The IBSF World Snooker Championship began in Indore on November 12, bringing players from 32 countries and territories to the city for a 10-day international competition led by three-time world champion Pankaj Advani and defending women’s champion Anupama Ramachandran. The tournament is being held at the Yashwant Club’s Smash Hall and will continue until the finals on November 21.
India has entered a 22-member contingent comprising 15 men and seven women. Advani will lead the men’s challenge, while Ramachandran will head the women’s team after winning the previous edition. The Indian men’s squad also includes Md Hussain Khan, Brijesh Damani, Manan Chandra, Aditya Mehta, Ketan Chawla, Sourav Kothari and Malkeet Singh, all of whom have received direct entry into Stage 2.
Seven other Indian men will begin in the qualifying phase, including former World 6-red snooker champions Laxman Rawat and Kamal Chawla, as well as Rayaan Razmi, Dhvajj Haria, Anuraag Giri, Piyush Khushwah and Hrithik Jain. The qualifying competition begins on November 13, with 48 players divided across three tournaments. The top eight from each group will progress, producing 24 qualifiers for the main draw.
The men’s main draw is scheduled to start on November 17 and will combine those 24 qualifiers with 24 top-ranked players who received direct entry based on last year’s rankings. The women’s championship will also begin on November 17, with both sections leading up to the finals on November 21.
Madhya Pradesh has eight players connected to the Indian representation across the men’s and women’s events. Ketan Chawla and Mohd. Hussain Khan will compete in the men’s main draw, while Rithik Jain, Anurag Giri, Piyush Kushwaha and Kamal Chawla will enter through the qualifying rounds. Amee Kamani and Ishika Shah will represent India in the women’s section. Bholu Mehta, president of the Madhya Pradesh Billiards and Snooker Association, said the state’s players were preparing to make an impression at the championship.
The tournament includes players from countries and territories such as Australia, China, England, Germany, Iran, Pakistan, Thailand, the United States and the United Arab Emirates. It carries a total prize purse of USD 40,000, with USD 25,000 allocated to the men’s category and USD 15,000 to the women’s category. More than 25 domestic and international referees are scheduled to officiate.
The event also marks a significant hosting exercise for the Yashwant Club, which is staging an international snooker competition of this scale for the first time. The air-conditioned Smash Hall has been fitted with 10 match tables and two practice tables. The tables were sourced from China, while the premium cloth was imported from England. A spectator gallery has also been included at the venue.
India is hosting the IBSF World Snooker Championship for the third time, after earlier editions in Kolkata in 1964 and Bengaluru in 2014. The competition is the third major international cue-sports event hosted by the Billiards and Snooker Federation of India during its centenary year, following the Heyball World Championships in Pune in August and the Commonwealth Cue Sports Championships in Ahmedabad last month. The Indore championship is scheduled to conclude with the finals on November 21.
