Cue sports in India

Governing bodyBilliards and Snooker Federation of India
First playedDecember 1881[1]

Cue sports have a long history in India. The game of snooker originated among British Army officers stationed in India in the latter half of the 19th century.

Billiard champions like Wilson Jones, Michael Ferreira, and Geet Sethi have come out of India. Pankaj Advani is another successful Indian player. Training camps for identifying talent and providing them regional and state sponsorship have been organised by the Billiards and Snooker Federation in various parts of the country.

History

The origin of snooker dates back to the latter half of the 19th century.[2] In the 1870s, billiards was a popular activity amongst British Army officers stationed in India and several variations of the game were devised during this time. One such variation originated at the officers' mess of the 11th Devonshire Regiment in 1875,[3] which combined the rules of two pocket billiards games, pyramid and black pool. The former was played with fifteen red balls positioned in a triangle, while the latter involved the potting of designated coloured balls.[4]: 50  The game developed its own identity in 1884 when its first set of rules was finalised by Sir Neville Chamberlain, an English officer who helped develop and popularise the game at Stone House in Ooty on a table built by Burroughes & Watts that was brought over by boat.[5] The word "snooker" was a slang term for first-year cadets and inexperienced military personnel, but Chamberlain would often use it to describe the inept performance of one of his fellow officers at the table. The name instantly stuck with the players.[2]

The earliest contemporary reference to cue sports in India appears in a letter written by Captain Sheldrick from Calcutta on 2 February 1886. The letter gives a detailed account of a game called "Snookers". The letter also contains references to the game being played among members of the British Indian Army in 1884. British officer Ian Hamilton, who was stationed in Ooty from 1882โ€“84, wrote a letter in 1938 in which he noted, "I have never doubted that my old friend Sir Neville Chamberlain invented the game of Snooker. I was in at Ootacamund in 1882-84 and there still must be some crowd left who can testify to the belief their current that Snooker owed its birth to Neville Chamberlain fertile brain. Could the game have existed in Ooty even before Chamberlain arrival just waiting for him to discover it and give it a new name. This is a certainly a possibility." The Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BFSI) states that Ooty is "the most credible birthplace for the game of Snooker", however, the federation rejects the theory that the game was already established in Ooty. The BSFI also states that, based on available evidence, the first snooker game in India occurred at Ooty "almost precisely" in December 1881.[1]

Total medals won by Indian's in Cue Sports in Major tournaments

Competition Gold Silver Bronze Total
World Snooker Championship 4 3 19 26
Asian Games 5 4 6 15
Total 9 7 25 41
  • updated till 2023

Performance by Players in Billiards Tournaments

Tournament Name Winner Runner-up
World Billiards Championship Pankaj Advani 17 3
World Billiards Championship Geet Sethi 3 4
World Billiards Championship Michael Ferreira 3 2
World Billiards Championship Chitra Magimairaj 2 2
World Billiards Championship Wilson Jones 2 1
World Billiards Championship Rupesh Shah 2 0
World Billiards Championship Ashok Shandilya 1 4
World Billiards Championship R Umadevi Nagaraj 1 3
World Billiards Championship Manoj Kothari 1 0
World Billiards Championship Anuja Thakur 1 0
World Billiards Championship Sourav Kothari 0 4
World Billiards Championship Devendra Joshi 0 2
World Billiards Championship Alok Kumar 0 1
World Billiards Championship Bhaskar Balachandra 0 1
World Billiards Championship Dhruv Sitwala 0 1
World Billiards Championship Satish Mohan 0 1
World Billiards Championship Snenthra Babu 0 1
World Billiards Championship Subhash Agarwal 0 1
WPBSA World Championships Geet Sethi 5 2
WPBSA World Championships Pankaj Advani 1 0
WPBSA World Championships Devendra Joshi 0 1
WPBSA World Championships Dhruv Sitwala 0 1
WBL World Championships Sourav Kothari 1 2
WBL World Championships Dhruv Sitwala 0 1
  • updated till 2023

Performance by Players in Snooker Tournaments

Tournament Name Winner Runner-up
World Snooker Championship Pankaj Advani 3 1
World Snooker Championship Omprakesh Agrawal 1 0
World Snooker Championship Amee Kamani 0 1
World Snooker Championship Vidya Pillai 0 1
  • updated till 2023

List of National Sports award recipients in Billiards & Snooker, showing the year, award, and gender

Year Recipient Award Gender
1992โ€“1993 Geet Sethi Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Male
2005 Pankaj Advani Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Male
1962 Wilson Jones Arjuna Award Male
1970 Michael Ferreira Arjuna Award Male
1972 Satish Kumar Mohan Arjuna Award Male
1973 Shyam Shroff Arjuna Award Male
1978โ€“1979 Arvind Savur Arjuna Award Male
1983 Subhash Agarwal Arjuna Award Male
1984 Omprakesh Agrawal Arjuna Award Male
1985 Geet Sethi Arjuna Award Male
1989 Yasin Merchant Arjuna Award Male
1997 Ashok Harishankar Shandilya Arjuna Award Male
2001 Devender Sreekant Joshi Arjuna Award Male
2002 Alok Kumar Arjuna Award Male
2003 Pankaj Advani Arjuna Award Male
2005 Anuja Thakur Arjuna Award Female
2012 Aditya Mehta Arjuna Award Male
2013 Rupesh Shah Arjuna Award Male
2016 Sourav Kothari Arjuna Award Male
2005 Manoj Kumar Kothari Dhyan Chand Award Male
1996 Wilson Jones Dronacharya Award Male
2001 Michael Ferreira Dronacharya Award Male
2004 Arvind Savur Dronacharya Award Male
2010 Subhash Agarwal Dronacharya Award Male

References

  1. ^ a b "BIRTH PLACE OF SNOOKER". Billiards and Snooker Federation of India. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  2. ^ a b Maume, Chris (25 April 1999). "Sporting Vernacular 11. Snooker". The Independent. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2007.
  3. ^ Clare, Peter (2008). "Origins of Snooker". Snooker Heritage. Archived from the original on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  4. ^ Shamos, Mike (1994). Pool. New York City: Friedman Fairfax.
  5. ^ Hughes-Games, Martin (16 June 2014). "Ooty, India: back in time to the birthplace of snooker". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 21 March 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2017.