Advice on cue

The men who for years have been spending most of their waking hours inside a dark room potting coloured balls...

The men who for years have been spending most of their waking hours inside a dark room potting coloured balls are spreading enlightenment these days. Cue sport greats often compare their pursuit to avail patience and precision on the green baize to long-hard penance.

Billiards great Geet Sethi, who won his first major international title about a quarter of a century ago, speaks about how he still sticks to his routine of hitting 500 balls. And it is his formula for victory of the battles within to sustain his motivation that has made him a much-sought after celebrity on the 8216;speaking circuit8217;.

Following his footsteps is snooker champ Yasin Merchant, who too promotes spirituality and the winning philosophy. Through his column 8216;Merchant Musings8217; on a popular cue sport website, he solves questions that crop up in the minds of performers in the middle of a game.

Sethi speaks about his self-discovery and his present-day avtar as a motivational speaker at corporate events, schools and sportspersons: 8220;When you spend 30 years doing the same thing over and over again, it can take a toll on your mind and body. My motivation levels were quite down at one point, until I discovered that I needed to enjoy what I8217;m doing without getting distracted by the results,8221; says the man who lost to Pankaj Advani in the points format final here.

Asian snooker champ Merchant, 41, too shares his secret to retain the hunger to win despite the growing years and the monotony. 8220;After playing snooker for so long, one tends to become a bit philosophical. I realised that self-motivation was the only thing I needed to keep going on the lonely path,8221; says Merchant.

Geet strikes the right note

Geet Sethi was in his elements on Saturday as he stole the show on the first day of the time format at the World Billiards Championship.

Sethi managed huge breaks of 500-plus in his two league stage games of Group H. He made mockery of Irish Aidan Murray in the first game, notching up a break of 425 on his ninth visit and then one of 885 on his 14th visit to win the tie at 1939-167. Later, he subdued Singapore8217;s Teik Chong Alan Puan 2102-159 with another break of 750 on his 25th visit. Also, Pankaj Advani beat compatriot Prem Prakash 1735-703, while in a Group E fixture, Peter Gilchrist thrashed Raghoo Sinha 1834 -368.