Indians' supremacy in billiards is no secret. Traditional powerhouses, the Indian cueists have raked in medals and honours on the international stage with regularity. So, it would hardly come as a surprise if the Indians return with more billiards medals in the second Asian Indoor Games which gets under way at Macau, China, from October 26.

Though India's medal hopes are bright in the three-ball game, National coach Subhash Agarwal said that medal hopes cannot be ruled out in snooker and pool as well. The Macau-bound Indian cueists have assembled at the KSBA, often referred to as the home to the green baize sport, for an eight-day conditioning camp which concludes on October 9.

“We have very good chances of returning a rich haul," said Agarwal. Cue sports makes its debut in the Asian Indoor Games in Macau.

“Obviously, we have very good chances in billiards. We dominated at the IBSF World Billiards Championships in Singapore last month, winning both the points and time format titles," the coach noted. "But we didn't have a good run in the Asian billiards at Doha in June," he quickly added.

Tricky format
Sure, in the 100-up format, more like the Twenty20 in cricket, it is anybody's game. One who holds his nerves will be the last one standing. Going by current form and recent riches, the Indians can hope to win both the gold and silver in billiards. Two of the country's best, nine-time World champion Geet Sethi and reigning World and Asian Games gold medallist Pankaj Advani, will be on view.

The snooker team comprises Yasin Merchant, a two-time Asian champion, Alok Kumar, a former Asian winner, and Manan Chandra. The three on their day can take on anybody, but against the awesome Chinese and Thais, the Indians might find the going tough. Their consistency, or the lack of it, will be the difference.

In pool, Dharminder Lilly carries much promise. Runner-up in the Malaysian leg of the Asian Tour in July, the presence of Philippines coach Jorge Dacer has come as a shot in the arm for both Lilly and Shyam Jagtiani, the other entrant in pool.

But against traditional powerhouses Taipei, Philippines, Japan and Korea, the Indians will have to play out of their skin to be in contention. Any medal in pool, like in snooker, will be a bonus.

On the distaff side, Vidya Pillai, competing in snooker, has better chances of landing a medal than Anuja Chandra (8-ball pool) and M Chitra (9-ball pool).

The team:
Men: Billiards: Pankaj Advani, Geet Sethi. Snooker: Alok Kumar, Yasin Merchant, Manan Chandra. 9-ball pool: Dharminder Lilly, Shyam Jagtiani. Carombole: Sumeet Talwar.

Women: Snooker: Vidya Pillai. 9-ball pool: M Chitra. 8-ball pool: Anuja Chandra.

Coaches: Subhash Agarwal, S Jairaj.