Catching them young on the cue

Children are naturally attracted to bright colours. So when 11-year-old Ishpreet Singh Chadha saw a few colourful balls shining on a green table top during his vacation in Lankavi, Malaysia last year, he immediately got fascinated by it.

12-year-old Ishpreet turns his fascination to a love-affair with the green baize

Children are naturally attracted to bright colours. So when 11-year-old Ishpreet Singh Chadha saw a few colourful balls shining on a green table top during his vacation in Lankavi, Malaysia last year, he immediately got fascinated by it. Ishpreet, who had never seen such a thing in his life before was curious and asked his father about it and was immediately very keen to start playing with those balls on the table.

A year later and Ishpreet has already come a long way with a doubles title in his bag and is participating in his first-ever open tournament at the ongoing Wilson Jones Billiards and Snooker championships at PJ Hindu Gymkhana.

8220;I have really enjoyed playing snooker once I had seen it in Malaysia. After that occasion, my father had asked me to go to Khar Gymkhana to learn the basics,8221; informed the seventh standard student of the Jasudben ML School.

A year on, though Ishpreet lost in the first round in the snooker event on Tuesday, he has attracted a lot of attention. 8220;He8217;s a very promising player. He was playing very well but had adopted the safety-first approach. Otherwise he should have won,8221; observed Milind Divekar, who won the match 118-83, 115-104. 8220;Actually I was struggling when I tried to adopt the safety tactics,8221; pointed out Ishpreet, who is yet to undergo formal training in the sport.

Ishpreet8217;s progress within a period of six months impressed the markers at the Khar Gymkhana, who recommended the administration to shift the lad from the novices section to a table where advanced players tried their hand. 8220;But after I got permission to play on advanced table in February this year, I became busy with my exams,8221; says Ishpreet.

However, after the break when his vacations started, Ishpreet got hooked on to computer games and thus his time got divided between snooker and the computer. Still, he was never away too long from the green baize and as an in-house doubles event started at the Khar Gym in June this year, Ishpreet came into his own.

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8220;Luckily I got a good partner in Deepak Khoobchandani, who is one of the finest players at Khar Gym,8221; says Ishpreet. But ultimately it was the youngsters fresh legs and stamina which fetched them the title. 8220;It was a single day event. We had already played three matches before the final match-up arrived. In the title clash, my partner and both our opponents were very tired, but I had no such issues and that tilted the match in our favour,8221; informed Ishpreet.

A title win impressed the authorities at Khar Gymkhana and they have allowed Ishpreet to play till 9.30 pm where boys under-18 are not permitted to play beyond 7.30pm.

8220;After I finish my school work and tuitions, it8217;s already 7 in the evening every day. So when I asked them to extend the timing for me, they agreed. Now I get to play for about two hours everyday,8221; concluded Ishpreet.