Pankaj Advani wins the 6-Red final.
As simple as the statement sounds, the final match of the Phoenix Serene Spaces National 6-Red snooker tournament here on Saturday, wasn’t. Not, at least, till the seventh frame.
Kamal Chawla had run Advani close — three frames each — and had his opponent in a spot of bother down 37 points. But the tide turned thereon. “Yes, that was the turning point, Advani said.
“I was 37 points down and needed a snooker, potted the red and got the black. Then I gave him a tight snooker behind the blue and a sort of a clever shot when I took the pink out, because I needed the pink as well for the clearance. He faltered and gave me a chance with the yellow, and I think that clearance made the difference. And once you go 4-3 up rather than 3-4 down, the body language changes.”
And once Advani got into his rhythm, he accelerated and was all finesse and grace as he closed out the match at 7-3.
Chawla had started off well with a stupendous break of 65, clearing the table like someone foraging for food in the refrigerator, leaving nothing for Advani to do, but watch. Advani returned the favour in the very next frame. Both displaying fine skills, be it with potting or safety play, kept pace with each other till the match-turning seventh frame.
This is Advani’s 30th National title. And, like he said, “after a stage, numbers don’t matter. The idea is to improve and realise your potential.”
In the women’s category, Amee Kamani defended her title rather easily, sailing past Vidya Pillai 4-1 in the final. After losing the first frame Amee came out all guns blazing to clinch the title.
The results: Men: Final: Pankaj Advani bt Kamal Chawla 7-3 [0-65(65), 66-5, 0-66(45), 40-9, 71-0, 1-50, 42-37, 70(70)-0, 41(41)-1, 49-14].
Semifinals: Chawla bt Akshay Kumar 6-5 [48-00, 09-48, 15-53, 04-34, 37-40, 62(61)-00, 40-17, 19-52, 68(68)-00, 38-13, 33-13]; Advani bt Sourav Kothari 6-2 [28-40, 49-00, 09-39, 41-17, 57-47, 38-15, 47(44)-08, 48-21].
Women: Final: Amee Kamani bt Vidya Pillai 4-1 [24-29, 49-28, 58-0, 45-32, 34-0].
Final standings: 1. Amee Kamani, 2. Vidya Pillai, 3. R. Umadevi, 4. Sunita Damani.