Sport - Billiards & Snooker

Hard-fought win for Advani

Wels( Austria): India’s Pankaj Advani and Welshman Darren Morgan both crafted hard-fought victories on the second day of the 2008 IBSF World snooker championship at the BRP-Rotax Hall here on Tuesday.

Of the other two Indians in the fray Manan Chandra won 4-2 against Austria’s Alexander Pitchler whilst Sourav Kothari scored an emphatic 4-0 win over Japan’s Yusuke Tanaka with breaks of 59 & 53.

Clearly, India’s challenge rests on the slender though very able shoulders of Advani, the winner of this title in 2003 in China and winner of the World billiards titles in 2005, 2007 and 2008.

On Tuesday night, he dug deep after trailing 1-2 and 2-3 to emerge the 4-3 winner against Frenchman Jean-Marc Beauchamp with an impeccably compiled break of 73 in the decider.

He was inconsistent throughout the match, unable to garner control over the cue ball. But somehow, at the crucial moments, he managed to discover the touch, which has made him such a deserving champion.

In much the same mould and perhaps more accomplished is the indefatigable Morgan. When he reached the semifinals of the fiercely competitive World professional snooker championship, he was labelled by many as a plodder or a good cueist without flair. However, what he has lacked in flair, he has made up with rock solid consistency and temperament.

He made one mistake against Cyprus’s Anthony Brabin when he went in-off the last red in the sixth frame whilst leading 3-2. Brabin smacked a long red and cleared the table with a 33 to force the decider. Morgan, displeased with the silly mistakes made earlier made amends with a timely 61 to win the match 4-3.

Manan was off to an explosive start with fluent runs of 51 & 59 in the opening and third frames respectively and led 3-0. But a lapse in concentration saw him losing the fourth (52-53) on the black and the fifth (47-84).

But Manan, who is known for his swashbuckling and adventurous style of play, comfortably won the sixth at 70-19.

Sourav is slowly but surely progressing unchallenged in this tournament. He won his second successive match with a 4-0 victory against Japan’s Tanaka. Performing with quiet confidence and utmost care, he constructed breaks of 59 & 53 in his 4-0 rout of the Japanese.

In the Masters event, Alok Kumar, who won 3-0 against Marcel Bera of Romania, now has two victories in as many matches. I won my opening match 3-1 against Hong Kong’s Leung Shing.

In the ladies event, Anuja Chandra scored an easy 3-0 win over Therese Weis of Austria.

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