Alok himself did not think he would win a pool medal

NEW DELHI - Cueist Alok Kumar, who won a maiden bronze for India in 8-ball pool at the Guanghzhou Asian Games says no one, including himself, thought he would have a podium finish in a sport not as well known as snooker and billiards in India.

Alok recalls beating former World Champion Efren Reyes of the Philippines in the second round as his most satisfying accomplishment in the tournament.

“I never thought of getting past the second round, let alone winning a medal. The win against Efren gave me the self-belief to go far in the tournament,” Alok told IANS.

“But it hurts me a lot when I think of the semifinal loss. Had I won that match, I would have surely won the gold.”

Alok gives equal time to pool, snooker and billiards. He won a team silver in billiards in the 2002 Busan Asian Games and was crowned the Asian Snooker Champion in 2004.

The 42-year-old from a small town of Mandi Govind Garh near Chandigarh bought his own table to get familiar with the sport.

“I started playing pool in 2004 but never got to play regularly as I had billiards and snooker commitments. But six months before the Asian Games I got a pool table for myself and started playing quite a bit. I practiced six hours daily under filipino coach George Decer at the Bangalore camp and that helped me get the medal.”

Alok now hopes that his pool bronze would help in popularising the sport in the country.

“We are good in billiards but globally snooker and pool attract more attention. So, it is important that we perform well in these two cue sports. I hope youngsters take up pool,” he said.

Alok strongly believes another way to promote pool in India would be to organise more tournaments.

“At present, only national championship takes place. We need at least ten tournaments in a calendar year with foreign players participating. It would give enormous exposure to Indian players.” he opined.