Indian Cue Masters League a game changer for sport, says Alok Kumar

Deepankar Sharda

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 20 

Former Asian champion Alok Kumar feels that the ongoing Indian Cue Masters League is a much-needed platform to attract youth to the sport. The first-of-its -kind championship is being is played under three 6-Red snooker and two 9-Ball pool format in Ahmedabad. 

Around 25 top players are representing five teams namely, Delhi Dons, Chennai Sharks, Gujarat Kings, Bengaluru Buddies and Hyderabad Hustlers. Each team is having five players (an icon player, a female and three men, with the stipulation that at least three of them are Indians). "This league will help in promoting cue sports in India. The professional leagues have boosted the popularity of many sports and the same could be witnessed in cue sports also," said the Gujarat Kings captain. 

The league features a shot-clock of 15 seconds (per shot), with a 10-minute for each frame. India's most successful cueist Pankaj Advani along with legends such as Andrew Pagett, Amir Sarkosh, Darren Morgan and Kelly Fisher are also playing in this championship.

"The championship started on August 19 and we are expecting a huge crowd in the coming days," said Kumar. He also added that the future of cue sports in India depends on such championships. "Snooker/Billiards is more often a part of leisure activity in India. Majority of youngsters play it for time pass but very few become professionals. Such competition will attract more youth to take the sport seriously and share the platform with legends to draw the best out of them," said Kumar. 

He further added, "Cue sports needs more concentration and less physical strength, which gives it an extra edge in terms of mass following. A professional can play it for as many years he/she wants to, which is also a big plus. As a nation, we should understand that cue sport needs to be promoted through corporate help. We have Asian/world champions with us and their experience should be used to attract more and more youth towards this sport."