State champ gets call for World Snooker and Billiards U-16 meet in Russia Deepankar Sharda Chandigarh, July 16 Life is cruel sometimes. For 15-year-old cueist Ranveer Duggal, 2015 was a difficult year. It was when his father, Sandeep Duggal, passed away. Ranveer not only lost his father but also a coach who would remain available for him at any moment of trouble. In fact, Ranveer’s love for cue sports was a gift from his late father, who was a national-level champion himself. But Ranveer did not let the tragedy stop him in his journey towards fulfilling not only his but also his father’s dream. He has continued to achieve new feats with each passing day. Ranveer, who is now a regular feature in the Indian junior team, has been selected to represent the country in the upcoming World Snooker and Billiards U-16 Championship in Tyumen, Russia, from August 16 to 24. He won the qualifying event in Delhi recently to confirm his selection for the event. In fact, this would be his fourth appearance at the World Championship. In 2017, he was among the top-8 of the world in his category. Ranveer, who is now coached by his grandfather Rakesh Duggal, picked up cue sports at the age of four even though his arms were not long enough to properly use the cue stick on the table. At the age of six, he became the youngest ever pool player in India to participate in the National Pool Championship at Sutlej Club in Ludhiana. He was also the youngest player to participate in the 6-Red National Snooker Championship held at the Chandigarh Club. He was honoured for his feat by none other than Padma Shri award winner Geet Sethi. At the age of seven, he clinched another record by becoming the youngest player to participate in the National Snooker and Billiards Championship held at PYC Gymkhana Club in Pune. The youngster became the junior and sub-junior champion in the Chandigarh State Snooker Championship in 2015 before becoming the Chandigarh state champion in the U-18 and U-21 snooker categories in 2016. In 2017, he was selected for the Indian U-16 snooker team for the IBSF Snooker Championship held in St Petersburg, Russia. He is also the current state champion in the U-18 and U-21 categories, and finished second in the senior category. “My father played among the likes of Pankaj Advani and he wanted to watch me playing at that level,” said Ranveer, who gets all the support from his mother Jasmine Kaur, a teacher by profession and his manager. “Since the day I was born, he was clear about what he wanted from me. It has been over nine years that I have been in this sport and there are no plans to stop in the near future,” said Ranveer. A student of St Stephen’s School (Sector 45), Ranveer got a major shot in the arm when Sethi mentioned him as the future of the Indian cue sports during the 18th Asian Billiards, the 20th Under-21 Asian Snooker Championship and the 3rd Ladies Asian Snooker Championship recently. “My grandfather says that there are six million shots in the game of pool and it’s impossible for a coach to teach all of them. So, it’s important to spend a good amount of time on the pool table. I don’t mind even having my meals at the side of the table,” Ranveer said. “I have been getting all my strength from my family and teachers. My dad could not play at the international level but it’s always a fresh start whenever my family sees me playing for India.”

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