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National Billiards & Snooker Championship 2008 - Indore
Yeshwant Club
Race Course Road - Indore - 452 003 - Madhya Pradesh
Pankaj Advani - Winner
Indian National Billiards Title 2008
By I.S. Malik
Pankaj Advani claims third 'Indian National' crown
By Pradeep Vijayakar
Advani does
it again!
By I.S. Malik
The Divine force loves its chosen ones but he loves the younger ones more. The Crown Prince of Indian billiards, Pankaj Advani has once again done it. Not only did he retain his national billiards title. He recorded a straight hat-trick of wins over the King of Indian billiards, Geet Sethi here at the Air conditioned spruced up billiards hall of the Yeshwant Club on Thursday evening reasserting his personal supremacy over the Maestro by five games to three in the best of nine games final that produced a spellbound aura on the packed gathering of spectators who were glued to each shot of the thrilling climax of the three balls game of billiards played here at the Yeshwant Club.
The Wonder boy of Indian billiards won yet again but the Monarch still has not
abdicated the throne. He need not. None of the two great worshippers of the
"green baize" deity had anything to lose on this day. In a perfect display of
the highest form of sporting standards that have so come to mark this exalted
game that it was another victory for billiards who was the actual victor on this
historic day.
True to his form, Geet was the one who set the tone for the proceedings with a fine break of 148 unfinished as Pankaj faltered first missing out when on a break of 88. Geet followed it up with another century break, this one a break of 102 before missing a sitter to offer the chance to Pankaj. Pouncing on the opening, Pankaj closed the second game with a break of 93 to make it 1-1.
The third and fourth games went in a ding dong way each player sharing equally to make the score stand at 2-2. A small interval and again the drama started. Geet was again on song as he piled point over point, coaxing and cajoling the balls all round the table interspersing it with the "floating white" method on the top of the table play for a crucial 3-2 lead and it looked as if Geet would finally break the two year jinx with Pankaj at home but it was not to be.
A fluent break of 143 mostly on the top of the table play executed in elegant style made it 3-3 and then an useful break of 76 in the seventh when Geet fumbled on a 96 break when he just needed 11 points at 139 gave Pankaj the breakthrough that he so vitally needed and he moved ahead to be 4-3 up in the exciting tie.
Yet it was his great finishing ability which he has shown so often that actually helped him pocket the tactically played eighth game with a flourish not that Geet did not get his chances . In reality Geet floundered on three occasions even missing out on a drop cannon, and a forcing red In-off at the top. Pankaj made most of the situation and acknowledging he was the steadier of the two on crunch situations to emerge the champion. The audience applauded in salutation to the young genius of Pankaj in a fitting tribute to the climax of the National Seniors billiards event of 2008.
Pankaj
Advani claims third 'Indian National' crown
By Pradeep
Vijayakar
Youth prevailed over experience as title holder Pankaj Advani won a ding dong battle against legend Geet Sethi by five games to three in the final of the 75th National Senior Billiards Championship, conducted by the MP Billiards and Snooker Association at the Yeshwant Club. It was ONGC player Advani's third title having won in 2005 in Mumbai at the Goregaon Sports Club and in 2007 at Hyderabad. Petroleum Board's Dhruv Sitwala won the third spot beating Railways' Ashok Shandilya 2-0. It was the first time Advani beat in the National final. Advani won both billiards and snooker crowns last year. He will defend the snooker crown which will be up for grabs next week. His arch-rival Yasin Merchant won't be there but the new pro, Aditya Mehta will be.
A delighted Advani said: "Both of us were under pressure. Since it was a battle
royale both would be expected to be nervous. I was for sure. But after I claimed
the second game with a 93 break after being behind with Geet having made a break
of 102. The 93 break came at an important juncture for being 0-2 down may have
been tough. I regained my composure. Still, it was a ding dong battle. In the
final game I hit early form to gain the upper hand which counted in the final
analysis."