How Sourav Kothari overcame a family tragedy to stay the worldbeater

There are not too many examples of a father-son duo being world champions in the same sport – and it often flies under the radar that Kolkata had been home to one such pair. The world of billiards & snooker was shaken up in early January when Manoj Kothari, a world billiards champion in 1990 and Dronacharya awardee, passed away – but son Sourav ensured that the legacy burned bright when he retained the world crown in Carlow, Ireland on Wednesday.

 Missing in his corner this time was the senior Kothari, often a fixture when the bespectacled, suave Sourav was in action in major tournaments around the globe. The 41-year-old, who defeated compatriot and multiple world champion Pankaj Advani in a surprisingly one-sided final (1133-477), admitted that it was not easy to focus on the job at hand as he has not been able to ‘move on’ from a profound sense of loss.

 Speaking in a virtual media interaction facilitated by the Sports Authority of India (SAI), a visibly emotional Sourav said from Ireland: ‘’In our sport, the mind plays a lot of tricks as one has to sit for 15-20 minutes without touching the ball when the opponent is playing. However, as my mind was numb with thoughts about dad not being there – winning or losing didn’t matter to me anymore and that actually took a lot of pressure off me.’’     

 When the bell rang to signal the end of the final, Sourav looked skywards with an obvious gesture which meant: “This one was for you, Dad.’’ Asked about his back-to-back moment of glory, he said: ‘’It’s been a bittersweet occasion for me and it’s very difficult to put it in words. Me and my family had gone through a lot in the last six months – I wish my dad was here.’’

 Barely a week after Manoj passed away at a Chennai hospital after a cardiac arrest (he had undergone a liver transplant barely 10 days before it) Sourav was back in action at the Nationals after some coaxing from the Billiards & Snooker Federation of India (BSFI). ‘’The BSFI officials convinced me that I should take part and I won it. I am still battling a lot of demons in my mind as I still feel he is looking at me from behind,’’ said Sourav, a former Asian champion whose next assignment will be a snooker event in Mumbai.

 ‘’A lot of IPL-type snooker events are now happening in India – while we are also in line to host the next world snooker championship. The future for the sport is bright but I must admit we still need a lot of infra structure to help young kids take to the sport – as you have to be either a member of an elitist club or have an academy in your city to play the sport,’’ remarked Sourav.

 While India has historically produced some of the worldbeaters in cue sport over generations – the country has been losing out on the opportunity to add to their medals at multi-discipline events as billiards and snooker were struck off from Asian Games after the 2010 edition.

 ‘’However, it’s again coming back from 2030 Asian Games and this gives us hope. I also urge the Union Sports Ministry and SAI to work with BSFI to lobby for the inclusion of our discipline in the 2030 Commonwealth Games. It will give us a great chance to add to our medals tally,’’ he added.