Glamorise cue sports with a bit of fashion: Pankaj Advani

The king of green baize feels that organising a fashion show in the upcoming World Snooker Championship in Hyderabad is unique in itself and should be given a thought in future events to popularise the game.
"I feel cue sports needs to look young and to make it so, it should be glamorised," said Advani.

"The traditional formal dress-code of bow and waist should be done away with and casual clothing like T-shirts should be introduced to make the game look young," said Advani, who recently completed a hat-trick of national titles, winning both the Billiards and Snooker championship.
Advani said it was his idea to have a fashion show at the World Championships which was accepted by the Billiards and Snooker Federation of India President Capt P V K Mohan.
"We are having a fashion show during the event," he said.

Advani is upbeat about the event to be held from November 14 to 29, and said he will try his best to win the title.
"It is great that World championship is coming to India. It's an achievement for us and I'll leave no stone unturned to win the tournament.
"I made my debut in the same championship in China in 2003 and won it. May be, at that time luck favoured me but now I am mentally strong and a much tougher competitor to beat," he said.
On his famous rivalry with eight-time world champion Geet Sethi, Advani said he is self-disciplined and totally committed towards his game.
"He has put number of years in this game and has performed at the game's highest level. He is certainly the most difficult one to play," he said.

Advani also thanked former and current players for praising him after his recent victories at the international and national level and said, "it's very encouraging when you receive compliments from the game's greatest like Subhash Agarwal and Manoj Kothari, which infuses power in you to achieve your targets."