The Hindu : Anuja back on top

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Dec 21, 2002

Sport

Sport - Billiards & Snooker

Anuja back on top

By Kirti Patil

JAMMU DEC. 20. Anuja Thakur is back in the top league. Showing imperious match-character Anuja regained the women's National billiards title with a 4-0 verdict over defending champion R. Uma Devi of Karnataka, at the Hari Niwas Palace here on Friday.

Potting red from the top table, Anuja essayed an unfinished break of 22 in the fourth frame and scripted a 51-17, 50-2, 51-43, 51-4 win.

On the side table, her sister Meenal scored a consolation 3-0 win against T.V. Sridevi of Karnataka in the play-off for third place.

Anuja, the champion in the 2001 Chennai Nationals, played a composed game and put pressure on Uma right from the start. For Anuja, it was a grudge match. She was ousted by Uma in the quarterfinal stage in the Ahmedabad Nationals.

Among Indian women billiards players, not many are good at making canons. The canon is a potent weapon to record big breaks.

Anuja thrived on this very formula. She made canons whenever possible and even had a few difficult ones coming her way.

In the first frame, Anuja had a break of 12 in the sixth visit, while on other visits she kept adding crucial points.

Uma, on the other hand, doled out many away points as difficult ball positions cost her dearly. With her confidence getting the needed boost, Anuja went for the kill in the second frame.

She was going strong with a break of nine on her second visit, but missed an easy red pot. Uma was even more erratic and could hardly add any points to her tally. At 23-2, Anuja went about scripting an unfinished break of 27 to take a 2-0 lead.

For the first time in the match, Uma had a lead of 18-8 and an attempted canon failed. Anuja lapped up the opportunity and posted a break of 25 to make a match of the contest.

In the play-off for the third place, Meenal avoided the mistakes she had made against her younger sister in the semifinals earlier in the day. T.V. Sridevi, semifinalist in the last Nationals, failed to get her shots going against Meenal.

It was only in the first frame that Sridevi could provide any resistance, but that was all.

The results:

Final: Anuja Thakur (Mah) bt R. Uma Devi (Kar) 51-17, 50-2, 51-43, 51-4.

Play-off for third place: Meenal Thakur (Mah) bt T.V. Sridevi (Kar) 50-29, 51-4, 51-10.

Semifinals: Uma Devi bt Sridevi 12-50, 53-16, 50-31, 52-22; Anuja bt Meenal 50-43, 50-8, 51-26.

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