Despite sleeping sporadically all night as she was following her son Pankaj’s historic journey to the world professional billiards title in Leeds on internet, Kajal Advani left home early on Monday morning. She headed for the neighbourhood market and the two prominent items on the shopping list were palak and paneer.

“He is a simple boy with simple tastes. All he will ask for when he returns home will be palak paneer. He is mad about it and no celebration will be complete without his favourite vegetable on his plate,” she says. With the shopping out of the way, the topic changes to importance of the 2030-1253 win over the living legend of billiards, Mike Russell.

“I remember once Russell had said during one of his visits to Bangalore that he didn’t consider Pankaj a top-ranked professional player despite his heroics as an amateur. He said he felt Advani was among the top five but certainly not the top player,” Kajal told The Indian Express from her home in Bangalore. “When I heard that Pankaj beat Russell with a very comprehensive margin, it was very satisfying. Russell is a legend having won the professional crown nine times. It was like beating a lion in his own den,” she says.

‘He was nervous’

Kajal also speaks about the conversation she had with her 24-year-old son before the final. “He appeared nervous as he was playing Russell for the first time in a match but I knew my son is special. He has tremendous power of concentration and that proved he is one of the finest the game has ever seen,” said Mrs Advani as her son became the only Indian after Geet Sethi to win the professional billiards crown.

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