Sometimes greatness begins in the most ordinary moments. For Anupama Ramachandran, it started in Chennai, on a warm summer afternoon when she was just 13. Her parents had signed her up for a casual cue sports workshop—something to keep her busy during vacation. She walked in without expectations and walked out with a spark that would shape the next decade of her life. The stillness of the snooker table, the soft clink of the balls, the quiet focus the game demanded—something in it spoke to her. While other kids moved on to the next hobby, Anupama felt as if she had finally found home on the green baize.
Coaches noticed it too. She had a stillness beyond her years, an instinctive understanding of angles, and a patience that many players take years to cultivate. What began as summer fun soon turned into daily practice sessions, long bus rides to training centres, and evenings spent chasing perfection one frame at a time. And it didn’t take long for results to show.
By her mid-teens, Anupama was already the “junior prodigy” everyone in Indian cue sports was talking about. She swept up national junior titles with quiet confidence, backing her talent with unshakable discipline. Her IBSF U-16 Championship win didn’t just add another medal to her shelf—it announced her arrival on the world stage. Suddenly, India had a young cueist who could trouble seasoned international players, and the world began to take notice.
But the path to greatness is rarely a straight line. For all her success, Anupama faced moments of heartbreak too. The IBSF U-21 World Championships tested her like nothing before. Two years in a row, she reached the final—only to fall agonisingly short. The losses hurt. She had trained for hours, sacrificed teenage freedoms, and dreamed of those trophies. Yet, standing on the verge of victory, she had watched them slip away.
But that’s the thing about Anupama—she doesn’t break. She rebuilds.
Instead of letting the defeats define her, she used them as fuel. She learned to manage pressure, to breathe through the tension, to trust herself when everything felt overwhelming. Those runner-up finishes didn’t weaken her—they fortified her.
Her most dramatic turning point arrived in 2023. At the National Snooker Championship, she found herself trailing 0–2 in the final. Many assumed the match was done. But Anupama wasn’t done. With her characteristic calm, she clawed her way back—one frame, one long pot, one safety battle at a time. When she finally sealed the 3–2 victory, she wasn’t just a national champion; she was a player reborn. India had a new star in the senior circuit, one who had both the talent and the temperament of a future great.
Then came the Asian Snooker Championship in 2024. Against the continent’s best, she played with a freedom that only comes from experience and self-belief. Her triumph there wasn’t merely a win—it was a statement. She was no longer just a promising youngster; she was ready to dominate the world.
And in November 2025, in Doha, she did exactly that.
The IBSF World Snooker Championship final against Ng On-yee was the kind of match that tests not just skill but nerve. At 2–2, with everything hanging on the final frame, Anupama stood over the last black—one shot away from history. She paused, steadied herself, and struck with complete conviction. The ball rolled in. The room erupted. India had its first woman world champion.
In that moment, the girl who once wandered into a summer workshop stepped into sporting immortality.
