World snooker qualifiers: Advani, Mehta record two successive wins

The top three Indian snooker players, National champion Aditya Mehta, runner-up Pankaj Advani and losing semi-finalist Laxman Rawat, are on a roll as they registered successive victories in their respective first two round-robin ‘Y Camp (1st leg) matches of World Snooker Qualifiers, a BSFI National Selection Tournament here.

Mehta, Advani, and Rawat are representing Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB).

India No. 1 one Mehta started in a rousing manner as he uncorked a break of 94 in the first frame and went on to outshine Neeraj Kumar (RSPB) 4-0 (114(94)-14, 60-53, 67-22, 61-09) in his opening best-of-7-frame match late Sunday night.

In the second encounter, the lanky Mumbai-based Mehta faced some resistance from Telegana's Himanshu Jain before managing to script a tight 4-3 win to complete his second success on Monday afternoon.


The 35-year-old Mehta produced another impressive performance and rolled in efforts of 53 (1st frame) and 72 (6th frame) as he rallied to clinch a tough 108(53)-14, 39-69, 97-34, 26-66, 55-68, 72(72)-8 and 59-46 victory.

Advani, India's most illustrious cueist and owner of 24 World crowns across disciplines and formats scored his first win defeating Himanshu Jain 4-2 (91-17, 67-73, 66-61, 37-68, 101-36, 83-06). The 36-year-old Advani, who recently won the Asian Snooker Championship, produced another solid performance and compiled breaks of 51 and 70 in the second and third frames to waltz past Neeraj Kumar 4-0 (77-40, 117(54)-00, 83(70)-13 and 59-46).

Meanwhile, PSPB teammate Laxman Rawat, the youngest of the three, was equally impressive as he demolished compatriot Dhvaj Haria (PSPB) 4-1 (74-00, 116(54,58)-00, 63-00, 14-61, 71-00) in the first round encounter. Later on Monday, the 29-year-old Laxman called the shots against Railways' Pushpender Singh and charged to a 4-2 (44-59, 86(67)-42, 65-64, 10-77(50), 79-8, 76(61)-53) victory.


Results - Men (Y-camp - 1st leg): Pankaj Advani (PSPB) beat Neeraj Kumar (RSPB) 4-0 (77-40, 117(54)-00, 83(70)-13, 59-46); Laxman Rawat (PSPB) beat Pushpender Singh (RSPB) 4-2 (44-59, 86(67)-42, 65-64, 10-77(50), 79-8, 76(61)-53); Aditya Mehta (PSPB) beat Himanshu Jain (TEL) 4-3 (108(53)-14, 39-69, 97-34, 26-66, 55-68, 72(72)-8, 59-46).
On Sunday night: Aditya Mehta (PSPB) beat Neeraj Kumar (RSPB) 4-0 (114(94)-14, 60-53, 67-22, 61-09); Pankaj Advani (PSPB) beat Himanshu Jain (TEL) 4-2 (91-17, 67-73, 66-61, 37-68, 101-36, 83-06); Laxman Rawat (PSPB) beat Dhvaj Haria (PSPB) 4-1 (74-00, 116(54,58)-00, 63-00, 14-61, 71-00).

Women - (Y-camp - 1st leg): Amee Kamani (MP) beat Anupama Ramachandran (TN) 3-2 (64-35, 38-47, 84-16, 17-71, 62-15); Vidya Pillai (KTK) beat Arantxa Sanchis (MAH) 3-1 (60-25, 28-48, 58-46, 58-9); Varsha Sanjeev (TN) beat Chitra Magaimaraj (KTK) 3-1 (20-64, 46-40, 52-32, 65-30 - IANS