Overview

‘Intense’ would best describe the Snooker Team’s daily practice routines. Perhaps out of necessity – these are after all the weeks leading up to BOSM. A crucial time for all sports teams.

The snooker team comprises eight players. There are two teams of four people each that participate in both the cue sports of BOSM, which are pool and snooker. Training has already started in full swing, with three two-hour training slots per day to accommodate all of the players.

The main focus of the team until the day of the event is cueing and potting – which are striking the ball, and getting it into the pocket respectively. While potting a ball can be learned by practice, the real challenge that one faces is getting the ball to the place one wants at the end of the shot.

Past performance

The track record of the team has been exemplary. They won a gold and a silver medal in BOSM 2016 for snooker, and one gold medal for pool. They look forward to another success this year as well.

Recruitments

The recruitments conducted this year witnessed a record turnout –fifty people showed up for the tryouts. One of the new recruits has played at a professional level, and the other recruits have played at the club level. All aspirants were tested on their basic skills which included stance, how they held the cue, and how they potted the ball.  They were also tested on other important skills, like how they pull back and follow up, and how they target the next ball. Those who qualified this were permitted to play in the room for a week, following which the top three were selected.

Captain’s Interview

Anirudh Tandon, captain, describes his entry into the game – ‘I used to play with my father, who was a professional player. We used to play for an hour and a half each day. It’s a royal game, very few play it.’ He labels this as one of the best things he did in his high school life.

Fast forward a few years, and Anirudh is here as the captain of BITS Pilani’s snooker team. He is a competitive player, acknowledges that defeating those who have defeated him in the past is a strong motivation for him to climb to greater heights. He used to play almost eight hours a day in the few months he had before coming to college. He continues to hone his skills here.

Anirudh feels that his captaincy is demanding, but exhilarating. ‘As a captain, I need to create a good bonding among players and help them improve their game’ he says. There are times when there is a clash of opinions in the team, and handling those situations is an important part of being team captain. Holding meets, talking to the players individually and establishing a rapport with all teammates are just few of the many things expected of a captain.

Anirudh admits that balancing academics and his captaincy is getting tougher. After two or three hours of practice a day, which sometimes drags on to five hours, he only has time to study in the night. Often, he goes directly from classes to snooker practice. ‘My mind always works, I’m always thinking of new ideas, of new things to do and new practices that I can put into the team’ he says. He is very proud of the team he has, and of their efforts.