EXCLUSIVE
Calcutta: Pankaj Advani, the 31-year-old Bangalorean who has pocketed 16 world titles (12 of them in billiards), spoke to The Telegraph for some length of time on Saturday.
In a few days, Pankaj will be in the city for the Open snooker meet being organised at the Bengal Rowing Club.
Excerpts...
Q You recently won your 16th world title... What makes you tick?
A (Laughs) Sweet 16, yes! I do raise the bar, look to keep evolving as a player. I love cue sport and that passion continues to drive me on.
Your top-10 highlights of 2016...
In order of my ranking...
No.1: INDIA'S PARALYMPIANS IN RIO: For me, the effort made by gold medallists Mariyappan Thangavelu and Devendra Jhajharia, silver-medal winner Deepa Malik and bronze medallist Varun Bhati was the highlight of the year... Each one of them inspirational... To have the determination to succeed despite the heavy odds, to have the hunger to excel... Their story is exceptional. For human excellence, I'd look at our Paralympians.
No.2: JUNIORS WHO WON THE WORLD CUP: After years, hockey in India is again looking up... There have been issues with administration, with performances... But look at what our colts achieved. Their 2-1 win over Belgium in the final thrilled me no end... The juniors are our future and such performances need a standing ovation.
No.3: INDIA RETAINING THE KABADDI WORLD CUP: When sport is so competitive, it's tough to retain titles... The Indian men, though, made it a hat-trick in October... Plus, to have done so at home was a bonus... Kabaddi is gaining in popularity, even in metros, so the three in a row in the World Cup couldn't have come at a better time.
No.4: USAIN BOLT IN THE RIO OLYMPICS: Wow... Not that I have to say it, but Bolt is unbelievable... From Beijing to London to Rio... To make it a hat-trick of three gold medals in each of the Olympics calls for a Herculean effort... The gold medals apart, Bolt's an entertainer and has such presence. Indeed, he's a character and there are so few characters around in the world of sport... I love Bolt for what he is, an entertaining legend.
No.5: MICHAEL PHELPS IN THE RIO OLYMPICS: Five gold medals and a silver... That was Phelps's tally in Rio, a feat which reinforced his status as the greatest swimmer and the greatest Olympic champion... Overall, Phelps has 28 medals, with 23 of them gold, at the Olympics. It's such a mind-boggling tally.
No.6: ADITI ASHOK: Aditi is a fellow-Bangalorean, but it doesn't mean I'm being biased... In her very first year as a pro, the 18-year-old won two back-to-back European Tour titles, which has to rank highly creditable. Incidentally, Aditi and I are from the Frank Anthony Public School.
No.7: ANDY MURRAY SNATCHING THE No.1 RANKING FROM NOVAK DJOKOVIC: For a significant length of time, it seemed as if Novak would never be dislodged from the No.1 position... He's a machine...But, well, it happened in the first week of November and Andy did well to also finish the year at the top... London, obviously, is special for Andy... He regained the Wimbledon title and won the ATP Tour Finals too. Both in London.
No.8: P.V. SINDHU, SAKSHI MALIK, DIPA KARMAKAR AND LALITA BABAR IN THE RIO OLYMPICS: Sindhu won silver, Sakshi a bronze and Dipa came close to winning a medal in the artistic gymnastics... However, for me, India's story at the Rio Games had Lalita as the central figure... She overcame the odds and made the final of the 3000 m steeplechase. Not just that, Lalita finished 10th which was creditable provided you don't only look at medals. Athletics draws the maximum participation, is so demanding physically and so competitive. All the more reason why Lalita deserves to be applauded. She was an absolute hero for me in Rio.
No.9: NICO ROSBERG: For some, winning a world title is the destination... It certainly was for Nico, who shocked all of us by quitting within a week of becoming the F1 world champion... Perhaps, Nico also had enough of his crazy rivalry with Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton... Both had been sniping at each other for months and it seemed Nico didn't want any more of that. He'd wanted the world title so much that it had probably become such a big deal... There was nothing beyond. There couldn't have been anything beyond.
No.10: JOSHNA CHINAPPA BREAKING INTO THE TOP-10 OF THE WORLD SQUASH RANKINGS: Joshna has slipped a little, to No.13 now, but did remarkably to get to No.10... In an individual sport, it's all about the self... The individual challenges himself or herself and has to cope with the highs and lows all alone.
Final question... You haven't chosen Team India, which remains No.1 in Test cricket...
I know, I know... I would have had India won the World T20 in the early part of 2016... No disrespect at all to Virat Kohli and, say, Ravichandran Ashwin but India's Test wins were all in bilateral series... Against the West Indies, New Zealand, England... If you see my selection, I've gone for the highest achievers, almost all of them individuals.
