Yasin Merchant Doubles Classic Snooker Tournament

Islam Gymkhana - Mumbai

14-21 February 2008

Indian Lions roar ON

Yasin Merchant of Indian Lions prepares for a pot against Junior Jacks

Indian Lions Yasin Merchant and Alok Kumar fashioned two consecutive wins to enjoy a rewarding day, in the inaugural Yasin Merchant Classic Invitation Snooker Doubles Tournament, organized by the Yasin Merchant Fan Club, at the Islam Gymkhana on Saturday.

Lions raced to a 5-0 win by clinching all the five frames against hapless Junior Jacks Rishabh Pandya and Hasan Badami in a Group 'A' tie, with Merchant sealing the win with a significant break of 64 in the final frame.

Lions earned six points for the effort, while Junior Jacks, who crashed to their first defeat in three matches, were nil.

Favourites in the group, Lions added four more points to their tally when they rallied from a 0-2 deficit to beat Action Jacksons Sarang Shroff and Kamal Chawla 3-2 in a thriller.

Jacksons, who suffered their second loss in three outings, surprised their accomplished opponents by snatching the opening two frames in tight finishes. But the vast experience of Merchant and Kumar came to the fore as they took it away by winning the last three frames in convincing fashion.

Favourites in the Group of Death, Young Turks Pankaj Advani and Manan Chandra registered their second win from as many ties, when they crushed Dynamic Duo Devendra Joshi and Ashok Shandilya 4-1 in Group 'B'.

Turks' fluent win was marked by Advani's breaks of 55 in the first, 96 in the third and 76 in the fourth frames. Turks earned an impressive 11 points, while Dynamic Duo earned one point.

Results: Group A:

Junior Jacks bt Steady Eddies 92-18, 73-8, 83-60, 66-41, 85-25

Indian Lions bt Action Jacksons 40-58, 56-66, 73-33, 76-47, 62-31

Indian Lions bt Junior Jacks 98-1, 66-43, 66-54, 74-9, 81-34.

Group B:

Young Turks bt Dynamic Duo 85-25, 18-49, 101-1, 83-1, 98-25

Sharp Shooters bt Southern Stars 77-32, 84-42, 71-64, 88-43, 62-53.
 

Report :: Don Monterio