Geet ready to compose another masterpiece

MUMBAI: A focussed mind. To survive and succeed in the forest of professionalism, be it sport or any other walk of life, this is a prime requisite. And more so, when it concerns the games of the green baize, billiards in particular.
The man who epitomises this mind-overmatter control is billiards champ Geet Sethi.
There is an old saying that St Peter, the good guy up there, and Old Nick, the Biblical beast below, are meticulous in keeping track of even the most trivial of happenings on this planet.
But even they would be the first to admit that keeping track of Geet Sethi''s achievements is a mind-blowing task.
Sethi has come a long way from being undisputed world amateur champion almost two decades ago to professional ruler of world billiards until a few years back when he had added four pro titles to the two amateurs won earlier.
And then, he lost his way. "I did lose focus," admitted Sethi. "The burden of running my business forced me to stop practising as much as I used to. I would go into the big games without practice and would use the league stages of the various tournaments to get into a groove. But that made me vulnerable."
But now, Pete and Nick are in for yet another round of Sethi watching.
Virtually written off by all and sundry following a discernible slump in his performances since his last pro win in 1998, the suave Sethi seems to have rekindled that fire within.
He has set the 2003 World championships, to be played in Hyderabad from November 17 to 23, as the stage for that revival.
"It''s just that I realise that I can still play the game at the highest level," said the modest Sethi. "I just asked myself, ‘Why am I abusing it?''. I believe I am now totally focussed and ready for another shot at regaining the title."
Sethi''s plans are crystal clear — go to Hyderabad fully prepared. To achieve that end, he started practising about three weeks ago in all earnestness.
From an initial couple of hours at the table and a daily five-km walk down Marine Drive in the evenings, the build-up has been good.
Today, Sethi practises five hours at the table — three hours with a sparring partner and two hours of solo play.
Sethi still holds the world record of a 1276-break in the time-frame format.
But he believes that the 150-up format as well as the baulk-line crossing rule, which will be in place at Hyderabad, is not really a hindrance.
"I might not be as proficient as Mike Russell (current World champion) with this rule but I''m not uncomfortable with it," he said.
"The 150-up is a great leveller." Russell has decided to give this Worlds a miss. But Sethi refuses to get into any debate. "I am a strong contender. I guess I am about two weeks away from peaking," he said.
"It would be foolish for me to say that I will win for sure. But if I do lose this time, it will not be for want of practice or purpose."
Pro World title no. 5 for Sethi? Hush, hush, it could well be.