144 Players from 42 Nations Set for Commonwealth Cue Sports Championships in Ahmedabad

The opening ceremony will be held on Wednesday, with competitive action scheduled from October 8 to 10.

The four-day championships will feature 72 men and 72 women competing across five disciplines: English Billiards, Snooker, 10-Ball Pool, Heyball and Blackball. Players from around 42 Commonwealth nations are expected to take part.

Organised by Apex Sports Promotion and hosted by the Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI), the event is being held with the endorsement of the World Confederation of Billiards Sports (WCBS) and Commonwealth Sport. It will feature 10 medal events and marks the first time the multi-discipline Commonwealth Cue Sports Championships are being staged in India.

India enters the competition with confidence after collecting five medals at the inaugural championships in Mauritius in 2025.

Defending Commonwealth Women's Heyball champion Vidya Pillai, men's Heyball silver medallist Shivam Arora and women's 10-Ball Pool silver medallist Chitra Magimairaj will lead the Indian challenge as they look to add to their medal hauls on home soil.

They will face a strong international field featuring several established names, including England's Kelly Fisher and Rebecca Kenna, South Africa's Craig Bouwer, Malaysia's Lim Kok Leong and Wales' Darren Morgan.

Mubarak Al-Khayarin, Vice President of the WCBS, said bringing leading cue sports players from across the Commonwealth together would provide an important platform for high-level competition and further strengthen international connections within the sport.

Grieta Steenkamp, a WCBS Board Member, said the organisation was pleased to support the championships in India and highlighted the event's role in creating opportunities for athletes, strengthening sporting relationships and expanding the global reach of cue sports.

The championships are set to feature four days of competition involving established champions, emerging players and India's leading cue sports athletes, all competing for Commonwealth honours.

The pre-event press conference was attended by WCBS Vice President Mubarak Al-Khayarin, WCBS Board Member Grieta Steenkamp, WCBS Anti-Doping Director James Leacy, BSFI President S. Balasubramaniam, BSFI Secretary Sunil Bajaj, Gujarat Snooker and Billiard Association President Abhishek Shah and Apex Sports CEO and founder and Indian cue sports player Shivam Arora, among other representatives from the cue sports fraternity.