After 29th world title, Pankaj Advani says Djokovic inspires him to push boundaries

Fresh off a staggering 29th world title, India’s 41-year-old cue sports legend Pankaj Advani says he gets his inspiration to carry on from tennis icon Novak Djokovic, who remains a force even after two decades on the circuit.

In an interview to PTI after winning the WBL World Billiards Championship in Birmingham, Advani spoke about his continuing pursuit of excellence, the joy of winning a major billiards title after two years and the work he put in to win that crown in a field full of former world champions.

“For those who haven’t been following my journey very closely. This is a very, very special victory. And it comes against the very best players of the world.

“If someone had to see the lineup of players that played in this event, all former world champions, current players who are in top form from England, from all over the world, it was a very, very competitive and tough field,” said Advani.

The former champions he beat en route to the title included established names such as compatriot Sourav Kothari, David Causier and Robert Hall.

“...as far as consistency is concerned, I’ve always tried to achieve that. Sometimes the results reflect it, sometimes the results don’t reflect it. But my work ethic remains the same,” he said.

“And I feel this time I worked a little harder than normal because I was super determined and motivated to get to the very top,” Advani elaborated in the online interview from Sheffield in the UK, where he is training for the upcoming World Snooker Championship in Indore.

Reflecting on his campaign, Advani said his toughest match of the mega event in Birmingham was the pre-quarterfinal against Ireland’s Christian Kirk.