About Amee
The Beginning
Amee Kamani was born in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. In her early years, she was interested in Table Tennis, it remained her sporting focus from the age of 7 until the age of 17. However, despite her successes, the lack of support and opportunities led her to gradually lose interest in the sport. She felt she might never reach the echelon of sports this way.
Meanwhile, she used to play pool as a recreational sport. Guided by natural curiosity and the suggestion of her friends, she tried out other cue sports and eventually took up Snooker. In 2011, Amee started practicing at the Madhya Pradesh Snooker, Billiards Academy in Indore.
Early Years
At her first national tournament in 2011, she made it to the quarter-finals. In 2013, she ranked third at the Indian women’s 6-reds championship. In 2014 at the Women’s National Snooker Championship, she secured third place. All this while, she tried to maintain a balance between snooker and studies.
Later in 2014, in partnership with Vidya Pillai she made it to the semi-final of IBSF’s Team Snooker Championship in Egypt. At the 2014 Australian Open, held in Sydney, Amee won all of her matches right up to the final, where competed against Jessica Woods. The contest was fierce with Woods taking a 3-0 lead, but Amee won the next two frames to mount a comeback. She eventually lost 4-2, leaving Sydney with a Silver medal in her kitty.
And thus began her terrific run at the top which continues till date.
The Journey
Over the years she has had many thrilling contests, her heroics inspiring a generation of women Snooker players.
As of January 2023, she is the Indian No 1 in Snooker rankings and India No 1 in Billiards. She was awarded the MP State’s highest Sports honour Vikram Award in 2015, She has been nominated four times by BSFI for the Arjuna award. BSFI even nominated her for the prestigious Padma Shri in 2021.
Amee was part of “Women’s Team Asia” which won at the World Team Trophy event in Paris in March 2019. This was a prestigious event to bring Snooker into the Olympic games and Amee was the only Snooker representative from Asia. In 2018, she became the first Indian woman player to be an Asian Snooker Champion. Her national record over the years is in itself a milestone.
With a long career left ahead, she continues to be a leading benchmark for women in cue sports. From a little girl who lost interest in her chosen sport, and worked hard to balance her studies and sports career, to being a trailblazer for Indian women in Cue sports, it has been a remarkable journey. And we look forward to her glorious achievements in the years to come.
