Shrikrishna hits yet another six in cue sport

He won the billiards title for the sixth time on Friday and on Saturday and added the snooker title beating G Prabhu 5-1(81-61,83-14,50-54,59-12,8716,73-32). Next up for the Tamil Nadu youngster is the National championship in Bengaluru early next month.

‘I am keenly looking forward to the National championship. I find that the competition has increased and there are quite a few who have experienced the World Under-16, Under-18 and U-21 Championships playing in the National championship this year,” the plus 2 student of National Public School, Gopalapuram, told DT Next.

“As regards my target, I want to keep out performing myself. I do not walk into the tournament thinking of the outcome,” he added. Shrikrishna had to attend to a few niggles before he completed the home assignments in the last month. 

“I had severe pain in my right shoulder and had problem practising before the state ranking. It practically looked like I may not play the tournament. Thanks to Dr Kannan Pugazhendi and SPARRC Institute, my problem got fixed temporarily so that I can play the matches. After the state ranking, I need to get my shoulder problem fixed before the National,” he said. 

After the National, he has the National 6 Red Championship starting in Chennai on December 16. “I am excited about it as it is happening right here. And 6 Red is fearsomely competitive with all the great players from across India playing. The sheer format is challenging and more so playing with the experienced players,” he explained. 

Shrikrishna is not new to challenges as he has participated in a few international tournaments and even won the IBSF (international federation) World Under-21 Billiards Championship in 2015. He is now a regular for India in both snooker and billiards. 

“I am lucky to be playing this game at various competitive levels. Being age and gender neutral, the sport surely has its challenges of continuously demanding performance from oneself, forget the competitor,” noted the Chennai lad. “I look forward to playing the tournament and facing one match at a time than to worry about the outcome,” he added.. Shrikrishna has the examinations of plus 2 this year for which he needs time to prepare but his school has been very supportive, he said.

His father Suryanarayanan said he did not put pressure on his son. “We encourage him to be competitive and play to his potential. The most important aspect is to be happy playing and enjoying the execution,” he noted.