GET YOURSELF TO THE GYMKHANA

Back in the UK, a gymkhana generally means some kind of equestrian event in accepted use.         But the term is originally an Indian one meaning ‘place of assembly’, and if you want to get the cue out and have a game of snooker in Mumbai you might well end up at either the Bombay Gymkhana or the Hindu Gymkhana clubs, which also boast other sporting and leisure facilities. With these at the upmarket end of the spectrum and India battling to rid snooker of an elitist image in the country, there are also ‘snooker parlours’ in many of the larger cities operated more on a pay as you play basis, but those in the Mumbai region have been affected by problems with licences, something the BSFI is urgently addressing.

BOND SHAKEN BUT NOT STIRRED

The effects of all the travel undertaken by the professional players, particularly the way it affects sleep and eating patterns, can be easy to overlook in the modern game. Even before the opening ceremony dinner former World Championship finalist Nigel Bond admitted he felt unwell having arrived in the small hours and not eaten or slept well, and was briefly taken ill during the evening. Happily a medical check-up revealed nothing seriously wrong, and the 49-year-old Bond from Darley Dale recovered well to get through his wild-card round match 4-2 against Faisal Khan the following day.

SELBY DRIVES WOOLLASTON JUNIOR TO FINAL

It is almost de rigeur for sports stars these days to make sure their family and young children get to share in their greatest moments and finals, and the BetVictor Welsh Open was no exception for Ben Woollaston, who was making his debut in a major showpiece.

Half an hour before the final against John Higgins Woollaston’s two-year-old son Edward was racing around the players’ lounge and adjacent media centre. In a great show of civic support fellow Leicester player (as well as the small matter of being world champion and world No1) Mark Selby gallantly offered to drive Edward and Ben’s  mum Joy to Cardiff from home, and so was there in person to support his friend. Ben’s wife Tatiana was of course already in town having been refereeing at the tournament.

What with Willie Thorne on duty for the BBC the East Midlands city certainly could not complain about being under-represented at the Motorpoint Arena on Sunday.

WHERE WAS THE WESTERN MAIL?

There were a few raised eyebrows at the lack of coverage from the Media Wales group in the early days of the BetVictor Welsh Open in Cardiff.

The publishing group, operating the Western Mail and South Wales Echo as well as Wales on Sunday newspapers, was actually the official media partner for World Snooker at the ranking event on its return to the Cardiff and the Motorpoint Arena following 10 years in Newport.

The Newport paper, the South Wales Argus, even after losing the event still had a representative on site more often than not with plenty of Welsh interest in the early rounds, and former winner Mark Williams and Matthew Stevens still standing by the last-16 stage. Williams was still there for the final weekend.

But during the first four days of the event there was practically no coverage at all in the Media Wales titles, including no mention of Carmarthen’s Stevens’ first win over defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan for 12 years - and no reporting presence in the media centre.

Glancing through the sports pages there was plenty of coverage of the ice hockey – and even skittles. World Snooker could be forgiven for banging their heads against the nearest brick wall. After years of seeing many good snooker stories dismissed out of hand, we know how they feel.

CHILD'S PLAY FOR WILSON

Kyren Wilson was still in a happy daze walking around Cardiff on Monday night, after a Sunday he won’t be forgetting in a hurry.

The 23-year-old from Northamptonshire saw son and first child Finley Kyren Wilson born at around 7am last Sunday – and then dashed north to Barnsley for a China Open qualifier, beating Matthew Day 5-3 to clinch a trip to Beijing.

World No59 Wilson, one of the sport’s rising stars, admitted: “I just don’t want to be away from him for a second and keep looking at his picture on my phone. Obviously I would have stayed with Sophie if he had been born later but when he arrived in the morning she told me to go to Barnsley and play the qualifier, so winning it topped off an amazing day.”

RUSSIAN ROULETTE SEES REF LUISE PUT ON MASTERCLASS

There was a cuesports first for Inside Snooker in Berlin, where the chance arose to have a go at Russian Pyramid (also known as Russian billiards or Russian pool), a game still found in the city owing to the historical links with the former Soviet Union.

Featuring 15 numbered white balls and a ‘cue’ ball, and played on varying table sizes (this one was the full 12ft by 6ft) the notable features compared to snooker on the same size surface area are the larger balls and much tighter pockets, with literally a couple of millimetres to spare for the ball to go in. The jaws of the centre pockets also make it very challenging to get anything down from much of an angle.

There were probably weren’t any better informed people to be playing with than official table fitter Pete Godwin, who may not have potted too many but was able to quote off the top of his head the size of the larger, heavier balls at 2 and 11/16 inches.

But the undoubted star of the show was snooker referee Luise Kraatz. The Nuremberg official put on a masterclass and while everyone else was struggling to have any success even from a couple of inches waltzed round the table potting them off the lampshades.