Former world billiards champion Manoj Kothari died this morning at the age of 67, following a massive cardiac arrest at a hospital in Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu. Kothari had a successful liver transplant 10 days ago, but he got a lung infection a few days back.

Kothari had won the world billiards championship title back in 1990. He also secured the State Champion title a total of 16 times during his career. In 2005, he was conferred with the Dhyan Chand Award, India’s highest award for lifetime achievement in sports and games. He was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Billiards and Snooker Federation of India in 2025.