From a summer workshop to scaling new heights

Anupama Ramachandran is on a roll winning many snooker and billiards tournaments while juggling a post graduate programme at MOP Vaishnav College for Women in Chennai

Twenty-two-year-old Anupama Ramachandran has a busy calendar this month. She is leaving for the World Women’s Snooker Ranking Tournament in Belgium that begins this week, followed by Asian Championship in Doha from February 17.

The post graduate student of public policy at MOP Vaishnav College for Women is on a roll, winning medals in snooker and billiards. She recently won gold in the National Women’s Snooker Championship (senior category) 2024-2025 in Indore; silver in the National 6-Red Women’s Snooker Championship 2024-2025, and another silver in the National Billiards Women’s Championship 2024-2025.

Interest in billiards started during a summer workshop at the Mylapore Club when Anupama was 13. Since the age of 15 she has been playing competitive snooker.

Last year, in Chennai, she won the National Billiards Championship. “One of my best moments was when I won the Women’s Snooker World Cup in Bangkok in 2023,” says Anupama, an alumnae of Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School.

Her inspirations come from billiards and snooker players like Mark Antony Selby, Ronnie O’Sullivan, and Judd Trump.

Her training routine varies. “I usually train solo for a couple of hours. I work on my skills and techniques when I play at home. In the afternoons, I practice at the Madras Cricket Club for 4 to 5 hours. Then, I practise at the Tamil Nadu Billiards and Snooker Association in Mandaveli, with other players,” says Anupama, who is a Mission International Medals Scheme (MIMS) awardee. The scheme provides financial assistance to sportspersons in Tamil Nadu. She also trains with her uncle K. Narayanan, a sports performance specialist.

“In the last couple of years, there has been an improvement in the standards of competition, and the game has improved among women in India and globally. I am playing the game at a time like this, and doing well is a blessing. There are many medal winners from India, both men and women. If they are recognised and promoted, the game will gain more popularity,” she adds.