An off-shoot of billiards, snooker has a forerunner in a game called 'Pyramids',
which was played with 15 reds initially placed in a triangle with the apex red on what is
now the pink spot, but was then known as the pyramid spot. It was due to the inspiration
of Colonel Sir Neville Chamberlain in 1875 as a young subaltern with the Devonshire
Regiment at Jabalpur that other coloured balls were added to the game. It was then played
with 15 reds, yellow , green, pink and black. Blue and brown were added some years later. |
John Thurston added technical innovations to the table by introducing slate beds and
rubber cushioning. The International Billiards and Snooker Federation was formed in 1973
for organising the World Amateur Billiards and the World Amateur Snooker Championships.
The first World Amateur Snooker Championship was, however, staged in 1963.
In India, the game became popular when Arvind Savur of Karnataka put India on the world
snooker map for the first time by reaching the semifinals of the world amateur
championship in 1972 at Cardiff, Wales. Savur, affectionately known as 'Tornado fatso'
lost on the last ball of the last frame by one point to Manual Francisco of South Africa.
The highest break in the World Amateur Championship also stands in the name of another
Indian, Geet Sethi, who made the technically highest possible break in snooker of 147
(hypothetically this can be surpassed) at the World Amateur Championship held at Guntur in
1985.
At the national level, the record for the highest break began with Chandra Hirjee (80),
which stood for 15 years followed by Tony Monteiro (81), Arvind Savur (88), Shyam Shroff
(99) and Ratan Badar (122).
While to Arvind Savur goes the distinction of being called the father of Indian snooker,
to Om Agrawal goes the honour of bringing the World Amateur Championship title to India in
1984. Though India has produced a world champion in snooker, the game has not become as
popular as football, hockey or cricket and largely remains confined to the urban areas
like billiards.
The snooker table measures twelve-and-half-feet by six-and half-feet with the playing area
within the cushion faces measuring 11ft 8 1/2 inches by 5ft 10 inches with a tolerance on
both dimensions of plus or minus 1/2 an inch. The height of the table from the floor to
the top of the cushion rail shall be from 2ft 9 1/2 inches to 2 ft 10 inches. The balls
shall be of an approved composition and each ball shall weigh between 135 gms to 145 gms.
The diameter of the balls shall be 52.5 mm with a tolerance of + 0.05mm to -0.08mm. They
shall be of equal weight within a tolerance of 3 gms per snooker set. The cue shall not be
less than three feet in lenoth and show no substantial departure from the generally
accepted shape and form.
While the world over the cue sport games of carom and pool are becoming very popular,
Indian urban centres are still struggling with the setting up of cue sport centres. With
no proper social laws to govern the establishment of pool parlours, the authoirities in a
few urban centres are harassing the owners of pool parlours. So much so, even Geet Sethi,
the best Indian billards player of the late 20th Century has repeatedly called for a
review of the situation. With no proper training facilities for carom and pool, the Indian
cue sport players have been struggling to make a mark on the world scenario.
The game has now become very professional with England leading from the front in terms of
conducting tournaments. Indian players are regulars in the British circuit and have been
winning laurels. The emphasis now, however, has shifted to carom and pool, which according
to experts is akin to One-day cricket and largely sustains the interest of the viewers.
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