Billiards in Punjab

Reviewed profileAchievements, tournaments, coaches and FAQs on this page are compiled by hand from federation, government and press reporting, drawing on Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (bsfi.net), Wikipedia — Pankaj Advani (billiards player), World Billiards — Pankaj Advani profile, News on Air — Asian/World Championship coverage (2024-25). These are not cited to individual documents: we hold no per-claim source for them, so treat dates, counts and career records here as a summary rather than a reference. Sections we hold nothing for are left empty. Sport pages last reviewed as a set: September 2026.

Overview

Origin: 15th century Europe
Category: Precision
Olympic discipline: No
Paralympic discipline: No
Central pathway: Federation and state pathway
Athlete profiles on SportSupport: 1

Governance and status

Each field below is shown only where we hold a source for it; anything else reads “Not currently verified” rather than a guess. Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition is granted year by year, so it is only ever shown with the year it applies to. Last reviewed: September 2026.

Indian governing/organising body: BSFI
Ministry recognition: Billiards and Snooker Federation of India — Annual recognition renewed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports — as at 2026Source: Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports — List of recognised National Sports Federations
International federation: Not currently verified
Khelo India inclusion: Not currently verified
TOPS eligibility: Not currently verified
Olympic status: Not on the Olympic programme
Paralympic status: Not a Paralympic discipline

Billiards is listed on SportSupport in the precision category. Its recorded origin is 15th century Europe. It is not on the Olympic programme. We list BSFI as the Indian governing/organising body for the sport.

Billiards has a federation and state-level pathway in India, and athletes selected through BSFI may be eligible for state sports-quota employment and state cash awards where their state notifies the discipline. TOPS does not apply, as the discipline is outside the Olympic programme.

Scholarships & Funding

Central, state and private scholarships available for billiards athletes in India.

Khelo India Talent Identification & Development (KITID)
Stipend, boarding, coaching and kit at accredited centres for talent identified through the Khelo India selection process (Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports). Applies only to disciplines on the official Khelo India Games list, and only to athletes it selects.
National Sports Development Fund (NSDF)
Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports fund used to sponsor elite athletes' training, foreign coaches and equipment. Allocations are made case by case; we hold no record of NSDF support specific to billiards.
Pension for Meritorious Sportspersons
Lifetime monthly pension for retired internationals who meet the scheme's medal criteria at Asian, Commonwealth or World Championship level — Government of India. Whether a given billiards event counts depends on the scheme's notified list.
State sports quota and government employment
Many states reserve government and public-sector posts for national-level medallists. Which billiards events and which certifying bodies a state accepts varies by state, so check your state's current notification.

Explore all government schemes →

Indian Players

1 profiles

Pankaj AdvaniKarnataka
28-time world champion in billiards and snooker.

Browse the full athlete directory →

Rules

English billiards is played on a 12ft x 6ft table with just three balls — a white and a yellow cue ball and a red object ball — and scoring comes from cannons (2 points, striking both other balls), losing hazards (potting your own cue ball off another, 2 or 3 points) and winning hazards (potting the red for 3 or the opponent's cue ball for 2). Matches are contested either in points format, to a fixed target such as 100, 150 or 300 up, or in time format, where the highest score inside a set period (commonly 2 or 3 hours) wins. A player continues at the table while scoring and gives up the break on a miss or foul; consecutive cannons and hazards are restricted to prevent endless repetition, and the balls are respotted under set rules once a limit is reached. Fouls include striking the wrong ball first, potting the cue ball without contact, and forcing a ball off the table.

Authoritative rulebook: BSFI. Age-group and school-level variations are published by SGFI and the state associations each season.

Positions

Typical roles across precision sports. These are category-level descriptions, not a sourced billiards squad list.

Rifle / pistol events
10m air, 25m and 50m disciplines shot to an electronic target.
Shotgun events
Trap and skeet — moving clay targets scored on hits.
Archery — recurve & compound
Ranking round and head-to-head elimination matches.
Team events
Three-athlete team formats contested at Asian, Commonwealth, World and Olympic level.

Equipment

Standard kit and infrastructure required to train and compete in billiards at a federation-recognised event.

12ft x 6ft English billiards table with heated slate bed and napped cloth
Set of three 52.5mm balls — white and yellow cue balls plus a red object ball
Cue of regulated minimum length with a leather tip, plus chalk
Rest, spider and long butt extensions for out-of-reach shots
Triangle-free spot markings, scoreboard and marker's tally
Table brush, iron and cloth-care kit for maintenance

Governing/organising body

Body listed on SportSupport

Billiards and Snooker Federation of India

Billiards and Snooker Federation of India is the body we list as the Indian governing/organising body for Billiards. Its recognition status as we hold it: Annual recognition renewed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (as at 2026). Recognition is granted year by year, so read the federation profile for the source.

Origin: 15th century Europe
Olympic: No
Paralympic: No
Category: Precision

BSFI profile →All federations →

Major Indian Events

Domestic competitions we hold a source for in billiards.

National Billiards and Snooker Championships
Organized by the Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI) across Senior, Junior and Sub-Junior categories; the 91st edition was held in Indore in 2024-25. This is the sole qualifying event for Asian and World Championship selection. Pankaj Advani has won the tournament dozens of times across both disciplines (36th overall national title, 10th men's snooker crown, as of the 91st edition).

International Events

Continental and world-level competitions we hold a source for in billiards.

IBSF World Billiards and Snooker Championships
Pankaj Advani holds the record for IBSF world titles (20+, across billiards timed/point formats and multiple snooker formats), and is one of only two cueists in history — after Malta's Paul Mifsud — to win world titles in both billiards and snooker.
Asian Games
Advani won billiards gold at both Doha 2006 and Guangzhou 2010.
Asian Billiards and Snooker Championships
India has produced multiple champions, including Yasin Merchant (India's first Asian Snooker champion, 1989) and Advani, a multiple-time champion in both disciplines.

Leagues

No dedicated professional league is currently catalogued for billiards. The national championship under BSFI remains the top domestic competition.

All leagues →

International Players

Globally recognised billiards athletes to know outside India.

The international federation for billiards maintains the current world ranking — check the federation site for the up-to-date top names.

Career Options

Ways to build a career in billiards — on the field, on the sidelines and behind the scenes.

Pankaj Advani became India's youngest World Snooker champion at 18 (2003) and turned professional on the main snooker tour for the 2012-13 season
Government honours reflect his stature: Arjuna Award (2004), Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna (2006 — the first ever for billiards/snooker), Padma Shri (2009) and Padma Bhushan (2018)
Despite this, Advani has spoken candidly about cue sports receiving comparatively little recognition and funding in India relative to his results — worth keeping visible rather than only citing the medal count
Public sector employment is a real career pathway — Advani is employed by ONGC, rival Brijesh Damani by Indian Oil (IOCL), both while competing full-time
Depth beyond Advani includes Sourav Kothari and a growing women's circuit led by players like Varshaa Sanjeev; playing pathway through BSFI's state associations and the National Championships

Explore sports careers →Coaches directory →

Related academies

0 listed

No billiards academies are catalogued in the directory yet. Browse the full academy list or list your academy to appear here.

All academies →List your academy →

FAQs

Common questions about billiards in India.

Who governs Billiards in India?▾

We list BSFI as the Indian governing/organising body for Billiards, and state associations affiliated to it run age-group and state-level competition. We hold no current-year Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition record for it, so this is not a statement that it is currently a recognised national sports federation — recognition is granted year by year.

Is Billiards an Olympic sport?▾

No, Billiards is not on the Olympic programme.

How do I start playing Billiards in India?▾

The usual routes are a school team under the School Games Federation of India (SGFI), a college team under the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), or a private academy affiliated to your state association under BSFI. Age-group state championships follow from there.

What government schemes support Billiards athletes?▾

TOPS does not apply, as Billiards is outside the Olympic programme. State-government cash awards or sports-quota employment can apply where a state notifies the discipline, which varies by state. Billiards does not appear on the official Khelo India Games discipline list, so we make no Khelo India claim for it.

Billiards in every state & UT

Dedicated pages for Billiards in each Indian state and Union Territory — academies, schemes, athletes and how to start.