Indian cueists have never tasted much success in the IBSF World under-21 snooker championships. Manan Chandra, Pankaj Advani and Aditya Mehta had threatened to go all the way a couple of seasons ago, but fell by the wayside in the semifinals.

When the 20th edition of the event gets cracking at the picturesque Bogmallo Beach Resort here on Wednesday, it appears as if the script could remain unchanged.

Firstly, the awesome threesome is not around. Secondly, the eight Indians in the fray here do not belong in the league as Chandra, Advani and Mehta. They can be a handful on their day, but their days have been few and far between.

Maiden World meet
Besides, all of them are playing in the Worlds for the first time, and it can be a tough proposition facing up to the best in the business.

Whether they stand up and fight or resemble rabbits caught in the headlights is the question doing the rounds on tournament eve.

Rishab Pandya, Shravan Mohta and Shivam Arora, the country's top three, had taken part in the Asian under-21 two months ago in Doha, with limited success. They had reached the quarterfinals, but will notice the difference in standards here.

Reigning Junior National champion Pandya finds himself in a tough group. Advancing to the next round will be his immediate priority, as it will be for the rest of his compatriots as well.

Eight groups
The 64 players in the 10-day bash have been divided into eight groups of eight players each. The top four from each group will advance to the knockout round of 32.

Among the Indians, it will be worth keeping an eye on Shivam Arora. If the left-handed Nagpur lad plays to his potential, he can create an upset or two. But then, consistency has never been his hallmark.

Players from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England have for long been consistent, and in recent times, China have emerged as a major snooker powerhouse. In the previous edition in Bahrain two years ago, the Chinese swept the top three places! A repeat cannot be ruled out.

Chinese threat
Though champion Liang Wenbo and runner-up Tian Pengfei are not around this time, Yu Delu, semifinalist at the Doha Asian bash, the formidable Anda Zhang and Li Hang are capable of keeping the Chinese flag flying high.
Before the Chinese, the Thais had been doing Asia proud. Pramul Jantad, who lost in the semis in Doha, is keen to make up for that disappointment in his final attempt at the Worlds.

Meanwhile, the IBSF has introduced a separate championship for ladies for the first time. Nine players from six countries will battle it out for top honours in the all-play-all format which will see four Indians in action.

Indian teams:
Boys: Rishabh Pandya, Shravan Mohta, Shivam Arora, Younis Kuchey, Pushpinder Singh, Balaji Reddy, Shahbaaz Adil Khan, Ajay Bhushan.

Girls: Lavanya B, Arantxa Sanchis, Aakansha Singh, Keerat Bhandal.