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“Almost 25 years ago, I played my first National Championship in Ahmedabad. As a 17-year-old boy, it was an amazing experience because it’s a city that has produced cue sports legends like Geet Sethi . Coming back to Ahmedabad always feels like a homecoming. Every time I come here, I am amazed by people’s love and warmth,” says world billiards champion Sourav Kothari , who was in Ahmedabad recently for a tournament.

Sourav, who won the IBSF World Billiards Championship in April, adds, “I had a great experience at this tournament also, which was an IPL-style event. Usually, cue sports are mostly played as well as viewed by men, but it was wonderful to see a lot of women turning up for this event. I am now only the third Indian player (after Geet Sethi and Pankaj Advani ) to have won both the IBSF (International Billiards & Snooker Federation) and the WBL (World Billiards Limited) World Billiards titles, plus the Asian Billiards Championship and National Championship. I believe my father’s blessings have played a huge role in this. My next big goal is to do well at the World Snooker Championship later this year, which will be held at Indore.”

‘2026 has been a bittersweet year for me’

In January, Sourav lost his father, Manoj Kothari (a former world billiards champion), a devastating loss that he believes he will never recover from. Sourav shares, “We lost him on January 5. There are fathers and sons whose lives aren’t deeply intertwined, but our lives were inseparable. He was my coach, my favourite guru, my everything. Suddenly, not having him around has left a void I can’t begin to describe in words. He is my only God, and now I have to learn to live with that loss.”

He adds, “On January 12, barely a week after my father passed away, the National Championship was held. For the first time in 25 years, I hadn’t even registered my name. That day, the BSFI (Billiards and Snooker Federation of India) secretary called me and said, ‘I’m calling you as a brother. If you want to participate, we’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you can play.’ I was still grieving and hadn’t even picked up my cue for months because my father had been unwell for a long time, and we had been completely occupied with his treatment. When I told my mother about the call, she said, ‘You must play. If your father were here, he would have wanted you to compete, regardless of the circumstances. Go and do it for him.’ I decided to play and went on to win the championship. Three months later, I won the IBSF World Billiards Championship, beating top players, including Pankaj Advani, along the way. During the victory ceremony, I couldn’t get past saying, ‘Thank you,’ before breaking down. Not having my father there to share that proud moment with—the person I wanted to tell first—left me feeling numb. In many ways, 2026 has been a bittersweet year for me.”

‘I hope cue sports are a part of CWG 2030’

Talking about Ahmedabad hosting the 2030 Commonwealth Games, he says, “Considering the kind of mega events that Ahmedabad has hosted successfully in recent times, the city deserves to host the CWG. The BSFI is trying its best to ensure that cue sports are included at the mega event, and I hope that happens because considering the kind of players we have, a gold medal is a realistic expectation.”

Asked about how cue sports can be promoted better, he feels, “I think sports like chess have done an excellent job of promoting themselves, especially on social media. Cue sports need to create that same kind of buzz and become more visible. We also need to turn our champions into household names—just as tennis has done with icons like Nadal and Federer. There’s no reason cue sports can’t achieve the same.”

‘Grateful to have a supportive wife like Pallavi’

Sourav, who tied the knot with Pallavi Banchur in May, shares, “I am grateful to have a supportive wife like Pallavi. She understands the fact that there will be days when I will be busy with practice for 8 to 10 hours a day. After all, cue sports are like doing sadhana. She is very accommodating, and her unwavering emotional support continues to be one of my greatest strengths. She also follows my sport keenly now.”

He adds, “Cue sports demand immense focus, and it’s a sport where, much like fine wine, players only get better with age. Experience is the greatest teacher. But my father always taught me that there is no substitute for hard work. When you work hard, it builds unwavering self-belief, and that gives you the confidence to fight back from any situation. Hard work is the only meditation you need to succeed.”