Geet Sethi Profile

Geet Siriram Sethi, generally known as Geet Sethi is an Indian Billiards Player, and arguably the All Time Best talent in the sport that India has ever seen. Having won 9 World Billiards titles to his credit, Geet dominated the game in the decade of 1990, making a great impact on the National as well as World Circuits in Billiards.

Early Life
He was born on the 17th of April 1961 at Delhi, and fell in love with the game when he was just a small kid, although he was not allowed to play the game at such a young age. Further, his family shifted from Delhi to Ahmedabad, and it was here that he got a chance to lay his hands upon the Billiards table. Recognizing his exceptional talent and interest in the game, the Managing Committee of the Gujarat Sports Club, Ahmedabad granted him permission to play the game at members� table, and Geet began his journey to the astronomical successes. At the Gujarat Sports Club, he met with Satish Menon, a very successful Billiards player of the time, and took vital tips and guidance from him. Geet received his education at St. Xavier�s School and St. Xavier�s College, Ahmedabad. Further, he finished his M.B.A. from the B.K. School of Management, and began working with Tata Oil Mills.

National Billiards
He entered the National Billiards Circuit in the year 1979 at the age of 18 years, and won both the Junior National Billiards Championship and Junior National Snooker Championship in the same year. At that time, the great players such as Michael Ferreira and Subhash Agrawal used to rule the arena of Indian Billiards, and very soon Geet came close to the legendry players. In the year 1982 he created a double in the National Billiards, when he won the Junior National Doubles Billiards Championship, and defeated Michael Ferreira to win the Senior National Billiards title. He won both the Indian National Billiards Championship and Indian National Snooker Championship for 4 years in a row in the years 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988. Sethi again won the Indian National Billiards Championship in the years 1997 and 2007, while he finished as a Runner Up in the Indian National Billiards Championship in the year 2008, and entered the Top-16 Round in the Indian National Snooker Championship the same year.

International Billiards
Geet Sethi made his debut into the arena of International Billiards and Snooker in the year 1984, and won the International Snooker Professional-cum-Amateur Championship in England & the International Billiards Amateur Championship in Windsor. Further he won the IBSF World Billiards Championship in 1985 and Asian Billiards Championship in 1986. Sethi won the IBSF World Billiards Championship again in 1987, and clinched the World Professional Billiards Championship title in the years 1992, 1993 and 1995. He finished as a Runner Up in the World Professional Billiards Championship 1996, and grabbed Double Gold Medal at the Bangkok Asian Games 1998, where he partnered with Ashok Shandilya in the Doubles event. The same year, he won the World Professional Billiards Championship and further emerged a winner at the IBSF World Billiards Championship 2001. At the IBSF World Billiards Championship 2002 he lost it in the Final Round. In the Busan Asian Games 2002 he won a Silver Medal in the Doubles event and a Bronze Medal in the Singles event. He finished as a Runner Up in the IBSF World Billiards Championship 2003 and 2005, and won the World Professional Billiards Championship in 2006. Geet also won the U.S.A. Senior Team Snooker Championship in partnership with Devendra Joshi and B.V.S. Moorthy. He won a Bronze Medal in the Doubles event at the Doha Asian Games 2006 in partnership with Ashok Shandilya. Sethi won the Irish Open Billiards Championship in 2007, and reached the Semi Final Round of the World Professional Billiards Championship in the same year. He won a Silver Medal at Indoor Asian Games English Billiards tournament, and reached the Semi Final round of the IBSF World Snooker (Master) Championship 2007. In the year 2008 Geet won the English Billiards Open Series held at Prestatyn, and finished as a Runner Up in the World Pro Billiards Championship held at Leeds. The same year, he lost in the Final Round of IBSF World Billiards Championship (Time Format) 2008 held at Bangalore. He finished as a Runner Up in the IBSF World Snooker (Masters) Championship 2008 held at Wels, Australia.

Awards & Honors
To commemorate his extra-ordinary skills as a sportsperson and his exceptional services to the nation, Geet Sethi was bestowed upon the Arjuna Award and the Padma Shri award in the year 1986. Further, he was honored with the K.K. Birla Award in 1993, and was conferred upon India�s highest sport award, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in the year 1992-93.