India’s Ishpreet Singh Chadha says he is now settled into life on the World Snooker Tour at his Sheffield base and is ready to mount an assault on the business end of events.
Singh Chadha plays at the Ding Junhui Snooker Academy and practises regularly with next week’s World Open opponent Yuan Sijun. The pair head out to Yushan to clash in the ranking event, which returns after five years off the calendar.
The Mumbai cueman admits it has taken time to adapt to life in the UK, but he has taken great confidence from scoring wins over the likes of World Champion Luca Brecel and 2015 Crucible king Stuart Bingham.
We caught up with Singh Chadha to look ahead to next week’s World Open…
Ishpreet, where do you feel your form is going into the last couple of months of the season?
“I feel as if I’ve found my footing after a few months on the tour and I think my form is coming now as well. I’m feeling really good. I hope this World Open can be a breakthrough and of course the World Championship as well. I’m looking forward to next season already. I want to go deep into events now.”
How much have you taken from those big wins over Luca Brecel and Stuart Bingham this season?
“Wins over them help your confidence. Beating former and current World Champions gives you a boost. I need to keep the momentum going. I want to see how I can do when the pressure is really on by getting to the quarter-finals and beyond. That is the main goal so hopefully I will be at the deep end of tournaments very soon.”
You gave up a career as a professional gamer to try to become a professional snooker player. Looking back do you think you made the right decision?
“It was one of the best decisions I’ve made to play Q School. It is such a wonderful feeling playing on the tour with all of the professionals and especially the top 16 ranked players. It is great playing at such a high level. I’m happy to be competing with these players and improving at the same time. It was one of the best decisions to just focus on snooker and move forward with that.”
How are you settling in to life in Sheffield?
“I think the first month was a honeymoon period. After that I really struggled for two or three months. I lost a lot of qualifiers in that period. Then in around December things came together and I feel like since then I’ve got used to life in the UK. I think this makes me more dangerous for the snooker ahead and next season to come. I feel really comfortable living in the UK now.”
What are your thoughts ahead of facing Yuan Sijun at the World Open in Yushan next week?
“I’m looking forward to competing in China. Asian countries have been great hosts for the snooker tour. I know the Indian Open was great and all of the Chinese events. The way the players are treated and the enthusiasm of the fans makes it a really special feeling. The arenas are amazing in China so I’m really looking forward to the World Open.
“It is going to be a tough match. We play against each other a lot when practising at Ding’s academy. We both really know what to expect from each other. In an actual match it can go either way and it comes down to who is better on the day. It should be a good game. It will be a tough match and although we know each other’s tendencies you can never really know what will happen in a game.”