CCI Billiards Classic: Pankaj Advani sets the bar high with 529 break

Mumbai, March 28 (IANS) Reigning World Champion Pankaj Advani of India produced another master-class performance and hit peak form to construct a magnificent 529-point break, the highest in the tournament, as he cruised past seasoned compatriot Devendra Joshi by a convincing 1063-224 score in the second round Group-A league match of the All India CCI Billiards Classic 2024 here on Thursday.

The defending champion, Advani having registered his second win is assured of a place in the pre-quarterfinals played at Cricket Club of India’s (CCI) Wilson Jones billiards hall. Advani, India’s most decorated cueist with 27 World titles, again showed tremendous concentration levels and struck the ball with a high degree of precision. With clever and a calculated approach, he managed to stay at the table for long periods to build some humongous breaks.

Maestro of the green baize, Advani could have extended the break had he not missed the regulation pot of the red ball in the centre pocket. His other notable runs were 156, 69, 91 and 72, while Joshi managed a solitary break of 56.

Meanwhile, David Causier of England was also in prime form and constructed a sizable run of 301 and followed it with a mammoth effort of 465 to stroll past India’s Vishal Madan 1183-301 in a one-sided Group-C match on a side table.

Earlier, Indian National Champion Dhruv Sitwala recorded his second successive win, defeating Kamal Chawla 667-250 in the second-round Group-E league match. On an adjacent table, Mumbai challenger Rohan Jambusaria scored a stunning victory against former World champion Sourav Kothari of Kolkata by carving out a satisfying 520-403 success in a Group F encounter.

Meanwhile, Raayan Razmi also registered his second win as he got the better of Rovin D’Souza by a comfortable 820-234 victory in an all-Mumbai Group-A contest and on another table, Gujarat’s Dhvaj Haria compiled breaks of 189, 103, 176, 71 and 90 enroute to a fluent 894-276 win against Raajeev Sharma in Group-G match.

Last year’s runner-up Rob Hall of England played steadily and easily defeated CCI cueist Nishant Dossa 644-293 in a Group-B match. The Englishman did not bring out his best but still managed to roll in breaks of 77, 82, 57, 57, 89 and 95.

The left-handed India number one Sitwala, who was not at his best, enjoyed a marginal lead initially. But he suddenly produced a solid 220 break at the halfway stage which helped him seize a sizable lead. Thereafter he continued to maintain the momentum and with breaks of 83, 83, 56 and 82 went on to close out the contest and assure a place in the pre-quarterfinals.

In a battle between former World Champions, Rupesh Shah managed to overcome Ashok Shanidlya by a close 473-362 margin in a low-scoring Group-B match.

In other matches, S. Shrikrishna, a former Junior National champion, defeated Mumbai’s Akshay Gogri 947-302 in a Group-E clash and seasoned Punjab cueist Alok Kumar rallied to record a fighting win against Mumbai’s Rushabh Kumar snatching a tight 437-412 victory in a closely fought Group-F encounter.

Results:

Group-A: Raayan Razmi beat Rovin D'Souza 820-234; Pankaj Advani beat Devendra Joshi 1063-224.

Group-B: Rupesh Shah beat Ashok Shandilya 473-362; Rob Hall beat Nishant Dossa 644-293.

Group-C: David Causier (UK) beat Vishal Madan 1183-301.

Group-D: S. Shrikrishna beat Akshay Gogri 947-302.

Group-E: Dhruv Sitwala beat Kamal Chawla 667-250.

Group-F: Alok Kumar beat Rishabh Kumar 437-412; Rohan Jambusaria beat Sourav Kothari 520-403.

Group-G: Peter Sheehan (UK) beat Loukic Pathare 871-461; Dhvaj Haria beat Raajeev Sharma 894-276.

Group-H: Arun Agrawal beat Chris Taylor 413-368; Siddharth Parikh beat Kanishk Jhanjharia 715-254.

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