21 medals and counting at just 15

CHENNAI: Anupama Ramachandran is all of 15 and has just as many medals to her name. Casually learning the game of snooker as part of the summer camp at the Mylapore club three years ago, she had no idea she would one day receive a ‘Young Achievers’ award at the Brew Persons of the Year Awards 2017, by Brew Magazine, at such a young age.

Anupama continued playing the game even after her camp but it was only after she won the silver medal at the Sub-Junior Snooker (Under 18) State ranking in 2015, that she took it up more seriously. Since then, she has participated in a number of state and national championships, winning over 13 state medals and 7 national medals. Anupama debuted in the IBSF — World Snooker Championship held in Belgium (2016) in the categories Under 18 and Under 21, reaching the quarterfinals in the former. She struck gold winning the first-ever IBSF-World snooker champion Under 16 title, held in Russia (October 2017). “When the National anthem was played as I received my medal, I felt so proud and happy,” she shares.

The prolific snooker and billiards player explains the difference between the two games, often misinterpreted by many. “Billiards has three balls — red, yellow and white. Each player plays with white and yellow balls, and the goal is to pop the other’s ball or the red ball inside. Snooker, on the other hand, has 16 reds and 6 other colours — the goal is to pocket one red followed by a colour,” she explains, saying snooker is more popular in the world level, though she enjoys playing both. “In the world championship, the players from Thailand were very skilled. They have better infrastructure. India is now only catching up to that,” she comments.  

Snooker may not be as physically stressful as other sports, but it does require some amount of fitness because the player almost always bends forward. “Snooker also requires immense concentration and focus,” she explains.

Practicing every day is mandatory, says the teen. “I spend three hours a day at the snooker table. My coach, Suryanarayanan, visits often to give me vital feedback,” she shares. And once her parents noticed her getting better at the game, they bought a snooker table for her to practice. “That’s something not a lot of children get. Since I can practice at home, no time is lost in driving to practice classes. I can now practice whenever I get the time,” she notes.

Balancing academics as a class 11 student at Vidya Mandir, and being a snooker champion, is not that challenging a task. “I do my homework after 10 pm every night! My school principal and teachers have been highly supportive of my pursuits, giving me timely leaves whenever needed.  My friends, too, help me catch up with academics,” she says, adding that the Mylapore Club and the Tamilnadu Billiards and Snooker Association have also been very helpful.Since she’ll be writing board exams next year, can she manage both? She laughs, “Hopefully, yes! I wouldn’t want to give up on either snooker or academics ever,” she shares.