There are no points for style in billiards and snooker. Effortless ease, however, can eat into an opponent’s psyche, and make a point deficit seem far greater.

It isn’t just Pankaj Advani’s precocious collection of world titles that makes his adversaries feel inadequate, but also his unearthly poise at the table. Where concentration contorts other faces, it merely intensifies the glow of the two dark spots beneath his pronounced eyebrows, the rest of his face inscrutable. Left wrist pliant, his hand settles softly on the baize and fingers melt, like an Odissi dancer switching between mudras, into a groove for the cue to slide over and roll a ball apologetically into a pocket; he hardly ever thumps the ‘jaws’. Leaning over the table for mechanical-bridge-aided shots, his counterbalancing left leg rises behind him as if executing the arabesque position of classical ballet.

Pankaj Advani validates such dance metaphors; away from the table, he’s into break-dancing and folk-style western dance, and says that he intends to plunge headlong into them one day.

“I want to take it up seriously when I get time off the game. I don’t have the time now, but definitely, I want to do something with my talent, because I believe a lot of us have got so many different talents, and we need to make use of whatever little gifts we get from someone above,” said the recently-crowned IBSF World Billiards Champion, while in Chennai for two back-to-back snooker events: a qualifying tournament for the World Championships, to be held in Austria from late October, and the ASCA invitation tournament. Needless to say, he didn’t lose a game on way to wrapping up both. Excerpts from an interview:

Question: Over the last month or so, you’ve played both formats of the billiards world championship, and then the snooker world championship qualifiers, and now this (the ASCA tournament). How tiring has it all been?

Answer: It’s been extremely tiring. Especially when you’re doing well, you’re on a winning streak, there are so many things to do. After the (billiards) world championships, there were so many events, so many appearances; everyone wants a piece of you. It does become a bit tiring at the end of the day. But I’m happy playing the game. I’m enjoying it at the moment…

You say you’re enjoying the game, but do you see, somewhere down the line, a phase where you might have to slow down a bit?

In fact, as soon as this tournament gets over, I’m taking a big break; I don’t want to see the billiards table for 2-3 weeks. I prepare for the world snooker championships after that. That’s in late October, so I can afford to take some time off the game. But I just feel that it’s a good sign there are so many tournaments being held in the country. Before, players used to say that there aren’t many opportunities for them to showcase their talent, people don’t stay in touch with the game. But now I feel that it’s a very good scenario we have.

You’ve spoken in the past of using visualisation techniques to help you with the mental side of the game. Could you describe the process you go through?

Well, basically I do it before my match, (for) about half an hour, 45 minutes. It’s not a conscious effort, it’s not something that I have to do before a match, or I won’t do well, but it’s just… certain pictures are formed in my mind, of me playing well, the table I’m playing on, what I’m wearing, the way I’m cueing, my action, the kind of breaks I’m making — all those things.

And during the game, your mind stays as blank as possible?

I try to keep it as blank as possible, although a thousand thoughts go through your mind when you’re playing… Sometimes, it can be a very silly thought; you know, when you’re playing a game you may be thinking, ‘what will I have for dinner later on, where will I be going out, or what will I be doing after the match…’ But as a result of playing over the years and playing so many events, your mind gets tuned to playing matches and being patient.

And when you’re subconsciously thinking of dinner, you try not to consciously shut that out?

Absolutely not. If you try and shut out thoughts, I feel more silly thoughts will come into your mind; as a result your concentration will be disturbed. We think so many thoughts in a day, maybe ten-thousand thoughts in a day, but they just come and go. So I just treat these thoughts as short term visitors who come to my mind and go back.

Do you believe in destiny? You began playing the game after accompanying your brother to a snooker parlour. After that, the KSBA (Karnataka State Billiards Association) offered you excellent facilities, very reasonable membership, and so on. And then your coach, Arvind Savur…

My coach Arvind Savur, the school that I studied in, Frank Anthony Public School, the college that I studied in later on, Mahaveer Jain College, everything was just perfect, everything just fell into place. I’m sure that it has got something to do with destiny. The fact that in most tournaments, there have always been tense moments, there have been times when I’ve been down in a match, almost down and out, on the brink of defeat, and then suddenly something happens, maybe a stroke of luck, or some inspiration, and I’m back into the game, and I finally snatch victory from there. So I’m a firm believer in destiny.

You spoke about strokes of luck in big tournaments. Could you give an example?

The classic example was when I won my first world snooker championship, in China in 2003. I was obviously not expected to win because it was my debut. This was in the round of 32, when I was down 4-1 and it was a best of nine, so had I lost one more frame I would have been knocked out. I was almost losing 5-1, when my opponent snooked me, so I had no way out. I just hit the ball hard; luckily it made contact, off one cushion, and I got the red into the corner pocket by fluke. From there I cleared; I made a 33 or 34 to win the frame. From there I won 5-4, and then I went on to win the world championships. So after that I totally believed in destiny. But I also believe you’re in control of your actions, but the result is not in your hands.

You said in a Sportstar interview in 2005, that India is getting out of its one-sport culture, when asked about corporates lining up Sania Mirza and Narain Karthikeyan for endorsements. But don’t you think it helps that their sports, tennis and Formula One, have a large TV audience?

Correct.

And where does that put billiards and snooker?

I definitely feel that television coverage can improve for the sport. I know many people say that it gets boring at times, it becomes long. But if you see the latest forms of the game — which I hope will be official soon — for example: in snooker, you have six-red snooker, which is played just over six reds, instead of 15 reds; it’s just like Twenty20 in cricket. In billiards you have the point format; instead of 150 points you can bring it down to 100, to make it really fast and exciting, and slick. So these things can be done to make the game faster, more television-friendly, and to attract more spectators.

The other big thing apart from the TV audience is an Olympic medal. Having seen the buzz created around Abhinav Bindra and Vijender Singh — their events aren’t TV sports — do you wish billiards and snooker become part of the Olympics?

Absolutely. I’d love to win a gold for the country, there’s no doubt about that. But I also feel that, while the Olympics is the biggest sporting extravaganza on earth, undue importance is being given to it. For example, when Abhinav Bindra was asked which one was tougher — the Olympics or the World Championship that he won — he said that the World Championship was more competitive… I think we have to slowly break out of this Olympic Movement, as we call it, and stop treating the Olympics as the only sporting event that we’re looking forward to. Let’s recognise achievers… let’s recognise World champions… let’s recognise Asian champions… and then automatically it will lead to the Olympic tally going higher. Why are we just thinking about the Olympics six months before it starts, and then just three months after it ends, these guys are hyped, made heroes, made stars, and after that I’m sure they’re forgotten. I think this whole perception needs to change.

Having said that, how different was winning the Asian Games gold compared to all the world championships?

See, it is definitely different, there’s a lot of emotion attached to your victory at the Asian Games or an Olympics. For example, I was extremely thrilled because I’d done something great for the country, I felt, at that time, when I won the gold medal at the Asian Games in 2006 in Doha. But, at the same time, when we’re playing the Asian championships or the World championships we’re representatives of the country. We’re obviously playing for ourselves, and we’re enjoying the game, but ultimately, it’s the country’s name that also is glorified. I just feel that every international tournament in which a sportsperson is representing his country should be given recognition, not just the Olympics, not just the Asian Games. And because there’s so much pressure faced by athletes in the Olympics, they feel that, if they don’t do well here, then they won’t be considered performers. I don’t think that should be the case.

Before Euro 2008 began, Johan Cruyff criticised Dutch manager Marco van Basten for turning his back on Total Football and Holland’s traditional 4-3-3 formation. Specifically, Cruyff did not approve of Van Basten’s employment of two holding midfielders in his 4-2-3-1. After the Dutch rode roughshod over the group of death with incisive, counterattacking football, Cruyff changed his opinion dramatically.

Germany’s Joachim Low began the tournament with a 4-4-2, Michael Ballack and Torsten Frings sharing attacking and defensive responsibilities. After losing to Croatia he switched to 4-2-3-1, advancing Ballack and replacing striker Mario Gomez with an additional midfielder. The move freed Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski against Portugal in the quarterfinals and Turkey in the semis — Schweinsteiger cutting in from the right to slot in Podolski’s crosses from the left on both occasions.

In both teams the full backs, covered in defence by the holding midfielders, played crucial roles in attack. Giovanni van Bronckhorst was one of the brightest lights for the Netherlands in its group matches, combining with the front four brilliantly and pinging in accurate crosses. Philipp Lahm wasn’t consistently at his best through the tournament, but his last-gasp winner against Turkey — the clever exchange of passes with Hitzlsperger and the clinical near-post finish — reminded everyone why he’s considered one of the world’s best players.

The liberated fullback theme was evident across most teams, with Italy’s Fabio Grosso, Portugal’s Jose Bosingwa, Croatia’s Vedran Corluka, Russia’s Yuri Zhirkov and Spain’s Sergio Ramos bombing forward at every opportunity.

Marcos Senna was Spain’s obvious ‘holder’, reading the game astutely, breaking up attacks without necessarily having to put his foot in. Even more vital than his ball-winning skills, arguably, were his calmness in possession and his neat passing that kept the tiki-taka (pass and move) ticking over.

With David Villa in the side, Spain played what was either a 4-4-2 or a 4-1-3-2 formation. With Fernando Torres stretching the defence, Villa in the hole, and Xavi alongside Senna in a deeper role, with ball retention his primary focus, it carried a faint 4-2-3-1 pattern. And when, in the semifinals against Russia, Cesc Fabregas replaced the injured Villa, it was stamped all over. The team’s second-half performance in that match was the best attacking display of the tournament.

Of the other sides which made the quarterfinals, Portugal clearly played 4-2-3-1 but lacked a ball-winner in midfield and a clinical finisher upfront. Italy switched from the ‘Christmas Tree’ 4-3-2-1 against the Dutch to 4-2-3-1 against Romania, overhauling the team drastically. Losing Andrea Pirlo stifled its creativity against Spain, which it managed to keep in check for 120 minutes. As with Portugal, Italy lacked the finish, with Luca Toni in woeful touch.

Croatia had Niko Kovac sitting in front of its back four, initially in a 4-1-3-2, which became 4-1-4-1 — not far off 4-2-3-1 with Luka Modric coming deep to dictate play — against Germany, with striker Mladen Petric replaced by attacking midfielder Ivan Rakitic.

Guus Hiddink’s Russia went against the grain and lined up in a 4-1-3-1-1, with Sergei Semak slotting into defence whenever Zhirkov on the left, or Alexander Anyukov on the right, forayed into attack. Andrei Arshavin played behind the front man — roaming wherever he pleased — to the left with the greatest impact when he tore Holland to shreds.

Turkey displayed stunning versatility in its semifinal against Germany with half its first team suspended. Hamit Altintop, who had played right-back against Croatia, switched seamlessly to the middle of midfield, replacing Tuncay Sanli, who usually starts up front or on the left-wing for Middlesbrough. Right-winger Sabri Sarioglu took Altintop’s place at right-back. Brazilian-born defensive midfielder Mehmet Aurelio, sitting between defence and midfield in a 4-1-4-1, marked Ballack out of the game.

Having established the near-hegemony of the 4-2-3-1, it is time to indulge in that most subjective, addictive exercise — picking 11 players to fill the formation.

Goalkeeper: In a straight fight between Iker Casillas and Gianluigi Buffon, the winner of the quarterfinal penalty shootout sneaks through.

Fullbacks: After much deliberation, and loss of hair and sleep, jerseys numbered 2 and 3 have been handed to Hamit Altintop and Giovanni Van Bronckhorst respectively. Sergio Ramos and Yuri Zhirkov are desperately unlucky to lose out.

Centre-halves: The men manning the heart of defence haven’t been at their most luminous at the Euros, and consequently, no equivalent of Fabio Cannavaro at the 2006 World Cup. So step forward Pepe, as you did so memorably against Turkey, and Carlos Marchena, so tidy for Spain he was almost invisible — like a good wicketkeeper.

Midfield: Xavi Hernandez was player of Euro 2008, and his passing was so impeccable, his vision so sharp that it’s almost impossible to leave him out. Note the word almost, however. For the sake of throwing open debate, and giving Marcos Senna a new midfield mate, he has been left out. That new midfield mate is Luka Modric, who allies an almost Xavian ability to retain possession with a tad more willingness to play the ambitious, 50-50 pass.

Attacking midfield: During the group stages, Wesley Sneijder’s name was spoken in appropriately hushed and eardrum-shattering tones by opponents and commentators respectively. With two goals, three assists, and two equally exquisite feet, he slots in nominally at left-wing. On the other wing is Bastian Schweinsteiger, who atoned for his red card against Croatia with crucial goals in the quarters and semis. Shedding a tear for Andres Iniesta, David Silva, Podolski and Deco, Andrei Arshavin is handed the number 10. He may have been rendered anonymous by Senna in the semifinal, but was Russia’s go-to-guy otherwise.

Striker: David Villa scored four goals, Torres only two. It’s the Liverpool man who makes it, however, because he’s the one more suited to leading the line, essential to a 4-2-3-1. Pace, power, touch, technique, composure, aerial ability – Torres has them all, in abundance.

Mike Cotton is on the toes of his left foot, holding a bent pole above his head. “Haven’t done this in a while,” he grimaces, hopping around, trying to hold the pose for the photographer.

It’s been thirty years since he last pole vaulted, quitting at 27 after injuring his knee on a trip to East Europe. His career hit its peak in 1973, when he achieved a U.S. ranking of two and a world ranking of five. “I also got married that year,” he grins, “and graduated from the University of Florida with a business degree. I’d sell insurance during the night, vault during the day.”

Mike was in Coimbatore, on a coaching assignment. Before heading back, he was to spend some time in Chennai. The SDAT learnt of his presence in the city, and as a result he was at the Nehru Stadium, giving the trainees at the SDAT academy pointers on technique.

“Pole vaulting is like golf,” he says. “If you learn the wrong way, it’s difficult to change later.”

According to him, the USSR had the best coaches, and he attributes the dominance of Sergei Bubka and Yelena Isinbayeva to this. “The Soviets screened their best athletes at a young age. Bubka and Isinbayeva are top athletes with sound (bio)mechanics.

“Bubka and his coach, (Vitali) Petrov, changed how you plant the pole tip, and where you take off. We took off probably 3.8 to 4 meters from the box. Today, top jumpers take-off from about 4.3 to 4.6 metres away. It’s almost long jumping with a pole in your hand.”

In the U.S., and from what he’s seen so far in India, he says vaulters haven’t completely embraced the Petrov/Bubka technique. “Among American jumpers, Brad Walker is very close (to the Bubka technique). Most still take off too close, and rely more on speed and power, and not technique.

“Here, I saw one jumper planting correctly, and I asked him who taught him. He said he’d learnt by watching videos. But I’m not being negative about the coaches. Most of them are volunteers, doing their best with the knowledge they have. They’re very enthusiastic, and we’re working as a team on this.”

Mike Cotton’s voice goes up a few octaves when he speaks about how he began pole vaulting. Catching the bug after looking at pictures in magazines, he persuaded his father to set up a vault in their backyard.

A ten-year-old Mike Cotton would run across his backyard, clutching a bamboo pole, plant one end in a hole dug in the earth, and take off, flying feet-first over a fishing pole balanced between two trees. “We didn’t have a landing mat,” he chuckles.

“The exhilaration of clearing the bar is hard to describe. It’s uplifting,” he says, when asked how it feels to be up there, soaring over the bar.

Isn’t there a bit of relief thrown in as well?

“When your only emotion is relief, you don’t jump high. The best performances come when you’re enjoying it,” he replies, but admits it’s easier for amateur athletes. “I guess if you’re professional, and get paid for vaulting, there’s a lot more pressure.”

He leans forward, resting his elbows on the table. His brow crinkles as he casts his eyes upwards. “I think if I had not injured my leg, I’d still be jumping. Joe Johnston, a friend of mine, broke the over-60s record recently. He’s 64 now. The key is — he loves the sport.”

His other great passion is weightlifting. “I was small and skinny; I was born asthmatic; The bigger kids picked on me. I started lifting after I saw a magazine with Charles Atlas saying ‘no one will kick sand in your face anymore.’ ”

In a world of back pages saturated with ‘The important thing is winning; the goal was just a bonus’, and ‘The gaffer knows what’s best for the team, so I’m happy if I can make a difference coming off the bench’, the blogosphere provides a refreshing whiff of anarchy and political incorrectness. As Euro 2008 heads into its climactic phase, bloggers and message-boarders are in fine form.

Can there be a major international tournament without England, or at least a tongue-in-cheek reference to its superstars? ‘Returnof50phead’ ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A37036154) comments:

“I’ve been scouring the net and TV for England’s games in Euro 2008 but I can’t seem to find them? I can see Switzerland and Austria but I can’t see what group England are in! I want to see these great superstars like Wayne Rooney, Frank Lumpard (sic) and Stevie Gerrard sweep all before them like I’ve been hearing in the media.”

Previewing Portugal’s opening game, Greg (http://portugal.worldcupblog.org/euro-2008/fired-up-friday-portugal-v-turkey-preview.html) suggests that Scolari’s men combine the tactics of dog fighting and punch-the-inflatable-toy-that-keeps-bouncing-back to beat Turkey.

“The best way to deflate an energetic, fiery underdog is to hit it with a swift stomach punch in the opening stages.” The Portuguese instead employ the novel tactic of having centre-back Pepe roam the length of the pitch and play one-twos with the forwards.

The French, on the other hand, seem a tad short on oomph during their 0-0 against Romania. The game leaves Laurie (http://france.worldcupblog.org/euro-2008/romania-france-what-we-learned-or-something.html) posing existential multiple-choice questions to unsuspecting passers-by.

A sample:

“Romania-France highlights” are:

A. Available online

B. The ultimate cure.

for insomnia.

C. An oxymoron.

D. All of the above.”

Ruud van Nistelrooy is usually on the edge of the high board, resplendent in his orange speedos, when defenders get too close. When he remains vertical after catching the lunging Gianluigi Buffon with his trailing foot, therefore, bewildered viewers are left pondering “who drained the pool?” Some even wonder if he’s given up the double back-flips forever. Not so ‘Parrygoon’ ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A37102114), who rushes to clarify that there is no truth in the rumours of the Dutch striker’s non-participation in the Men’s 10m Platform at the Beijing Olympics.

“Having read several threads congratulating Van Nostrilboy (sic) for standing up when he could have conned a penalty out of the referee I feel obliged to defend his reputation. If you watch the Slo-Mo carefully it is clear that his studs catch in the turf and throw him into an upright position.

You can see the look of surprise on his face as he touches the pitch with his finger-tips confirming he is the right way up. Van Nostrilboy has spent many years building his oops-a-daisy repertoire and would not deliberately damage his image in an international competition. Give the man a break…”

Meanwhile, Riccardo (http://italy.worldcupblog.org/group-e/player-reviews-holland-3-italy-0.html) sympathises with Buffon over his lack of communication with defender Marco ‘Matrix’ Materazzi.

“… Kind of hard to communicate with Matrix though. Guy still talks in grunts and snorts from the days of Homo Ergaster. Rumor has it the walls at his house in Milan are covered in cave drawings.”

Rob Parker ( http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/2008/06/euro_2008_top_s_2.html#more) puts Dutch midfielder Orlando Engelaar in his avoid-in-dark-alleys list. “In the Holland-Italy match he looked like a 15-year-old ringer in an under 11s match.”

Mike Cardillo (http://deadspin.com/5015386/hat-trick-for-spain) watches David Villa score the first of his three goals for Spain against Russia and describes in some detail the celebration that follows his first goal:

“When Villa’s strike found the netting, he went immediately toward Torres and hugged him like it was going out of style. Not to get too graphic, but they were writhing around on the wet turf, locked in each other’s embrace like a newborn South American monkey clinging to its mother in the tree canopy.” Imagine Mike’s marsupial metaphors should someone named Joey break into the Socceroos squad and score a goal or two. On second thought, don’t.

Having seen the Swiss concede a Turkish winner deep into injury time, Alan Black (http://kicktheballs.wordpress.com/2008/06/11/swiss-play-it-neutral-in-defeat/) dispassionately observes: “… The Swiss have a triangle of invention — Toblerone, cuckoo clocks and the Swiss Army knife. The latter is not designed to slit an enemy’s throat in the bazaar, by contrast it is designed to help mankind open a can of beans on a camping trip. The Swiss are helpful, you can hide your stash in a vault with no questions asked, and make a mockery of doom by having the notches of the passing hours sound like a cuckoo. But none of this helps in the winning of soccer games.

That requires a knife used to slitting throats in the bazaar.” He somehow fails to mention that the Swiss defence might, like their cheese, be full of holes.

Art ( http://www.blog.artlaflamme.com/?p=659) sums up Germany’s 2-1 defeat to Croatia succinctly: “The Germans just could not control the ball. Couldn’t trap it, couldn’t keep it, couldn’t pass it. They played like Americans.” Finally, a brave blogger bucks the trend of equating underperformance and technical ineptitude with England.