Opinion Advani’s pro-found aggression
Merchant reckons Advani's still-strong safety play will now become a weapon that could help him shift gears at will.
This time last year,Yasin Merchant feared for Pankaj Advanis well-being on the pro snooker circuit. The youngster was on his maiden voyage to the bitterly cold and brutally competitive environs of the UKs pro circuit,and Merchant,having ventured into this territory before,was worried about billiards specialist Advanis ultra-defensive style of play.
At best those freckled,formidable giants of English snooker would chew and spit out his challenge; at worst the Indian would have lost hope,cursed the biting winter and returned to Bangalore,never realising his potential. This last week,however,Merchant had become Advanis biggest cheerleader as he watched a totally transformed cueist at an invitational event in Mumbai,taking on Wiltshireman Stephen Lee,a typically unyielding opponent. The suave Merchant was watching Advani after a longish time,and came away impressed with his new avatar.
Advani went down to Lee in a thriller at Khar Gymkhana,and Merchant says he still gets goosebumps thinking about the match,three days later. Advani,meanwhile,flies out to England for his second season of pro-snooker. Hes looking a thorough snooker player,Merchant gushes,aggressive,fluent,and consistent in his break-building. A young,cautious man whom Indians had watched grind out painful wins was now steamrolling rivals,not cowed down by the might of his hard-nosed opponent,not unnecessarily subdued,and gunning to hit back at the first opportunity.
Merchant went to the extent of ruing the bad luck of youngsters who missed watching the Lee-Advani dogfight,one of the best matches to light up Mumbais snooker summer. Merchant reckons Advanis still-strong safety play will now become a weapon that could help him shift gears at will,now that hes honed his aggressive game the bread and butter of the cutthroat UK snooker ,where you need to out-pot opponents .
Its true that Advani lost out in the opening round of the World Championships at the Crucible,but his sharpened claws are getting the likes of Merchant to look west in wicked anticipation of an Indian challenging the locals. The awe of playing the worlds top five cueists,and of the occasion itself,remains to be conquered,but Merchant already predicts a Top-32 entry for Advani in only his second year.
Shivani is an assistant editor based in Mumbai
shivani.naik@expressindia.com
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