JOIN USMany sportsmen are seen promoting different causes
. The same applies for billiards and snooker player Pankaj Advani, who has always been involved with anything connected to Bangalore and espoused many causes for the City.
He feels that it is necessary to promote any cause well to get more people involved.
The young sportsman was spotted at an event organised by P&G Shikhsa in the City recently.
Quick formats of games are becoming popular and he is open to the trend.
“In any form of sport, people like to see quick and unpredictable results along with some action. They want to see the games finish faster. The concentration levels might have reduced but that is fair as sports also provide entertainment at the end of the day."
"But if one has to find out who the best players or performers are in a particular sport, one has to see the longer format of the game. The short formats are there to provide entertainment and make the sport popular and entertaining on television,” he tells Metrolife.
Though cricket is the dominating sport in the country, Pankaj feels that the audience enjoys watching different sports.
“We have to do away with the ‘other sports’ tag. Every sport has its own identity and it’s unfair to say that there is cricket first and then ‘other sports’. The achievement of people in sports is huge. There are such great sportspersons in our country when it comes to chess, billiards and snooker, shooting and archery etc."
"Of course, cricket is one of the most popular sports but slowly, people are opening their eyes to the different types of sports, especially when the Olympics, Asian Games or Commonwealth Games are on. But people should also realise that not everyone can become Sachin Tendulkar. There is only one person who will emerge out in a million,” he says.
“My advice to parents is that they should allow their children to discover their own talent and not send them to play a particular sport because there is more money in it."
"Initially, it is difficult to find sponsors. Even I found it difficult but once I started giving my heart and soul to it, I started getting sponsors. Money is not everything and I think there will be a shift in focus to other sports as well,” he notes.
He adds that a lot more can be done to encourage children to take up sports and many schools are introducing sports in their curriculum.
“The schools and colleges that I studied in supported me whole-heartedly as they saw my involvement in professional sports,” he says.
Like many veteran sportspersons who are training youngsters, Pankaj also harbours the dream to hone young talent.
“I might consider the idea in future. I want to continue being connected to sports and this is a great idea. Training and helping talented youngsters will help me keep in touch with the sport,” he concludes.