10-year-old Maryland resident Tanvee Vallem to represent India in Junior World Pool Championship

The Hyderabad-born prodigy competed in the WPA World 10-ball Junior Championship in Austria last year.

Maryland resident Tanvee Vallem. / Courtesy Photo

Hyderabad-born, Maryland resident Tanvee Vallem is making both India and the United States proud on an international level. The 10-year-old is set to represent India in the WPA Junior World Pool Championship in Hamilton, New Zealand from Sept.2 to Sept.8.

Tanvee, already a seasoned competitor, made history as the youngest participant in the Predator World Junior 9-ball Championship in Puerto Rico in 2022 and also represented India in the WPA World 10-ball Junior Championship in Austria last year.

Living in Bethesda, Maryland, she is known for competing effortlessly against older players. She was the only Indian competitor in the U-17 category at the SVB Junior Open during the US Open Pool Championship in 2022.

She was introduced to pool by her father, Veeresh Vallem, when she was eight. She became a runner-up in the Connecticut State Junior U-18 Girls Championship, third in the U-14 Virginia State Junior Pool Championship, and third in the North Carolina State Junior Championship for U-14.

Tanvee idolizes American pool player Shane van Boening and trains under coach Roy Paster from the Billiards Education Foundation. She admires the strategic aspects of the game, likening it to chess, and focuses on winning and playing well rather than the age of her competitors.

Beyond pool, Tanvee holds a red belt in taekwondo and is learning Kuchipudi.