India's Asian Games Legends: Geet Sethi

Geet Sethi has continued to influence the sport through his foundation Olympics Gold Quest which provides for most of India’s top athletes — but before this highly successful venture, Sethi swept all before him in the world of billiards. Winning an eight-hour long marathon IBSF World Amateur Billiards Championship final in 1985 (vs Bob Marshall) brought him great prominence and he continued to dominate the competitive circuit, which involved two bronze medals, two silvers medals and a gold spread across three Asian Games (1998, 2002, 2006). [caption id=“attachment_1715659” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Following his exploits at the Asian Games and on the world circuit, Sethi has also made a considerable change in Indian sport through Olympic Gold Quest. AFP[/caption] The Khel Ratna winner, Arjuna Awardee and Padma Shri can probably be credited for fuelling the fame of cue sports in the country — his legacy carried forward by Pankaj Advani (10 world titles in both billiards and snooker) and Aditya Mehta (one of the world’s most prominent snooker players). Following his exploits at the Asian Games and on the world circuit, Sethi has also made a considerable change in Indian sport through Olympic Gold Quest. “Sports in India is ruled and governed by people who are there for years, for 10 years, 20 years, 30 years. And they are massaging their own egos really, not really caring for the well-being of the athletes, who are there to get us the medals. And I think that, for a long time, was a big problem,” he believes.