Former world billiards champion Manoj Kothari passes away at age of 67

Former world billiards champion Manoj Kothari passed away at the age of 67 after a major cardiac arrest at a hospital in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu.

• Former world billiards champion Manoj Kothari passed away at the age of 67 after a major cardiac arrest at a hospital in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu. Kothari had undergone a successful liver transplant 10 days earlier, but a few days ago he developed an infection in his lungs.
• Kothari won the world billiards championship title in 1990. He also won the state champion title a total of 16 times in his career.
• He won another major international title in 1997, when he won the World Doubles Billiards Championship, which underlined his versatility and longevity at the highest level.
• In 2005, he was awarded the Dhyanchand Award, which is India’s highest award for lifetime achievement in sports. He was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Billiards and Snooker Federation of India in 2025.

Former world billiards champion Manoj Kothari

• After his playing career, Kothari played a decisive role in shaping Indian cue sports as a coach and mentor.
• He worked as the chief coach of the Indian billiards team from 2011, a position he held for more than a decade, overseeing several world titles and guiding multiple generations of players in international competitions.
• His influence was most visible in the career of Sourabh, who grew up in a cue sports family. He won his first world title in 2018, won the world billiards title under the WBL banner, and then in 2025 won the IBSF World Billiards Championship title, defeating multiple-time world champion Pankaj Advani in the final.
• Sourabh of Kolkata has also won the Asian Billiards Championship, several national titles and medals at major international events. Together, they form the only father-son world champion duo in any sport.

History of the game of billiards

• Billiards began in the 1340s in France as a ground game, evolving from older ball-and-stick games. The French royal family, including Louis XI and Louis XIV, made it popular among the wealthy.
• With the rise of modern games, English billiards and carom games developed, leading to different styles.