Advani triumphs

Indian ace Pankaj Advani routed his PSPB team-mate Dhruv Sitwala 5-0 in a flawless display of potting en route to his seventh Senior National Billiards crown at the Bengal Rowing Club, here on Saturday.

The holder of 12 world titles in various categories faced some resistance in the first and fourth frames but mostly, it was one-way traffic as the Bangalore man posted successive breaks of 150 and 153 for a clean sweep.

“I was feeling on top of the world after posting back to back 150s because it does not happen very often. I’m extremely happy to produce my best game in the final,” Advani said after annexing his first national billiards title since 2012.

“Those two 150s in the second and third frames really put the match away from him. It would have been a totally different game had he won the first frame.”

Sitwala’s best came in the fourth frame when he posted a break of 81 but Advani was a notch better as he scored 150 with ease before sealing the issue in the fifth with finesse.

“It’s the first tournament of the year. I’m happy with the way it unfolded for me. I had a few tough games in the knockout stages, I’m extremely happy to come all the way and qualify for international tournaments.”

Advani also felt happy for his friend Sitwala to emerge second in the country.
“He has snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in the previous round and performed extremely well under pressure. I’m happy to see him back where he belongs — in the top of the rankings.”

The 29-year-old will now look to make a fourth double, and first since 2009, by winning the snooker event, which gets underway on January 20.
Result: Pankaj Advani bt Dhruv Sitwala 150-0; (55, 80)-28, 150 (150)-0, 153 (153)-0, 150 (82, 61)-81 (81), 153 (50,103).