We need to be more aggressive on the table: Pankaj Advani

Ace Indian cueist Pankaj Advani has said that playing in the professional circuit has made him enjoy his game even more and time has come to target the top-16 mark. "After playing in the pro circuit my game has improved and I have enjoyed playing more than ever before. Both Adi (Aditya Mehta) and me need to work to be more consistent and to beat the top players we need to be more aggressive," said Advani at a media interaction in Mumbai about the Indian Open 2013 to be held in New Delhi from Oct 14-18.

Former Asian champion Yasin Merchant, who was present at the occasion, said that difference between the top 16 and rest of the professional players is their dedication and hard work. "The top 16 always win some or the other tournament. They work hard and for them wining becomes a habit. They don't expect anything less. Others also have similar targets but something is still missing in them."

Talking about the much-anticipated in the £300,000 prize fund event, Mumbai bases pro cueist Aditya Mehta said playing in the Indian Open is a dream come true. "I would be taking part in a professional snooker tournament for the first time in India. I never expected this to happen in my lifetime. It's a dream come true."

Mehta, who faces 2002 world champion Peter Ebdon in the first round said he would take one game at a time. "I am meeting a former world champion in the first round and am not looking too far ahead. But it's a short format. It is like the 100m sprint and puts pressure on the higher ranked players. A good start would do wonders," said Mehta.

Six other Indians - Manan Chandra, Kamal Chawla, Dharmender Lilly, Sundeep Gulati, Shivam Arora and Faisal Khan and have won the wildcards and would look to cause an upset. "The tournament is a great platform for all the other Indian wild cards too. But it's important to follow it up with something matching" said Merchant.

Meanwhile, the cueists felt that India needed a finishing school or a snooker academy to provide exposure to the talented youngsters. "The advantage of playing in an academy is you get to play with top professionals with contrasting styles. If we have something like a finishing school it can help us sharpen our game," said Advani.

Aditya said the academy could help young players in India. "Lot of talented players do not have the resources to make the initial cut that I do. With top coaches and players, our youngsters can benefit a lot."

Mumbai :: 15 September 2013