India’s first-ever world champion is awaiting some kindness

Admitted to a Mumbai hospital, 13 days ago — and exactly a month before he turns 81 — after suffering a stroke (his second), Wilson Jones’ right side is now totally paralysed.

He’s bed-ridden, but his plight has failed to attract visitors from his fraternity, as it normally should.

Instead, his family watched 22-year-old Mohit Malpani (name changed on request) stride into the hospital and hand over a month’s pocket money — he doesn’t want that revealed because he hasn’t told his mother yet — in cash to Peggy, Jones’ wife.

Not in the best of financial health, Peggy insists that they would have just managed, but yes, help from the government and the state body — the Billiards Snooker Association of Maharashtra — would have been most welcome.

‘‘Friends, relatives and others have helped but what we mean is that help should come from the government and the state association of billiards,’’ said Peggy, sitting besides Jones in room number 521.

But more than the money, Peggy and Wilson’s eyes are hopeful that the students will come and pay a visit. ‘‘It would have been just enough if the students came upto him and said, ‘Sir, how are you’?”

Many players know what’s happened, but they haven’t yet visited the legend, who took to coaching and is responsible for fashioning the basics of more than half of the next crop of champions.

Wilson’s proteges include former world snooker champion Om Agarwal, his brother and former national champion, Subhash, current World Billiards Champion Ashok Shandilya, Asian Billiards champion Devendra Joshi, Nalin Patel, Kamal Tulshan, Dhruv Sitwala, National ladies snooker champion Anuja Thakur.

Some players were in the process of collecting money. Like Sitwala and Thakur who said that the proposal has been just given on Tuesday to PJ Hindu Gymkhana where he coached.

Subhash Agarwal when contacted said, ‘‘We (the Agarwal family) have just decided to give a handsome amount which we will decide tonight.’’

Hospital circles told The Indian Express that Wilson’s condition was improving. ‘‘However, whether he will be able to walk will be known only in the next ten days or so.’’

Wilson also has a small tumour in the brain, but that’s not life threatening. Peggy says her husband is just disillusioned with the general apathy to his condition.