Double delight for Advani 

Mumbai, Aug 20: Pankaj Advani of ONGC has clinched a grand double at the Western India Billiards and Snooker Championships 2024, showcasing his dominance in cue sports. Advani emerged victorious in the senior snooker category, adding to his earlier win in the billiards final.

Advani, a seasoned player with 27 world titles to his name, displayed remarkable resilience in a grueling seven-hour final against Kamal Chawla from Railways. The match, held at the Khar Gymkhana billiards hall, concluded with Advani securing a 6-4 victory. The final frame scores were as follows: 11-72, 31-58, 95-40, 52-42, 69-43, 43-74, 22-59, 75-62, 84-58, and 58-10.

Earlier in the day, Advani had triumphed over S. Shrikrishna in the billiards final, continuing his impressive streak of seven consecutive titles—four in snooker and three in billiards—achieved in Mumbai over the past two years.

The final match between Advani and Chawla was marked by a cautious approach from both players. Despite their reputation, the performance was underwhelming, with few substantial breaks and slow frame completion times. Advani managed breaks of 69 in the third frame and 55 in the eighth frame, while Chawla had breaks of 51 and 38 in the initial frames, followed by 61 and 40 in the sixth and eighth frames respectively.

In the semifinals, Chawla overcame S. Shrikrishna of BPCL with a score of 5-2, featuring frame scores of 119-18, 41-46, 51-60, 82-39, 73-0, 86-20, and 62-40. Meanwhile, Advani advanced past Faisal Khan of Railways with a 5-1 win, with frame scores of 131-0, 85-43, 82-53, 58-41, 59-83, and 70-35.

Advani’s victory at the Western India Championships underscores his continued excellence and formidable presence in the world of billiards and snooker.