"Determination" is the word.....

Pankaj Advani

Pankaj Advani is being called the best thing to have happened to Indian billiards after the legendary Geet Sethi. Born in Pune on July 24, 1985, Advani has made a mark for himself by annexing three world titles at a tender age of 19 years. Advani showed promise and talent from a young age. Arvind Savur, former national snooker champion, spotted him as a 10-year-old who used to accompany his elder brother to the Karnataka State Billiards Association hall. After becoming the youngest national snooker champion at 17, Advani has gone on to excel at the international stage displaying sublime skills and composure. In 2005, Adwani became the first player to complete a grand double by winning both the points format as well as the time format titles in the IBSF World Billiards championship in Malta. He also won the World snooker title in 2003.The unassuming Advani, who won the points format title beating compatriot Devendra Joshi 6-2 in the final, showed that he had the patience and the skills to beat the best in the longer format as he outplayed seven-time World champion Geet Sethi in a thrilling six hour final.Despite achieving extraordinary success at a young age, Advani has his feet firmly on ground. With three World titles already under his belt, Adwani is sure to scale greater heights in a sport teeming with players of ripe age.Pankaj Advani has been awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award for the year 2005.Achievements: Winner of three world titles in billiards and snooker; in 2005, became the first player to complete a grand double by winning both the points format as well as the time format titles in the IBSF World Billiards championship; Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award for 2005Pankaj Advani is being called the best thing to have happened to Indian billiards after the legendary Geet Sethi. Born in Pune on July 24, 1985, Advani has made a mark for himself by annexing three world titles at a tender age of 19 years. Advani showed promise and talent from a young age. Arvind Savur, former national snooker champion, spotted him as a 10-year-old who used to accompany his elder brother to the Karnataka State Billiards Association hall. After becoming the youngest national snooker champion at 17, Advani has gone on to excel at the international stage displaying sublime skills and composure. In 2005, Adwani became the first player to complete a grand double by winning both the points format as well as the time format titles in the IBSF World Billiards championship in Malta. He also won the World snooker title in 2003.The unassuming Advani, who won the points format title beating compatriot Devendra Joshi 6-2 in the final, showed that he had the patience and the skills to beat the best in the longer format as he outplayed seven-time World champion Geet Sethi in a thrilling six hour final.Despite achieving extraordinary success at a young age, Advani has his feet firmly on ground. With three World titles already under his belt, Adwani is sure to scale greater heights in a sport teeming with players of ripe age.Pankaj Advani has been awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award for the year 2005.



P.T.Usha

P. T. Usha, arguably the greatest ever Indian women athlete, inspired generations of young Indian girls to seek glory in track and field and for a long time, was synonymous with Indian athletics. Usha, born on June 27, 1964, was nicknamed Payyoli Express for her dazzling runs. In 1978, at the age of 14, P. T. Usha shot into limelight as a junior athlete in National Inter State meet at Kollam. Her budding talent was noticed by coach O. M. Nambiar and under his tutelage Usha went to achieve greater success. After winning silver medals in the 100 m and the 200 m events in the 1982 New Delhi Asiad, a year later at the Asian Track and Field Championship in Kuwait Usha clinched gold in the 400 m with a new Asian record. In the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, when P. T. Usha became the first Indian women to enter the final of an Olympics event, an entire nation waited with bated breath for the outcome of the 400 m hurdles final. But heartbreak was in store as a nail-biting photo finish for the third place saw Usha lost the bronze by 1/100th of a second. Unfazed by the agony of losing out on an Olympic medal by a whisker, Usha went on to establish herself as the Asian sprint queen by winning five gold medals (in the 100meters, 200m, 400m, 400m hurdles and the 4x400m relay) at the Asian Meet in Jakarta in 1985. More was to follow as P. T. Usha won 4 gold and 1 silver medal in the track and field events in the 1986 Seoul Asian Games where she set new Asian Games records in all the events she participated.