Pankaj Advani (born 24 July 1985) is an Indian billiards and snooker player and one of the most successful sportspeople India has produced. He has won more than 25 world titles across English billiards and snooker, in long and short formats, a record in cue sports. He is the only player to have won world titles in both the points and time formats of billiards as well as in 15-red and 6-red snooker. He received the Khel Ratna in 2006 and the Padma Bhushan in 2018.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Pankaj Arjan Advani |
| Born | 24 July 1985, Pune, Maharashtra, India |
| Age | 41 |
| Sport | English billiards, snooker |
| Hometown | Bengaluru, Karnataka |
| Coach | Arvind Savur |
| Education | Frank Anthony Public School; Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College, Bengaluru |
| Spouse | Saniya Shadadpuri (m. 2021) |
| Honours | Arjuna Award (2004), Khel Ratna (2006), Padma Shri (2009), Padma Bhushan (2018) |
Early Life
Advani was born in Pune into a Sindhi family and spent his first years in Kuwait. The family returned to India around the time of the 1990 Gulf War and settled in Bangalore. His father died when he was six. He was introduced to snooker at ten by his elder brother, Shree, and began training under the former national champion Arvind Savur. He won his first state title at 12 and became India’s youngest national snooker champion in 2003.
Career
In 2003, aged 18, Advani won the IBSF World Snooker Championship in China at his first attempt. In 2005 he won both the points and time formats of the IBSF World Billiards Championship in Malta, the first player to do the “grand double”, and he repeated it in 2008 in Bangalore. He won gold in English billiards at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha and again at Guangzhou in 2010.
In 2009 he won the World Professional Billiards Championship in Leeds, beating the nine-time champion Mike Russell. He joined the professional snooker tour in Britain in 2012 and reached the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open in 2013, but he gave up his tour card in 2014 to return to India and concentrate on billiards and amateur snooker.
Advani won the world 6-red snooker title in 2014 and 2015 and the IBSF World Snooker Championship again in 2015 and 2017. He has continued to add billiards world titles almost every year, including in 2023 and 2024. He has also completed a career set of Asian and national titles in every format.
Personal Life
Advani married Saniya Shadadpuri, a make-up artist, in January 2021. His brother, Shree Advani, is a sports psychologist who has worked with him throughout his career. He lives in Bengaluru.
Awards and Honours
Major Titles
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Pankaj Advani born?
Pankaj Advani was born on 24 July 1985 in Pune, Maharashtra, India and is 41 years old.
What honours has Pankaj Advani received?
Arjuna Award (2004), Khel Ratna (2006), Padma Shri (2009), Padma Bhushan (2018).
Featured image: Pankaj Advani lines up a shot at the Paul Hunter Classic snooker tournament, Germany, 2012. Photo by Bill da Flute, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
