Overwhelming
response for MEGAPOOL All India Snooker Championship
The successful
completion of the maiden edition of the MEGAPOOL All India Open
Snooker Championship 2012, held in memory of Mukesh Rehani,-
national pool coach and a pro billiards player- has resulted in a
host of encouraging news for the cue sports community.
The tournament which was organized by
Delhi's players to honour Rehani's contribution to cue sports and
carry forward his legacy, will now be an annual affair with the
trophy being a rolling one. Moreover, in a bid to improve the
present state of affairs in the Capital city, the players came
together and unanimously formed the 'Delhi Cue Sports Association'
(affiliation awaited). They also collected and contributed Rs.2 Lakh
to the Rehani family at the conclusion of the tournament on
Saturday, where Arjuna awardee judoka Yashpal Solanki was the chief
guest. The total prize money for the tournament was Rs.1.5 Lakh
which included Rs.51,000 for the winner and Rs.21,000 for the
runner-up.
"The main purpose
of forming DCSA is to promote and encourage cue sports and back
promising talent. I was pained to see the dull state of affairs and
we decided to take action. I have been an active player for two
decades now and very well understand the needs of the players,"
said Vijay Goel, president of the DCSA.
In the very first year of the
tournament, the organizers received over 150 entries. With the
inaugural edition kicking off on a bright note, the coming editions
will get bigger and better. "The legacy of
Mukesh Rehani will continue. We created an ideal playing environment
where both the established players and upcoming ones could showcase
their skills. Next year, the tournament will be held on a bigger
scale. We plan to approach the sponsors and also increase the prize
money."
Like an icing on the cake, the
tournament witnessed an intense final on Saturday between junior
snooker champion, Laxman Rawat and Faisal Khan who won the Islam
Gymkhana-BSAM Open Snooker tournament in Mumbai earlier this year.
Khan, who was down 2-3 at the end of
first session, bounced back to beat Rawat 6-4 (68-10, 35-73, 68-41,
08-77, 51-80, 55-18, 62-32, 37-74, 67-42, 80-64).
"I think the fifth frame was very crucial. I
was leading but still lost and it kept playing on my mind in the
break as he led 3-2. I regained and came back strongly in the second
session. Laxman was in good form and had an outstanding tournament.
The idea was to keep him under control and the safety play worked."
Khan was ecstatic with the huge crowd
turnout. "The atmosphere was just fantastic.
The crowd support was amazing and I felt as if I was playing the
nationals. The hospitality was very good and I am already looking
forward to the second edition."
New Delhi
:: 08
September 2012
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