Top stars switching to pool bad for billiards -- Ferreira

Michael Ferreira's name is synonymous with billiards, the cue sport he dominated for years. Though no longer quite as active, Ferreira's passion for the game remains undiminished. He talks about the triumphs and travails of the past and the future of the sport in the country, in a free-wheeling chat with Riddhi.

Q: How much of pro billiards do you still play? What are your other pursuits now?
A: I still play professional billiards about four National tournaments a year but it is more from memory than practice. Because of my eyesight problem, it is difficult to put in the six to seven hours of practice required and I only continue to play the game because I enjoy it so much. I will stop playing the day I stop enjoying it.
Otherwise, these days, I am into event management and promotion, writing columns, following the stock market and also have a small stake in a construction company.

Q: What do you plan to do after retirment?
A: I haven't yet thought about total retirement. I keeppromising myself that I will relax not do anything. But I also know I will not (relax). I want to give something back to the game that has given me so much. I will probably set up a billiards academy for young players. Also, there has been a proposal to appoint me as national coach or in-charge of cue sports, a post which I feel few others could fill. If that works out, then it would be an ideal way for me to do my bit for the game.

Q: What do you think of pool? Why do you think it has become so popular?
A: Pool is without doubt the game of the future. It is a global phenomenon. If any cue sport can make it to the Olympics, it will be pool and no other.
It is popular because it is fast, short, dynamic and a lot of fun. Also there is a lot of razzmatazz in the game. Like in the 9-ball World Pool Championship in Spain recently, they actually had music playing in the hall during matches something unthinkable in billiards. Also, the dress code is casual as compared to the `stuffy' image ofbilliards.
Nick Vanna, the guy who won the Championship was actually chewing gum all the time between shots that is so very American. I can't imagine something like that happening in billards; the player would be booed out of the hall.

Q: Do you think changing billiards to make it more spectator friendly could help make it more popular?
A: No more rule changes in billiards please. So many changes have already been made. Like, a 150-point game is an abortion. Purists would tell you, popular or no, billiards should be left to itself. Give pool to those who want something faster paced, but don't mess around with billiards. The very heart of billiards is the skill involved, even the long games. The formality, the dress code are all part of the game. Why defeat the very essence of the game just to make it more spectator friendly.

Q: How will the popularity of pool affect billiards?
A: I think billiards would chug along much as it has continued to do for the last 50 years. And maybe,taking up pool would attract people to the other cue sports like billliards and snooker as well. But it could harm billiards in a way too, since all our sports are very personality oriented. If top names in billiards switch to pool, it would harm the best interests of the sports. What we need is a name, a person who could prove to be the force that pulls people to billiards.

Q: Can you think of any such person?
A: There is this player, Pankaj Advani, a 14-year-old who defeated Subash Agrawal in the National Championship league matches. If he carries on like that, if he is trained properly, he could emerge as a future great, follow in the steps of someone like Geet Sethi.

Q: Lastly, given a choice, in your days, would yo have chosen pool over billiards?
A: That's a very difficult question to answer. Maybe I would have, maybe I wouldn't. A lot actually depends on the kind of atmosphere I was brought up in. I grew-up in the billiards atmosphere. If I had had a more American upbringing, Imight have been attracted to pool. As it is, we used to call pool a `Mickey Mouse' game for its frivolous nature.

Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.