latter half of the 19th century.

Contents

Billiard champions like Wilson Jones, Michael Ferreira, and Geet Sethi have come out of India. Pankaj Advani is another successful Indian player. Training camps for identifying talent and providing them regional and state sponsorship have been organised by the Billiards and Snooker Federation in various parts of the country.

History

The origin of snooker dates back to the latter half of the 19th century. [2] In the 1870s, billiards was a popular activity amongst British Army officers stationed in India and several variations of the game were devised during this time. One such variation originated at the officers' mess of the 11th Devonshire Regiment in 1875, [3] which combined the rules of two pocket billiards games, pyramid and black pool. The former was played with fifteen red balls positioned in a triangle, while the latter involved the potting of designated coloured balls. [4] :50 The game developed its own identity in 1884 when its first set of rules was finalised by Sir Neville Chamberlain, an English officer who helped develop and popularise the game at Stone House in Ooty on a table built by Burroughes & Watts that was brought over by boat. [5] The word "snooker" was a slang term for first-year cadets and inexperienced military personnel, but Chamberlain would often use it to describe the inept performance of one of his fellow officers at the table. The name instantly stuck with the players. [2]

The earliest contemporary reference to cue sports in India appears in a letter written by Captain Sheldrick from Calcutta on 2 February 1886. The letter gives a detailed account of a game called "Snookers". The letter also contains references to the game being played among members of the British Indian Army in 1884. British officer Ian Hamilton, who was stationed in Ooty from 1882–84, wrote a letter in 1938 in which he noted, "I have never doubted that my old friend Sir Neville Chamberlain invented the game of Snooker. I was in at Ootacamund in 1882-84 and there still must be some crowd left who can testify to the belief their current that Snooker owed its birth to Neville Chamberlain fertile brain. Could the game have existed in Ooty even before Chamberlain arrival just waiting for him to discover it and give it a new name. This is a certainly a possibility." The Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BFSI) states that Ooty is "the most credible birthplace for the game of Snooker", however, the federation rejects the theory that the game was already established in Ooty. The BSFI also states that, based on available evidence, the first snooker game in India occurred at Ooty "almost precisely" in December 1881. [1]

Total medals won by Indian's in Cue Sports in Major tournaments

CompetitionGoldSilverBronzeTotal
World Snooker Championship 431926
Asian Games 54615
Total972541

Performance by Players in Billiards Tournaments

TournamentNameWinnerRunner-up
World Billiards Championship Pankaj Advani 173
World Billiards Championship Geet Sethi 34
World Billiards Championship Michael Ferreira 32
World Billiards Championship Chitra Magimairaj 22
World Billiards Championship Wilson Jones 21
World Billiards Championship Rupesh Shah 20
World Billiards Championship Ashok Shandilya 14
World Billiards Championship R Umadevi Nagaraj 13
World Billiards Championship Manoj Kothari 10
World Billiards Championship Anuja Thakur 10
World Billiards Championship Sourav Kothari 04
World Billiards Championship Devendra Joshi 02
World Billiards Championship Alok Kumar 01
World Billiards Championship Bhaskar Balachandra 01
World Billiards Championship Dhruv Sitwala 01
World Billiards Championship Satish Mohan 01
World Billiards Championship Snenthra Babu 01
World Billiards Championship Subhash Agarwal 01
WPBSA World Championships Geet Sethi 52
WPBSA World Championships Pankaj Advani 10
WPBSA World Championships Devendra Joshi 01
WPBSA World Championships Dhruv Sitwala 01
WBL World Championships Sourav Kothari 12
WBL World Championships Dhruv Sitwala 01

Performance by Players in Snooker Tournaments

TournamentNameWinnerRunner-up
World Snooker Championship Pankaj Advani 31
World Snooker Championship Omprakesh Agrawal 10
World Snooker Championship Amee Kamani 01
World Snooker Championship Vidya Pillai 01

List of National Sports award recipients in Billiards & Snooker, showing the year, award, and gender

YearRecipientAwardGender
1992–1993 Geet Sethi Rajiv Gandhi Khel RatnaMale
2005 Pankaj Advani Rajiv Gandhi Khel RatnaMale
1962 Wilson Jones Arjuna AwardMale
1970 Michael Ferreira Arjuna AwardMale
1972Satish Kumar MohanArjuna AwardMale
1973Shyam ShroffArjuna AwardMale
1978–1979Arvind SavurArjuna AwardMale
1983 Subhash Agarwal Arjuna AwardMale
1984 Omprakesh Agrawal Arjuna AwardMale
1985 Geet Sethi Arjuna AwardMale
1989 Yasin Merchant Arjuna AwardMale
1997Ashok Harishankar ShandilyaArjuna AwardMale
2001Devender Sreekant JoshiArjuna AwardMale
2002Alok KumarArjuna AwardMale
2003 Pankaj Advani Arjuna AwardMale
2005 Anuja Thakur Arjuna AwardFemale
2012 Aditya Mehta Arjuna AwardMale
2013 Rupesh Shah Arjuna AwardMale
2016 Sourav Kothari Arjuna AwardMale
2005Manoj Kumar KothariDhyan Chand AwardMale
1996 Wilson Jones Dronacharya AwardMale
2001 Michael Ferreira Dronacharya AwardMale
2004Arvind SavurDronacharya AwardMale
2010 Subhash Agarwal Dronacharya AwardMale

References

  1. 1 2 "BIRTH PLACE OF SNOOKER". Billiards and Snooker Federation of India. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  2. 1 2 Maume, Chris (25 April 1999). "Sporting Vernacular 11. Snooker". The Independent. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2007.
  3. Clare, Peter (2008). "Origins of Snooker". Snooker Heritage. Archived from the original on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  4. Shamos, Mike (1994). Pool . New York City: Friedman Fairfax.
  5. Hughes-Games, Martin (16 June 2014). "Ooty, India: back in time to the birthplace of snooker". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 21 March 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2017.