World under-21 championship from tomorrow

By Our Sports Reporter

BANGALORE, AUG. 11. The Karnataka State Billiards Association (KSBA) is spruced to host the Kheladi.com 12th World under-21 snooker championship, from August 13 to 26.

And the certificate of appreciation came from none other than the International Billiards and Snooker Federation, General Secretary-cum-Treasurer, Ms Gloria Ruane from Ireland, who said ``although I have been to many an under-21 championships, the infrastructure at the KSBA, alongwith the practice facilities, is the best. Hope there are many century breaks in the championship``.

KSBA under the stewardship of its President, Mr. S. Balasubramaniam and secretary Subahu Desai - have left no stone unturned to ensure that the mega event is a success.

KSBA has had the privilege of hosting both the World under-21 championships to be staged in India, the last one in 1991, a stage in which a sensation called Ronnie O'Sullivan of England came to the fore.

And pitching in its mite is none other than former World Champion and India's flag-bearer in many an international - Geet Sethi through his newly introduced portal - Kheladi.com. Speaking to the press, Geet lauded the rising standards of the amateurs all over and India in particular and said ``that the gap between the professionals and amateurs is closing out which augurs well for the sport''.

And as a die-hard patriot hoped for an Indian to emerge champion in the fortnight long championship.

The championship by all means is a path breaking event. Sixty players from 22 countries will vie for the honours - the tag of a World champion besides 40% of the total prize money of œ 6000.

The Indian challenge led by National champion Rishab Thukral, Manan Chandra - semifinalists in the last edition at Egypt, and Bangalore's own Pankaj Advani cannot be discounted.

The other Indians in the fray are Jaswinder Singh, Mahesh Jagdale, Kamal Chawla, Sohail Jairaj, Harit D. Parikh and Ritesh Shah. Barring Egypt, which is expected on the morrow, the rest of the contingents have been trooping in since Thursday, in batches.

The sixty players have been divided into eight groups. While Groups A,B, C and D each have eight players, E, F, G and H will have seven each figuring in the round robin league, which will extend upto August 20.

The toppers from each group will then face off in the quarterfinals to be played after a rest day on August 21. The semifinals are slated for August 24 and 25 with the best of 21 frames final scheduled for August 26.

The event which starts at 11 a.m on August 13, after a formal inauguration at 6.30 p.m on Saturday, (August 12), will be played on eight imported tables at the renovated air conditioned KSBA hall.

Provisions for four imported tables have been provided in the air-conditioned practice hall. The main hall has a seating capacity for about 400 spectators.

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