Lily146;s 145;bad miss146; of a big title

It was the 14th rack, and Dharminder Singh Lily was angling for his black in the final of the Guinness 9-Ball Pool Tour in Genting Highlands, Malaysia.

It was the 14th rack, and Dharminder Singh Lily was angling for his black in the final of the Guinness 9-Ball Pool Tour in Genting Highlands, Malaysia. His rival Chang Jung-Lin of Chinese Taipei sat with a prayer on his lips.

A bad miss, and the Indian simply handed over an 8-5 advantage to the Taipei champ. Lily had another chance on the 18th rack, but another 8220;silly mistake8221; and it was curtains for him.

The Indian finished runner-up, his biggest achievement on a pool table. Ruing the missed chances and taking heart from the second-spot finish, Lily is putting in extra hours 8212; he practices eight hours a day 8212; at his Jalandhar resort hotel pool room. Next on his itinerary is the Singapore tournament July 13-15, followed by Shanghai August 3-5 before the grand finale in Bali from August 31 to September 2.

If Lily manages a top-10 spot out of the first two, he will not only be eligible to take part in the Bali meet, where the appearance money alone will be over 2,500, but also a berth in the World Pool Championships in Manila later.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Lily said he was confident of putting up a 8220;better show8221; in Singapore and Shanghai. 8220;I8217;m wise enough now and can even claim to be a pool player who has arrived on the scene,8221; said Lily.

A snooker player to the core 8212; he played the sport for nearly 20 years 8212; Lily8217;s switch happened in the 2000 nationals. He went to Spain and participated in the 9-ball event. Incidentally, he also has to his credit the national title in Carombole Billiards Nationals which he won in 2001 in Delhi.

Lily could have very well missed the Asian Tour, but for Manan Chandra8217;s marriage in April. India No 1 Chandra was the BSFI8217;s automatic choice and No 2 Lily got it on the rebound.

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On total points count on the Tour, Lily is currently tied with three others at fourth spot.

Lily believes he needs to work a lot on his breaks. 8220;This is what separates us Indians from the East Asians, particularly the Chinese and Taiwanese players,8221; he says. Another aspect he feels is handling the pressure situation. 8220;We easily wilt, but not they.8221;

He is already in touch with a Filipino coach George Teasen, who has competed in three world meets. Even the BSFI is working out a formula for the Asian Indoor Games in Macau in October.

BSFI vice-president Ravi Tandon places his bet on Lily to return with a medal in Macau. But a foreign coach at this juncture will help the players a lot, he feels. 8220;Probably a foreign coach can advice me and my ilk on how to be sharp and cool,8221; says Lily.

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Meanwhile, Lily says the Pool League is a good beginning. 8220;More such tournaments should be organised, maybe six in a year because we can participate in another six abroad to have maximum exposure.8221;

Mukesh Rehani was the first Indian to break into the top 64 in a world pool championship a few years ago. Now Lily wants to do one better.