Natasha Chethan won a maiden under-21 women's world title in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
DH Photo/ SK Dinesh
Bengaluru: Natasha Chethan’s personality, while solemn in the vicinity of the playing area, doesn’t quite fit in the stuffy confines of clubs meant for cuesports. She is quick with her wit, quicker with a smile, and her eloquence is startling for someone only 16 years old.
All this to say, her penchant for life and the sport she has chosen to pursue is endearing. But, amid all this refined extroversion, you see a hot-red flash of ambition and drive, maybe even some introversion.
It’s uncanny for someone so young to have all these traits come together with such grace. This could explain why the Bengalurean is already the face of women’s snooker in India, and she hasn’t even finished her tenth standard boards yet!
Natasha became the world champion among women in the under-21 category after defeating Thailand’s Narucha Phoemphul in a dragged-out nail-biter at the Karnataka State Billiards Association on Wednesday.
In the aftermath of the win, which she acknowledged with poise, she made no bones about how lucky she had been to win her first world title.
And it’s true, besides the prayers she had in place to stop Phoemphul from potting a sitter to claim the final frame and the tournament, she also got lucky several times prior with safety plays. The Gods were indeed on her side.
"Honestly, I prayed to every God there is," said Natasha. "One of them must have worked (chuckles). Safety was not working for me today, and I wasn’t getting the contacts that I expected. And one thing I do know is to pot. And if I can’t do the one thing I am good at, which is why I was going for my shots. Even though I was not left in great positions."
While this game highlighted all the tweaks she needs to do to get ahead, there were several moments which showcased why she is where she is.
“I knew when I saw Tia (Natasha's nickname) playing her first Nationals when she was 13 years old that she could make a name for herself in this sport,” says Leena Chethan, Natasha’s mother. “Her demeanour despite being in the spotlight was so calm, and you could see that she enjoyed that space. This sport is not kind to mistakes and you’re always judged by your last shot, but she was able to handle that pressure so comfortably, so young, I knew we should invest in her growth in the sport then.”
Leena, herself a snooker enthusiast, used to take Natasha along to Bangalore Club, Century Club and so on to give the then 10-year-old girl some time away from school.
As time passed, Natasha developed a certain fondness for the sport, which eventually saw her chalking up herself. She was even given a talent category membership by the KSBA.
"Since the day I picked up my cue, my priority has always been snooker. Snooker comes first, everything else comes second.... school too," she said. "It (winning the title) means a lot to me, especially happening in my hometown. It is a lovely feeling and I am very excited. I loved that it happened here. I hope there are many more tournaments in the future where I put up similar performances."
When asked about the specifics of her plans for the future, Natasha stumbles in search of the appropriate answer but eventually settles on: “I am working towards playing on the professional circuit. That is my ultimate dream and we have players such as Pankaj (Advani) who have shown us the way. I have a lot of things I have to work on to get there, and the focus is to build on what comes naturally to me.”
But before that, she has to focus on her upcoming boards. Natasha switched from a conventional school to The National Institute of Open Schooling to help her have more time with snooker.
While one can make an argument for Natasha being predisposed to being good at snooker, you cannot ignore the effort or the intangibles which have fallen into place for her to get this far. It will be interesting to see if the stars continue to align for if they do, we could well be looking at another snooker great from this City.