Sakyasen Mittra
Wrestling and cue ball sports – doesn’t really gel, do they? The crux of the matter however, is that they do as far as Gyana Ranjan Behera is concerned. The latest to join the Orissa Snooker Premier League (OSPL) bandwagon, Gyana as he is called by his friends is the owner of the recently-formed franchise Rising Kings team for the second edition of the tournament, which will be played in August.
Rising Kings do boast of quite a few big names as far as state-level snooker standard is concerned. Among the players are Ashutosh Padhy, Aakash Mohapatra, Anuj Panda, Rumeet Gupta, Sureet Singh and Khalid Sultan. Honestly speaking, Ashutosh and Aakash do not need any introduction to the lovers of the green baize in Orissa, but among the other four, Rumeet and Anuj are two of the most promising players to burst into the state scenario.
But then what prompted a man who loved to play with dirt and brawn venture into a ‘clean’ game like snooker. As he sips on to a cool glass of fresh lime juice, Gyana is quick to point that in every person is embedded a love for some form of sport.
“During my wrestling days, I also was a carrom addict. Snooker is quite similar to carrom and that is how I took up the game. And since then, there has been no looking back,” states Gyana. “Today, I am very passionate about the sport and I nurture ambitions of playing the nationals by representing the state team in future,” he adds.
Such is Gyana’s passion for the sport that he has set up the Golden Kings club in Cuttack close to the main Pantaloons outlet. At present, there are 60-70 players playing the sport there regularly on two tables. “We have just acquired a table on which the last national championships were played,” informs Gyana. “We also have options of setting up another table in the near future, should the numbers increase,” he points out.
The young man’s ideas are crystal clear. He wants to promote snooker all across the state. Cuttack may be the start of his ambitions, but certainly not the end. Subrat Das, who has been Orissa’s No. 1 cueist and have represented the state for a large number of years in national level tournaments, however is quick to point out that the sport needs enthusiasts like Gyana. “Only through people like him, can snooker and billiards survive in the state,” Subrat points out.
The development of the Golden Kings Club in Cuttack has prompted Subrat to moot the idea of increasing the number of state-ranking tournaments from next year. “Now, we have one in Bhubaneswar… the aim is to increase it to three. One tournament will be conducted in Bhubaneswar, one in Cuttack at the Golden Kings Club and the third at an-yet, undecided venue,” informs the man who has been working actively to promote cue sports in Orissa.
When asked whether the business side of the sport has prompted Gyana to venture into snooker, the man is the first to protest vehemently. “As a businessman, definitely I would like to recover my investments,” he states candidly. “But snooker comes first, if I see any talented player, I am ready to give him scope, opportunity and exposure. I will not think about financial gains to provide the facilities to the players. Even now, Aakash, Anuj and a couple of other players regularly train at the Golden Kings and they do it for free,” adds the man who has won quite a few medals in state and national-level wrestling meets.
But what happens if his side fails to win the OSPL. Would he then shy away from the ownership? Again a firm ‘no’ dispels doubts. “I’ve never thought on those lines. I want to remain associated with the sport as long as possible,” points out Gyana. “I’m a self-made man. I had to give up wrestling because of financial problems, but the passion for sport has not died. I will support snooker as long as I can,” adds the man who has spent three years at the Puri Sports Hostel with a smile of confidence sweeping across his face.
Snooker and billiards are gaining popularity in Orissa. Next year in OSPL we may have more teams, we are also planning to get some players from Bengal to play in the event as well. OSPL is certainly becoming the flagship event of cuesports in the state
subrat das
