Michael Ferreira is not a name modern sports fans are familiar with. But for those who are followers of billiards in the older days, he is more than just a name. He is an icon of the sport when it comes to billiards in India.
Known as the ‘Bombay Tiger’, Michael was one of the best billiards players in the world in the 1960s and 1970s. He excelled in an era before our players turned pro and the likes of Pankaj Advani and Geet Sethi carried on his legacy.
Michael’s first taste of success came when he won the Indian National Billiards Championship in 1960. He represented India in the 1964 World Amateur Billiards Championship. Michael made it to the semis on that occasion.
But it was in 1977 when Michael won his first world title. He would win it two more times. In 1978, he became the first amateur to break the barrier of 1,000 points, in the billiards national championships, and created a new amateur world record by scoring 1,149 points.
It was in college that Michael first took up the sport. It went on to become a career he loved. He received the Arjuna Award in 1971, Padma Shri in 1981 and Padma Bhushan in 1983. The Dronacharya Award followed in 2001.
He may have been forgotten but his contribution is no less.