Triumphant Pankaj Advani comes home to grand welcome

Bangalore, Dec 14 (UNI) Pankaj Advani, a gold medallist in the billiards event in the ongoing Doha Asian Games, today said that facing country mate Ashok Shandilya in the finals was tougher than locking horns with an opponent from other country.

Speaking to newspersons after receiving a grand reception at the Karnataka State Billiards Association (KSBA) here, the 21-year-old commerce student, a two-time World Billiards champion, said he knew well how difficult it was to play against the Railway star, who had himself won the Asian crown and many national titles earlier.

Besides Pankaj and Ashok winning the gold and silver in billiards respectively, the duo of Yasin Merchant and Aditya Mehta won bronze in the snooker team event in Doha.

To a question, Pankaj said, ''Losing the first frame and bouncing back has become some sort of a practice for me in big games. It so happened in Doha as well. I knew it will be very difficult to tame Ashok once you give him some leeway. But months of practice and solid support from KSBA, my brother and my mother helped me win the gold. It was heartening to see Ashok taking defeat so sportingly. He lifted me up after I won the gold. The Indian billiards family is the best in the world.'' This year's Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awardee said his stay in Doha was fanatastic. ''Living with 10,000 athletes was some experience for me. It was great. I feel proud that I could contribute to the medals tally of my country,'' he said.

A beaming KSBA President P Balasubrahmanium said Pankaj had brought so many laurels to India and Karnataka that no praise was enough to honour him.

However, he regretted that the Karnataka government did not even bother to send a congratulatory message, let alone honouring the champion.

''I don't know what Pankaj did or did not do. The Government has deeply disappointed the sportpersons by its callous attitude. I don't want to say how the other States honoured their medal winners.

We are an independent association and promote cue sport without much help from outside. We only expect due recognition for our high achievers,'' he said.

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