Vidya Pillai Biography 
Vidya Pillai is a professional player of snooker from Tiruchirapally, Tamil Nadu. She is a recipient of the prestigious Ekalavya award in 2016 for outstanding performance in Sports. She is a recipient of several international championships in snooker and regarded as one of the best Woman Snooker players from India. In 2013 she won the Gold medal in the IBSF World Team Snooker Championship, and in 2016, Gold in the IBSF Australian Women’s Ranking Snooker Championship. She is the first Indian woman to reach the finals of the WLBSA World Women's Snooker Championship in 2017, though she couldn’t win it. She won silver for India. She is currently associated with Chennai Strikers team in the Indian Cue Masters League.
She hails from Tiruchirapally, Tamil Nadu, born on 26 November 1977. Her school and college education were completed from Chennai. She holds a degree in Visual Communication and also completed Post-Graduate Diploma in Communication and Management at the National Institute of Sales. She was introduced to soccer by former Indian cricketer Hemang Badani, and also drew inspirations from national billiards champion, TG Kamala Devi. Till Indian National Snooker Championship held in Indore in 2016, Vidya has already won the championship 9 times. She finished as runner-up during the seasons - 2006, 2009 and 2015. Indian National 6-Red Snooker Championship in 2013 & the Indian National 9-Ball Pool Championship in 2005 are other major wins in the national level.
She made her international debut at the 2007 IBSF World Snooker Championship, where she reached till quarter-finals. But later she sealed some of the major wins of her international career including - Gold medal in the IBSF World Team Snooker Championship in 2013, Gold in the IBSF Australian Women’s Ranking Snooker Championship in 2016, Gold in the IBSF Australian Open Women’s Snooker Championship in 2010, and many more. She has also won several international silver and bronze medals. Silver medal in the WLBSA World Women's Snooker Championship in 2017 is her most recent achievement.
Published: N/A
Updated: October 14, 2017
