Doha, April 15 (IANS): The holder of 15 world titles across billiards and snooker, India's star Pankaj Advani will aim to capture his elusive Asian Snooker Championship that begins on Saturday.

Advani, who is the top seed here after ending as the finalist in 2015, is focused solely on ending on top.

"This may be my only Kryptonite, that elusive trophy that I now demand. With the only record I don't hold, this tournament always has an extremely special place in my heart -- for all the right reasons, because this truly will be a joy to win!," Advani said in a release.

With practice during the last week hindered by a strained back and neck causing his absence at the Petroleum tournament, Pankaj is hoping that the physiotherapist prescribed bed rest also plays the role of reset post his quarter-final exit at the Asian Billiards Championship earlier this year.

A finalist in the previous year, after losing to Pakistani Hamza Akbar in a closely contested match 6-7, Pankaj was the first to admit that the challenge of winning the Asian title for the first time would be tough, yet extremely exciting. 

"This is my first snooker tournament of the year and as the only cueist who plays both billiards and snooker over the last five years now, it is still often not the smoothest transition. 

"Getting into the mind-space for snooker has required a mental transition over the last one month, which I consciously have worked on. Every competition in all formats of the sport has always presented its own challenges and competition and it's the excitement in conquering those challenges that keeps me going." concluded Advani.