Manoj Kothari, a true gentleman of the green baize

Bengaluru: Manoj Kothari, one of India’s finest billiards exponents who went on to groom multiple world and national champions and provided expertise to administrators in an accomplished career, passed away on Monday at a hospital in Tirunelveli after suffering a massive cardiac arrest.

Kothari, whose entire family including wife Neeta, son Sourav and daughter Shreya played the sport at the highest level, had undergone a liver transplant 10 days ago.

Although the surgery was successful, he developed a lung infection a few days back and succumbed to a massive cardiac arrest, according to family sources. He was 67.

A true gentleman, who kept giving back to the sport in multiple ways until the very end, Kothari was one of the top cueists in the 1980s and 90s. Primarily a billiards player – a discipline that was as popular as snooker then – Kothari etched his name in history when he lifted his maiden IBSF World Billiards Championship in 1990. 

Despite being one of the most intelligent players whose reading of angles and scientific approach bewildered many, Kothari couldn’t quite go on and translate that into multiple world titles like his contemporary Geet Sethi or Pankaj Advani, the best of this generation. His only solace was the World Doubles Billiards Championship which he won in 1997.

Following years of heartbreak as a player, Kothari quit playing around the millennium and took up coaching where his deep understanding of the green baize played a pivotal role in the rise of Advani, his son Sourav (a two-time world champion) among others.

“I’ve had a great relationship with Manoj sir since 2004 when I was recruited by ONGC and he was the coach and game co-coordinator there,” 27-time world champion Pankaj Advani told DH. “We’ve become really close over the years and I owe a lot of my success to him. Not just me, he’s been a father figure to much of this generation. He even coached Geet too.

“As an administrator he was an extremely capable, as a coach he was top class. But to top it all he was an even better human being and that is why you know it fills my heart with sorrow that he’s no more. I just want to convey my heartfelt and deepest condolences to Sourav, his mom and sister.”

What endeared about Kothari, who served as the national coach of the billiards team from 2011 for over a decade and a half, was his selflessness and humility. Despite his son Sourav being a rival to Advani and many others, Kothari was always there to help. During international tours he doubled up as manager too, overseeing everything from accommodation to travel to food, taking extra care of vegetarians.

“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of former World billiards champion and chief National coach Manoj Kothari,” said S Balasubramaniam, president, Billiards and Snooker Federation of India. “On behalf of the BSFI, I extend my deepest condolences to Manoj Kothari’s family at this difficult time. His demise is a huge loss to the cue sports fraternity.”

Sethi too paid his tributes to Kothari, who was conferred the Dhyan Chand Award in 2005. “Manoj was one of the finest brains in the sport. We played together for a bit and later he was my coach during competitions. We’ve had several discussion about the sport and life in general. Apart from been an cue sports intellect, he was an extraordinary gentleman. Every player has a bad day, and at that time he was there, putting his arm around you, consoling you and offering fatherly advice. Indian cue sports will miss him.”