BSAM join hands with Khar Gym to organize the championship which starts from Aug 3rd
The Billiards and Snooker Association of Maharashtra (BSAM) and Khar Gymkhana have joined hands to revive the Western India Championships last held in 1991. BSAM and host partner Khar Gymkhana will organize the CR Realty-Western India Billiards & Snooker Championship 2024 that will cue off at the Khar Gymkhana billiards hall on Saturday, August 3, 2024.
From (L to R) Siddharth Parikh, Jt. Hon. Secretary, BSAM, Sparsh Pherwani, Khar Gymkhana Billiards Secretary, Cherag Ramakrishna, President, BSAM, two-time Asian Snooker champion Yasin Merchant, Vivek Devnani, President Khar Gym, Madhvi Asher, V-P. Khar Gymkhana and Shiv Malhotra, M.C Member Khar Gymkhana.
BSAM President Cherag Ramakrishnan informed media persons that this was a prestigious tournament in India, bigger than the National championships and there were efforts to try and revive this tournament. But, now with support from Khar Gymkhana, we (BSAM) have finally managed to fulfill our dreams by organizing this tournament after 33 years.
Khar Gymkhana snooker legend and two-time Asian snooker champion Yasin Merchant also stated that the Western India championship was bigger than the Nationals. “To participate in the Nationals you have to be selected to represent your state. But, in this tournament players from across India, including from Jammu & Kashmir can come and participate in this tournament. That makes it an important tournament,” said Merchant, who emerged champion in the last edition in 1991.
Meanwhile, all leading Indian stars, including World, Asian, and national champions, will descend in Mumbai to participate in the much-anticipated CR Realty-Western India Billiards & Snooker Championship 2024, organized by Khar Gymkhana in association with the Billiards & Snooker Association of Maharashtra (BSAM) and the Billiards & Snooker Federation of India (BSFI), the tournament will kick off at the Khar Gymkhana billiards hall on Saturday, August 3, 2024.
Competitions will be conducted in three categories — Senior Billiards, Senior Snooker and Junior Snooker.
Reigning Asian and National Billiards champion Dhruv Sitwala, India’s celebrated cueist Pankaj Advani winner of 27 World titles, National snooker champion Sourav Kothari, Aditya Mehta, Laxman Rawat, Rupesh Shah, Dhvaj Haria, Alok Kumar, Siddharth Parikh and S. Srikrishna to name a few will be the players to watch competing for top honours in the senior billiards and snooker events.
On offer are handsome prize-money awards for the champions. The Senior snooker champion and runner-up stand to earn Rs 200,000 and Rs 120,000 respectively, while the winner of the Senior billiards will receive Rs 100,000 and Rs 50,000 for the runners-up. A purse of Rs 40,000 and Rs 20,000 will be presented to the winner and runner-up respectively, in the Junior snooker event.
There will also be prizes in the senior events for players who reach the last 16 and cash awards for the top breaks.
The event promises high-stakes competition and showcases the finest talent in Indian billiards and snooker. Don’t miss the chance to witness these top cueists in action.
The event consists of three categories:
Senior Snooker
Senior Billiards
Junior Snooker
Prize Money:
Senior Snooker Men : ₹ 8 lacs
Senior Billiards Men: ₹ 3 lacs
Junior Snooker : ₹ 1 lacs.
All leading players across India are participating in this event:
27-time World Champion Pankaj Advani
3 Time Asian Billiards and Current National Champion Dhruv Sitwala
Current Snooker National Champion and former world Billiards Champion Sourav Kothari
Top ranked players such as Laxman Rawat, Aditya Mehta, Kamal Chawla, Dhvaj Haria, Manan Chandra, Shabaz Khan, Rayaan Razmi, Paras Gupta, Devendra Joshi, Ashok Shandilya, Siddharth Parikh, Sri Krishna, Monu Choudhary, Digvijay Kadian, Rahul Sachdev have confirmed their participation. It is indeed a star-studded list.