Pankaj Advani is a 19 time World Champion English billiards and snooker player from India. In recognition of his achievements, the Government of India has bestowed several awards upon Advani: the Arjuna Award in 2004, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2006, Padma Shri in 2009 and Padma Bhushan in 2018.
Birth Name
Pankaj Arjan Advani
Nickname
The Prince of India, The Golden Boy, The Prince of Pune
Profession
English Billiards, Snooker Player
Nationality
Indian
Personal Life
Birthday / Date of Birth
Pankaj Advani was born on 24 July 1985, in Pune, Maharashtra, India.
Age
He’s currently 33 years old.
Sun Sign
Leo
Ethnicity
(Indian) Asian
Education
Pankaj attended Frank Anthony Public School, Bangalore and earned his bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College, Bangalore, India.
Family Details
- Father – Arjan Advani
- Mother – Kajal Advani
- Siblings – Shree Advani (Sport & Performance Psychologist)
Marital Status
Single
Girlfriend / Spouse
Pankaj Advani dated –
Advani has kept his personal life discreet from his professional life and thus there is not much information available of any relation he has had in the past or in the present.
Physical Statistics
Height
- In feet – 5 feet 8 inches
- In centimeters – 173 cm
- In meters – 1.73 m
Weight
- In Kilograms – 65 kg
- In Pounds – 143 lbs
Body Measurements
Unknown
Body Build
Athletic
Eye Color
Black
Hair Color
Black
Sexuality
Straight
Professional Statistics
International Debut
Billiards
Pankaj Advani made his international debut at the Asian Billiards Championship 2002, held at Bangalore, in which he finished as a finalist. He own his first International title in 2005 in the IBSF World Billiards Championship at Qawra, Malta, becoming the first player top achieve a “grand double” by winning both the time and point formats.
Snookers
At 18, Pankaj debuted at the IBSF World Snooker Championship 2003, held at Jiangmen, China, and apparently winning the title.With this win, he became the youngest Indian to win the international title. As of March 2018, Pankaj Advani has won 60 titles, including 19 World Titles, 8 Asian Titles, 2 Asian Games, 1 Australian Open and 30 National Titles.
Awards / Honors
- Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian honour, 2018
- Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India’s highest sporting honour, 2005, 2006
- Rajyotsava Award, Karnataka’s highest civilian award, 2007
- Karnataka’s ‘Kempegowda Award” in 2007.
- Ekalavya Award in 2007
- Vision of India’s “International Indian” Award in 2005.
- Senior Sportsperson of the Year 2005
- The Sports Writers’ Association of Bangalore
- The Bangalore University Sportsperson of the Year, 2005
- The Hero India Sports Award (HISA) in 2004
- The Rajiv Gandhi Award in 2004
- The Arjuna Award in 2004
- The Indo-American Young Achiever’s Award, 2003
- The Sports Star Sportsperson of the Year, 2003.
World Titles
2003, 2015, 2017 – IBSF World Snooker Champion
2005, 2007-09, 2012, 2014-15 – World Billiards Champion (Time Format)
2014 – The World Team Billiards Championship
2014-15 – IBSF World Six-Red Snooker Champion
2005, 2008, 2014, 2016, 2017 – World Billiards Champion (Points Format)
2018 – IBSF World Snooker Team Championship
Pankaj Advani Favorites
- Favorite Sportsperson – Roger Federer
- Favorite Food – Idli, South Indian Food
- Favorite Designers – Manoviraj Khosla, Wendell Rodricks, Babita Malkani
- Favorite Songs – Sadi Gali (Tanu Weds Manu), Greece 2000, Unforgivable by Armin Van Buuren and Nothing Else Matters by Metallica
- Favorite Holiday Spots – Goa, Melbourne
Pankaj Advani Net worth
Pankaj Advani net worth is $7 million dollars as of 2019.
Social Media Profiles
- Facebook – Pankaj Advani
- Instagram – pankajadvaniofficial
- Twitter – Pankaj Advani
Some Lesser Known Facts About Pankaj Advani
- His family moved to Kuwait when he was a toddler and lived there for five years. They returned to India after Iraqi invasion and settled in Bangalore, India.
- His brother Shree Advani introduced him to Arvind Savur, former National Snooker champion, when he discovered his passion for the game. Advani received snooker training from Arvind Savur.
- Pankaj won his maiden title at the age of 12.
- In 2000, he won the Indian Junior Billiards Championship title and went on to win the title again in 2001 and 2003.
- In 2003, Pankaj won the India Junior Snooker Championship, thus making him the youngest National Snooker champion.
- At the IBSF World Billiards Championship 2005, he own both the time and point formats title, and thus becoming the only Indian to have won the amateur world title in both snooker and billiards. He made it again in 2008.
- Pankaj holds the record of being the youngest Indian to have won both formats of world titles in English billiards, for a record 8 times.
- He also holds a record of being the only person to win all five national, regional, and world billiards tournaments in a single season, the Asian Billiards Championship, and both the World Billiards Championship (point format) and World Billiards Championship (time format).
- Pankaj Advani is the only player ever to win world titles in both the long and short formats of snooker (15-red standard, and 6-red) and both formats of English billiards (time and point).
- During his school days, he wanted to become a pilot to fulfil his desire of travelling the whole world.
- For his success, he gives credit to his brother Dr Shree Advani and coach Arvind Savur.
- He is the only person in the world, who won the billiards and snooker IBSF World Titles, along with World Professional Billiards Championship.
- He is eighteen times world champion of both world snooker and billiards.
