Pankaj Advani got the job done in his campaign opener at the IBSF World snooker championship here on Wednesday, but it did not come easy.
Pitted against Malaysia’s Moh Keen Ho, Advani cruised to pocket the first two frames, before a mid-match stutter dented the scoreline to a close 71-34, 85-0, 25-62, 46-58, 67-19, 69-44 victory.
Things began to go awry in the third frame, when Ho — the 2005 Asian under-21 champion — nestled the perfect snook behind the yellow. The bunched reds were gathered at the other end of the table, and it took three attempts from Advani to make contact.
The favourite slipped to a 12-28 deficit at this stage, and Ho pressed home the advantage to first pocket two blues to get into position, before rattling off a 46-break to win the frame.
A few uncharacteristic errors from the Indian meant that Ho took the next frame to level the match, and the possibility of an upset seemed real. Advani, who later admitted to losing focus after the second frame, then snapped back to life to cross the finish line.
“I made a few elementary safety errors. It was a tough opening match; I’m happy to take a win,” Advani said.
Highly-rated Chinese teenager Yan Bingtao faced fewer hurdles in his group opener, getting past Sweden’s Jim Johansson 95-26, 22-85, 70-7, 71-10, 89-1.
The match witnessed precision pots and jarring mistakes in equal measure, but it was Bingtao — the second-ranked under-21 player in his country — who made a mark.
On a few occasions, Bingtao delighted with his pinpoint manoeuvre of the cue ball right across the table. A favourable result on the next shot was a foregone conclusion even before he took his stance.
In the women’s section, Indian challengers Vidya Pillai and Chitra Magimairaj posted wins. Vidya was not at her best, but it was enough to defeat Russia’s Anastasija Singurindi 49-40, 54-41, 71-33. Chitra, on the other hand, had less trouble going past Philippines’ Floriza Andal 60-29, 65-24, 72-17.
Compatriots Judy Walia and R. Umadevi Nagaraj, however, could not get over the hill. Given that each player will play another five group matches, early setbacks hardly signifies the end of the road.
The results (Detailed frame score only for Indians): Men: Amir Sarkhosh (Ira) bt Nick Jennings (Eng) 4-3; Alan Whitfield (Can) bt Tetsuya Kuwata (Jpn) 4-2.
Robert Murphy (Ire) bt Cader Mohammed (Mau) 4-0; Thor Chaun Leong (Mas) bt Mohsen Bukshaisha (Qat) 4-2; Antonis Poullus (Cyp) bt Mohamed Khairy (Egy) 4-2; Jurian Heusdens (Bel) bt Gary Thomson (Sco) 4-3; Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn (Tha) bt Hamza Akbar (Pak) 4-3; Hatem Yaseen (Egy) bt Vinicius da Silva Fucuta (Bra) 4-0.
Rahul Ajay Sachdev (Ind) w/o Mohammad Rais Senzahi (Afg); Yan Bingtao (Chn) bt Jim Johansson (Swe) 4-1; Karam Fatima (Syr) bt Wael Talaat (Egy) 4-1; Kamal Chawla (Ind) bt Shahbaaz Adil (Ind) 46-75, 71-14, 76-26, 82-52, 56-73, 67-71, 87-43; Michael Collumb (Sco) bt Ivan Kakovsky (Rus) 4-1; Lam Sanderson (Eng) bt Gareth Allen (Wal) 4-2; Ali Alobaidli (Qat) bt Farhad Sayfoo (Mau) 4-1; Fabio Anderson Luerson (Bra) bt Divya Sharma (Ind) 25-64, 55-38, 39-60, 69-5, 50-26, 69-4; Pankaj Advani (Ind) bt Moh Keen Ho (Mal) 71-34, 85-0, 25-62, 46-58, 67-19, 69-44.
Women: Waratthanun Surkrithanes (Tha) bt R. Umadevi Nagaraj (Ind) 67-6, 70-23, 64-5; Neena Praveen (Ind) bt Ip Wan In Jaique (HK) 57-41, 56-26, 49-36; Wendy Jans (Bel) bt Claudia Zardo Cordeiro (Bra) 3-0; Siraphat Chitchomnart (Tha) bt Arantxa Sanchis (Ind) 66-12, 55-62, 79-44, 39-70, 67-29.
Anastasia Nechaeva (Rus) bt Akram Mohammadi Amini (Irn) 3-0; Ammee Kamani (Ind) bt Kerry De Pardines (Aus) 70-14, 71-20, 46-61, 66-16; Ng On Yee (HK) bt Sue Martin (Aus) 3-0.
Neeta Sanghvi (Ind) bt Nicola Illse Rossouw (RSA) 8-52, 57-51, 44-36, 51-41; Vidya Pillai (Ind) bt Anastasija Singurindi (Rus) 49-40, 54-41, 71-33; Meenal Thakur (Ind) bt Carmelita Yumito (Bra) 60-17, 83-39, 64-28; Ka Kai Wan (HK) bt Bussanich Suzanne (Aus) 3-1; Chitra Magimairaj (Ind) bt Floriza Andal (Phi) 60-29, 65-24, 72-17; Siripaporn Nuanthakhamjan (Thai) bt Judy Walia (Ind) 61-34, 74-3, 53-20; Jessica Woods (Aus) bt Madeleine Jeanne Young (RSA) 3-0.
