Pool in Assam

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), The Tribune — Pankaj Advani 9-ball title coverage (2026), Wikipedia — WPA World Nine-ball Championship, WPA World Eight-ball Championship, Raj Hundal, Totally Snookered — 2025 IEPF World 8-Ball Championship coverage. 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: Modern USA
Category: Precision
Olympic discipline: No
Paralympic discipline: No
Central pathway: Federation and state pathway
Athlete profiles on SportSupport: 0

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

Pool is listed on SportSupport in the precision category. Its recorded origin is Modern USA. It is not on the Olympic programme. We list BSFI as the Indian governing/organising body for the sport.

Pool 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 pool 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 pool.
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 pool 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 pool events and which certifying bodies a state accepts varies by state, so check your state's current notification.

Explore all government schemes →

Indian Players

No profiles yet

No athlete profiles are recorded for pool yet. We only list athletes we can source, so this section stays empty until verifiable profiles exist.

Browse the full athlete directory →

Rules

Pool is played on a 9ft x 4.5ft (or 8ft) table with six pockets, a white cue ball and 15 numbered object balls — solids 1-8 and stripes 9-15. In 8-ball, the table is split between solids and stripes after the break and a player must clear their own group before legally potting the black 8-ball in a nominated pocket. In 9-ball, only balls 1-9 are used and the lowest-numbered ball on the table must always be struck first, with the game won by potting the 9 at any legal point — including off a combination. 10-ball follows the same rotation logic with ten balls and stricter call-shot rules. Fouls (missing the ball on, potting the cue ball, no cushion contact) usually hand the opponent ball-in-hand anywhere on the table, which makes safety play and cue-ball control decisive. Matches are contested as a race to a set number of racks rather than over time.

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 pool 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 pool at a federation-recognised event.

9ft x 4.5ft (or 8ft) pool table with slate bed, worsted cloth and six pockets
Set of 16 balls (57.2mm): white cue ball plus solids 1-8 and stripes 9-15
Playing cue with a harder tip than snooker, plus a dedicated break cue and jump cue
Triangle or diamond rack, chalk, glove and mechanical bridge
Overhead lighting rig and shot clock for professional play
Tip shaper, cloth brush and table cover

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 Pool. 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: Modern USA
Olympic: No
Paralympic: No
Category: Precision

BSFI profile →All federations →

Major Indian Events

Domestic competitions we hold a source for in pool.

National Pool Championship (8-ball, 9-ball, 10-ball)
Organized by the Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI — the same body governing billiards and snooker), most recently as the Manisha Constructions National Pool Championship (2026). Pankaj Advani — already a 28-time world billiards and snooker champion — won the men's 9-ball title on his tournament debut in 2026, defeating Nitin Sharma 11-5 after a tied start, extending his dominance across cue-sports disciplines.

International Events

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

Heyball World Championship
India will host the 2026 edition in Pune (12-16 August 2026) — a major hosting credential for Indian cue sports.
IEPF World 8-Ball Pool Championship
Guvy Gill competed at the 2025 edition in Ireland.
Related note
Raj Hundal, an English-born player of Indian heritage, won the 2005 World Pool Masters, though he represented Europe rather than India at events like the Mosconi Cup — a related but distinct thread from India's own national pool programme.

Leagues

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

All leagues →

International Players

Globally recognised pool athletes to know outside India.

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

Career Options

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

Pool shares infrastructure and governance with billiards and snooker in India through BSFI, meaning cross-discipline athletes like Advani can compete at the highest domestic level across all three cue sports
Playing pathway through BSFI's National Championship and trials
Young players like Manasvi Bhoi (Top 8 finish, National 9-Ball Championship, Ludhiana) have credited direct interaction with senior champions like Advani at these events as valuable development exposure
Coaching and refereeing certification through BSFI

Explore sports careers →Coaches directory →

Related academies

0 listed

No pool 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 pool in India.

Who governs Pool in India?▾

We list BSFI as the Indian governing/organising body for Pool, 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 Pool an Olympic sport?▾

No, Pool is not on the Olympic programme.

How do I start playing Pool 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 Pool athletes?▾

TOPS does not apply, as Pool 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. Pool does not appear on the official Khelo India Games discipline list, so we make no Khelo India claim for it.

Pool in every state & UT

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