She made her debut on the national billiard scene at the age of 40. Making headlines with that tournament in 1989, she returned to the national arena only four years later. Then again, she moved out from under the spotlight, and after over five years, now intends to stage a comeback to the circuit later this year. But despite such sporadic appearances, Usha Khandelwal's is a well-recognised face on the women's billiard scene as she has built up her game over the years, breezing past her opponents, most often male.``My introduction to the game took place sometime in the late 1970s, in Mumbai where I lived then. The club where my husband and I were members did not have facilities for many games. There was a swimming pool, a table tennis set-up and a billiard room. Watching my husband play billiards, the game caught my fascination, and I too picked up the cue,'' remembers Usha. ``Every member of our family knew the game, and it was my brother-in-law who taught me the finer points of billiards.''Though not into it at a competitive level earlier, Usha has always been interested in sports activities. ``I participated in some athletic games at school in Agra, but that was it. It was only after my marriage and moving to Mumbai that I had the opportunity to devote time to a game.'' And once she got hooked to the game, there's been no looking back.Sighting Usha at the billiard table at the Delta Scientific Club in Mumbai one day, a friend came up with the idea to organise a meet of the women billiard players in Maharashtra. ``This was sometime around 1986, and that was my initiation into the world of competitive sports. After that I started participating regularly in different tournaments, even in mixed matches,'' she explains. Usha has been a regular competitor at the League matches in Mumbai, a two and a half month long competition between various clubs.But moving to Pune in 1991 reduced her playing, though she did participate in a national tournament after that, and in the recent past had totally kept her cue aside because of a personal tragedy. ``The Deccan Gymkhana Club is where I practise. Till recently, I'd practise for an hour and a half every morning and two hours every evening. But unfortunately the game does not have much scope in Pune as much as it does in Mumbai or Bangalore, for the simple reason that more people, more women play the game in these places.''And from that she launches off on her favourite topic - making the game more popular amongst women. ``Billiards can be played by any woman, at any age and at any time. To cite my own example, I was 40 when I played my first national. The other competitors would address me as `Aunty', and being older than them, I ended up boosting their morale on the final day! You don't need to have that extra bit of stamina as other games like tennis or badminton. All you need is to devote a bit of time.'' And as Usha gets back to the game after an interval, her future plans also include coaching women who show the interest and inclination for the game.But reversing to the years gone by, how did her family react to her taking up the game seriously? Especially with responsibilities like home and children? ``My husband was a regular player, so there was no reason for objections of any sort. But I personally wasn't too comfortable when I picked up the cue for the first time. I told my husband to request everybody to leave! And I played the nationals attired in a sari! It was only gradually that I felt more at ease,'' she laughs at the memory..And now, many years since those first hesitant shots, the sport has become a part of her, giving her ``a sense of achievement.'' But she isn't into the game only for her own self; her main objective now is to encourage more players, ``do anything to increase the billiard-playing population in Pune,'' get others to share that sense of achievement that she experiences.
