Yasin Merchant Doubles Classic Snooker Tournament

Islam Gymkhana - Mumbai

14-21 February 2008

Geet Sethi plays the ladies of Snooker

Geet Sethi in action against Ladies duo Chitra & Vidya at inaugural Yasin Merchant Classic Double

It was a new experience for cue sports legend Geet Sethi at the Yasin Merchant Doubles Classic which got under way at the Islam Gymkhana on Thursday. Partnered by rising star Aditya Mehta, Sethi played for the first time against India's women international cue players, Vidya Pillai and Chitra Magimairaj. The ladies, named Southern Stars, having a handicap of 28 points, caused a stir when they pocketed the first frame against the Towering Titans. But that was as far as they could go for the young-old combine found their bearings and closed out the next four frames to win 4-1. They ended up with a 5-1 score the extra point coming for a break of 50-plus, Sethi hitting a 60 in the fifth.

Action Jacksons (Sarang Shroff/Kamal Chawla) won the opener 4-1 against Cool Cats (Lucky Vatnani/Amit Saboo) and got an extra point through Kamal Chawla's 53 break.

Chennai's Vidya Pillai is a three-time and current national snooker champ and one-time 9-Ball Pool champ. Karnataka's Chitra is the 2007 World Billiards champ. When Vidya potted two blacks and had small runs, the lead, added to the 28-point handicap, became sizeable and they won 68-53. Said Sethi: "They put us under pressure, they outscored us. Vidya's potting was better. After the frame Aditya told me `We must play tight', which we did, to prevail.'' Geet's only previous playing experience against females when he played against 1995 Women's World snooker champ Karen Corr in New Delhi some years ago.

Aditya, who has just been employed by Indian Oil along with Shravan Mohta, said: "It was scary, the handicap can be unnerving." What did the ladies feel playing against the men, especially Geet Sethi? "It's just that names are different," said Vidya Pillai, adding: "My turn to play was after Sethi. He kept things tight. Plus, Aditya was following me, so I had to keep it tight, it was tough."

Chitra said: "One learnt top-class saftey play from this match. Also that when one decides to to go for a break one must forget about `ifs' and `buts', just play your shots."

Report :: Pradeep Vijayakar