<p>For the first time in his career, Pankaj Advani has decided to skip the World Billiards Championship in Leeds, instead preferring to compete in the International Championship.<br /></p>.<p>Advani, India's poster boy of cue sports, will be competing in the major snooker ranking event scheduled to be held in Chengdu, China from October 27 to November 3.<br /><br />Advani made the "tough decision" not to defend his World Billiards title this year, which he had won after beating defending champion and seasoned Englishman Mike Russell 1895-1216 in the final, due to clash of dates with the International Championship.This is the second year in a row he has qualified for the China event, with the dates again clashing with the World Billiards Championship.<br /><br />On being asked about his decision, Advani told PTI: "This was a very tough decision for me. But in my career, I have had to make many such decisions throughout, be it in the Asian Games of 2006, where each player could only play in one discipline, snooker or billiards."<br /><br />"The choice of billiards paid off with a gold medal. Last year, I had the same decision to make (International Championship or World Billiards Championship). That too had the best possible outcome with world title number 8.<br /><br />"This time, I want to focus on snooker a little more. I have had my share of success in the 3-ball game and want to extend that to snooker now. But yes, the decision was yet another difficult one given this will be the first time I will be skipping the World Billiards Championship ever since I first started playing in it," added Advani.<br /><br />When questioned about his preference for snooker over billiards, Advani replied, "This is not a long-term decision. While I'm in the flow of snooker, I want to optimise my performance. There are another six months to go in the season and I would like to give it my all. I will assess my plans after the season." More PTI SHN AH CM 10081506<br /></p>
<p>For the first time in his career, Pankaj Advani has decided to skip the World Billiards Championship in Leeds, instead preferring to compete in the International Championship.<br /></p>.<p>Advani, India's poster boy of cue sports, will be competing in the major snooker ranking event scheduled to be held in Chengdu, China from October 27 to November 3.<br /><br />Advani made the "tough decision" not to defend his World Billiards title this year, which he had won after beating defending champion and seasoned Englishman Mike Russell 1895-1216 in the final, due to clash of dates with the International Championship.This is the second year in a row he has qualified for the China event, with the dates again clashing with the World Billiards Championship.<br /><br />On being asked about his decision, Advani told PTI: "This was a very tough decision for me. But in my career, I have had to make many such decisions throughout, be it in the Asian Games of 2006, where each player could only play in one discipline, snooker or billiards."<br /><br />"The choice of billiards paid off with a gold medal. Last year, I had the same decision to make (International Championship or World Billiards Championship). That too had the best possible outcome with world title number 8.<br /><br />"This time, I want to focus on snooker a little more. I have had my share of success in the 3-ball game and want to extend that to snooker now. But yes, the decision was yet another difficult one given this will be the first time I will be skipping the World Billiards Championship ever since I first started playing in it," added Advani.<br /><br />When questioned about his preference for snooker over billiards, Advani replied, "This is not a long-term decision. While I'm in the flow of snooker, I want to optimise my performance. There are another six months to go in the season and I would like to give it my all. I will assess my plans after the season." More PTI SHN AH CM 10081506<br /></p>