caution - Times of India

THE TIMES OF INDIA, BANGALORE TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 2010

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TIMES SPORT

Advani pulls out the magic to quell Damani challenge Syed Asif

R Satya | TNN

Bangalore: The buzz that the new format has created since the start of the tournament may have been missing in the final, but Bangalore sensation Pankaj Advani proved that he indeed is a big-match player, no matter what the format. There may not be much to choose between the top snooker players in the country, but what separates him from the rest is his temperament. Advani hardly gets perturbed — or at least he doesn’t show it — and uses his cue like a magic wand to wriggle out of tight spots. He had to do it once again in the final of the inaugural OB Agrawal Memorial 6-red snooker

SNOOKER 6-RED NATIONALS FINAL

National Championship at the KSBA Hall here on Monday. Pushed to the brink by a resurgent Brijesh Damani, the 24-year-old uncorked another of his specials to annex the title with an 8-7 verdict in front of his adoring fans. That very nearly didn’t happen when the challenger, who was playing his first-ever final at the Nationals, ran up a 7-6 lead. Down and seemingly out for the count in the best-of-15-frame final, Advani had to come up with something special, and quickly at that. He did precisely that and the big gathering lapped up everything that the little champion had to offer. Damani tried to keep Advani tight by resorting to safety behind the yellow. But there was one red, near the pink cushion, that Advani could pocket. In a format where even small errors can mean a difference between a victory and defeat, most thought that Advani would resort to safety play. But the reigning National snooker (15-red) and bil-

Mixing business with pleasure For those Indian cue sports hopefuls who haven’t decided on their holiday, the BSFI has more or less planned one for you. Monsoon rain and the golden sandy beaches of Goa in May-end or June first week is not a bad place for mixing

CHAMPION STUFF: Pankaj Advani poses with the Om Agarwal trophy after his hard-fought win over Brijesh Damani in the final of the 6-Red Snooker Nationals at the KSBA Hall in Bangalore on Monday

liards champion went for broke, taking the red to the top left-hand pocket en route to a brilliant 39 clearance under pressure and take the match into the decider. The thunderous applause from the huge gathering nearly brought the new structure down. Then in the decider, Advani showcased his safety play mastery. When Damani went in-off, the

business with pleasure. The second selection camp (men’s billiards and snooker and women’s 6-red) for the Asian Games will be held in Goa in late May or early June, confirmed Billiards and Snooker Federation of India vicepresident Bala. “The third and fourth camps, back-to-back, will be held in Bangalore in July,” he

Bangalorean sank a long red to the top right but lost position on the black. He then snookered the challenger behind the green. After two fouls, Damani removed the snooker but ended up selling a red to the centre pocket. Advani came up with a break of 16 — the last red wobbled at the jaw before disappearing during that break — and resorted to safety play again.

BAULKLINE R SATYA

added. The first camp begins in KSBA on Tuesday.

World billiards likely in Kolkata: If everything goes according to plan, India will get to host another World bash besides the IBSF 6-red

By then, it was all over bar the shouting. Up 33-0 and with only the colours on, Damani needed two snookers. When he missed the green and went in-off and turned to offer his congratulations, the crowd went delirious with joy. The champion pumped his fists in celebration at winning a treble at the Nationals. For the record, the Bangalore ace is also

snooker Worlds in the already packed calendar this season. “The IBSF World Billiards Championships is likely to be held in Kolkata later this year, but we are awaiting confirmation,” said Bala. “They (Kolkata) have asked for two weeks’ time,” he added. In the event of Kolkata backing out, the 2010 World billiards may go the

A ATIMES FFondon

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the holder of the World Professional billiards, the IBSF World billiards (time and format) and the Asian billiards titles. “It is really satisfying to win and no better place to do it than in front of your home crowd,” said an elated Advani. “This is my 20th National title and I’m catching up with the age,” said the 24-year-old in jest. “He kept the pressure on and I thought it was all over when I was down 6-7, but I hung in there and played the crucial points well to emerge triumphant,” he added. “I had no pressure going into the final,” said Damani, the Asian Indoor Games team gold medal winner. “This match has given me a lot of confidence, hopefully I’ll go the distance next time,” said the vanquished, the only one to take the champion the distance. At one point though, it didn’t seem as if the match will be an extended affair as Advani took a 4-1 lead early on. Damani came up with a 69 clearance in the sixth frame to pull one back and Advani took the next with a 25 clearance, but Damani returned after a 15-minute break to take four frames on the trot. Although Advani leveled at 6-6, Damani came up with runs of 38 and 27 to take a 7-6 lead and push the champion on to the backfoot. Advani replied in the only way he could to keep his unbeaten record in the nationals for the fourth year running.

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Results: Final: Pankaj Advani (PSPB) bt Brijesh Damani (WB) 8-7 (25-54, 51 (38) -0, 43 (34) -9, 60 (60 cl) -1, 29-5, 0-69 (69 cl), 36-33, 30-38, 31-35, 8-33, 6-48 (43), 4719, 11-65, 48-2, 33-2). Third place play-off: Kamal Chawla (Rlys) bt Manan Chandra (Del) 4-3 (40-36, 0-42, 16-45, 42-18, 42-26, 0-45 (45), 51-18). Final standings: Pankaj Advani 1; Brijesh Damani 2; Kamal Chawla 3; Manan Chandra 4; Rafath Habib (Rlys) 5; Sundeep Gulati (Del) 6; IH Manudev (Kar) 7; Divya Sharma (Har) 8.

2009 way — a no-show. Bangalore, however, is confirmed as hosts for the inaugural IBSF 6-red Snooker World Championship, the dates for which are yet to be confirmed. Another major international event to be held in India this year is the Asian Billiards Championship and the Asian U-21 Snooker coming up next month at Indore.

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