D Rajkumar tried every trick in the book. He tried every shot in the book too, but the title continued to slip further and further away. Without being too harsh on his opponent, Vinay Katrela, the southpaw from Bangalore clearly looked the better player in the final of the 9-ball pool Karnataka State-ranking tournament last month.

At stake was a double title. Winner of the inaugural 8-ball title the previous week, defending champion Rajkumar was the odds-on favourite to take the 9-ball title as well.

Unfortunately, the three-time champion ran out of luck. The left-hander played some audacious shots and nearly pulled them off too. But more often than not, he went in-off and gave Katrela the opening.

No complaints

Katrela was not complaining. Without doing anything fancy — though he showed flashes of brilliance in a rack or two in the race to nine final — and riding more on Rajkumar's largesse, Katrela added his second State title to his kitty. Agreed, the southpaw ended up on the wrong side of the scoreline, but the difference in play between the two was marked, so was the difference in class. Rajkumar looked a cut above, never mind the missed double.

"Maybe it was god's will," said Rajkumar of the 5-9 defeat in the finale. "The four in-offs were crucial and Katrela won all those four racks with ease," he went on. "Frankly speaking, I was pretty confident of winning the title," added the talented cueist.

The 29-year-old was not unduly worried about the missed double. "I'll get my chances later," he said philosophically. One of the promising cueists to emerge from Karnataka, Rajkumar's talent has never been in doubt in any of the cue sports disciplines. Predominantly a snooker player and adept at billiards as well, it has been only in recent years that pool has caught his attention.

Ever since he won his maiden State 9-ball pool title four years ago, Rajkumar has grown from strength to strength. The same year, he finished fifth in the Nationals at Chandigarh. He lost in the deciding rack in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Manan Chandra.

"Playing in the Nationals has given me confidence and my ideas are getting better," Rajkumar observed.
National pool coach S Jairaj too was of the same view. "Given time and exposure, Rajkumar will be a top contender for the National title," noted Jairaj. "He is one of the talented players to emerge from the State, but sorely lacks the ambition and the focus," the coach added.

"He needs to start going out and playing tournaments. Look at (Dharminder) Lilly, he has improved because he ventures out and plays in tournaments on a regular basis," Jairaj, also the Karnataka State Billiards Association Secretary, said. "Rajkumar has got all the shots in the book, he is a natural thinker of pool," added Jairaj in wholesome praise of the youngster.

Lofty ambitions

The Bangalore cueist, who backs his talent with grit, is keen to make it big on the world stage. "My goal is not only to represent the country but do well at the world level," said Rajkumar. "If I qualify, I'll definitely play the Asian Tour."

For that to happen, the talented southpaw will have to play out of his skin at the Nationals next month at Kolkata. For, only the winner will get to represent the country. With a host of talented pool players around, Rajkumar knows he has a tough task on hand.

"I've beaten a few players before. With practice, I think I can definitely match them," said a confident Rajkumar. We will know next month for sure whether the Karnataka player can back his confidence with performance.