Knowing well that there are no easy games in the professional circuit and having a ranking tournament in India does not tilt conditions heavily in his favour, a practical Pankaj Advani called himself “sentimental favourite” for the much-awaited £500,000 Indian Open next month.
The ace cueist said the challenge for him and compatriot Aditya Mehta would be to soak in the atmosphere. “There would be crowd support for us but it will boil down to how we soak in the energy,” said Advani here.
Former great Yasin Merchant too felt putting undue pressure on Advani won’t be correct.
“It is going to be an uphill task for both Pankaj and Aditya to knock out the favourites. It would be an error to call him a favourite at this stage,” was Merchant’s view.
With past champions like Shaun Murphy, Judd Trump, Jimmy White and Steve Davis failing to qualify, Advani admitted he was nervous in the qualifier against Mathew Selt. “It was the best qualifying match I have played so far. I knew it was a big moment for snooker in India and I had to do it for my country. I was nervous but determined that they want me in New Delhi and I am glad I could do it.”
Mehta, meanwhile, said the best-of-seven frames format would help cueists challenge the higher-ranked players. “I am not going to look too far ahead. I think it is like the 100m sprint. If you take an early lead you can put the opponent under pressure. The higher-ranked players do not have an advantage as the tournament is happening here for the first time.”
Being a ranking event, “star tables” that have a lighter cloth and require soft touch would be used. The tournament will witness world no. 1 Neil Robertson, four-time world champion John Higgins and the star Chinese attraction Ding Junhui, who has more than 300 century breaks to his credit.