Take a cue from this family

A regular family has a bunch of characteristics to it and cohesion is one of them. But it has rarely ever happened that two generations of the same family have played side by side in the same team. The Razmi family from Mazgaon have thrown their hats into the ring numerous times in cue sports.

Neville Razmi (40) and his sons Rayaan (14) and Shahyan (11) have been playing together since the last three years in various competitions around the city. The trio represents Radio Club which one of the clubs that started allowing players below 18 to take part. “I used to play billiards as a hobby and I still do but my children want to pursue it as a career. My elder son (Rayaan) used to come to the club to see me play and then he lifted the stick and got a hold of the game. Both of them are doing well at it, especially, Rayaan who has shined at national tournaments as well,” expressed Neville, who is a gym designer.

“It is like a family day out when we are playing. At least I like to think of it that way. We now each so well style of play, which is unique compared to other teams. Even though cue sports are played individually, we boost each other’s morale being,” he adds.

The one of its kind triad were also playing in the Otters Club Snooker League, which was organised by Billiards of Snooker Association of Mumbai. Although, their team crashed out Rayaan Razmi gave his best against JVPG ‘Jugglers’. Rayaan (+40) showed good form and rolled in a break of 44, which helped him to win the first frame defeating Krishna Saraf (+45) 110-59. But, Jugglers bounced back in style winning the next three to complete a 3-1 win. Rayaan for his fine efforts was picked as the winner of the ‘Player of the Match’ award. “He had put up a great performance but we could not compliment his game because of which we crashed out,” said Neville.

The St Mary’s ICSE School lad, Rayaan came into public eye in 2014 where the 11-year old Razmi was playing against people thrice his age. He was also Maharashtra number 3 last years. “I developed a liking for the game when I saw my father playing the game and I was motivated. I have participated in many tournaments where my competitors were twice or thrice of my age. It is intimidating but has not mattered much. I just stay focussed and I play my game,” said the 14-year old.

Rayaan is also juggling his academics while he is immersed in the game. Competing in the at the national level in the sub-junior category for the first time in 2017, he describes his experience, “The competition was tough from players from other states. I had the support of my brother (Shahyan) who also competed in the same competition with me. It became a little hard this year for me, as I will be giving my board exams. I am managing for now but I might have to pause the sporting activity for some time,” said the young cueist.