LEENASH Padayachee of Parsons Vlei is the proud title holder of the Blackball South Africa Singles Champion for 2022/2023, his first national pool tournament after a five-year hiatus.
With his well-deserved title in hand, he is hoping to inspire more young people to get involved in the sport, and not feel put off by its negative association with alcohol since most pool tables are found in bars.
Since he began playing in 2007, Padayachee – who grew up in Malabar – has won many provincial titles but always wanted to compete in an international tournament.
In May he competed in Blackball South Africa, a national pool tournament which took place at Gold Reef City, hosted by Tsogo Sun.
After working hard throughout the seven-day Women and Seniors National Championships, he made his province proud when he was crowned as the Blackball South Africa Singles Champion for 2022/2023.
In addition to winning the singles championship, he also ranked second in the individual stats, allowing him to compete as a South African player.
Furthermore, he won the title for the most breaks and finishes and the title for the top provincial performer.
“I have attained multiple titles within the Eastern Cape, but this is the first time making the national team and the cherry on the cake was winning the singles championship,” said Padayachee.
He said he is thankful for the support he received from his wife Shanice, his daughters, Mayuri and Maiara, his teammates, family, friends, colleagues and supporters he met while competing in Blackball South Africa.
“I was truly humbled by all the words of encouragement and the cheering from all of those who supported me at the national tournament.
“All the cheering from the crowd is what pulled me over the line in the nailbiting final,” said Padayachee.
Now that he has participated in the national championships, he will participate in the Hawley Cup, an international pool tournament which will take place in October at Montecasino.
To encourage young people to participate in pool tournaments, he is hoping to remove the misconception that to play pool, players must drink alcohol.
“When people think about pool, they often associate the sport with alcohol, which is not wrong of them because most pool tables are at bars.
“However, I am hoping to change this misconception because even though most pool tables are located inside of bars, pool players do not have to drink alcohol to play the sport,” said Padayachee.
He said his main aim is therefore to remove misconceptions about playing pool and grow the sport in the Eastern Cape.
