Bhopal, Nov 29 (IANS): Multiple-time world champion and winner of the World 6-Red snooker crown, Pankaj Advani of Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB), survived a scare from qualifier Santosh R of Karnataka before snatching a tight 4-3 win in a first-round match in Men's 6-Red Snooker section of the 88th National Billiards & Snooker Championship 2021 and being played at the Sage University Campus, on Monday.
In ladies' first-round encounters, Madhya Pradesh's cueists Amee Kamani and Ishika Shah smoothly rolled into the second round. Amee got the better of Tamil Na'u's Neena Praveen winning 4-1 (49-10, 34-01, 22-45, 14-37, 37-01). Ishika created a major sensation defeating Karnataka's seasoned Chitra Maghimairaj also in five frames coasting to a 4-1 (13-34, 57-12, 56-12, 25-11).
Indi's ace cueist Advani, owner of 24 world titles, produced a late flourish against his Karnataka rival and went on to carve out a tense 27-28, 39-00, 42-28, 45-00, 00-45, 08-35, and 66-00 win to advance to the second round.
A satisfied Advani said after the match, "The 6-Red snooker format is unpredictable just like T20 cricket. Any move can change the whole turn of the game. I am happy to win a closely fought match against Santosh with whom I practice occasionally in Bengaluru. It was a neck-and-neck contest and I am aiming to improve my performance for the upcoming matches in the Nationals".
In one of the most exciting matches, Maharashtra's Kreish Gurbaxani rallied from the brink of defeat to turn the tables on Karnataka's ML Lakshman snatching a creditable 4-3 (14-42, 08-64(64), 00-41, 38-08, 62-04, 40-21, 41-08) victory.
Results: Snooker 6-Red - Ladies' 1st round: Rewanna Uma Devi (KAR) beat Pooja Galundia (RAJ) 49-17, 28-38, 17-21, 38-32, 48-38; Varsha Sanjeev (Kar) beat Renu Barkatiya (MP) 33-19, 41-29, 09-22, 49-02; Ishika Shah (MP) beat Chitra Maghimairaj (KAR) 13-34, 57-12, 56-12, 25-11; Amee Kamani (MP) beat Neena Praveen (TN) 49-10, 34-01, 22-45, 14-37, 37-01; Vidya Pillai (KAR) beat Suman Chavan (MAH) 71-01, 54-13, 69(53)-13.
Men's 1st round: Pushpinder Singh (RSPB) beat Dilip Kumar (RSPB) 21-34, 27-29, 43-32, 53-01, 44-18, 24-34, 44-00; Rahul Sachdev (MAH) beat Mushtaq Khan (TEL) 31-32, 58-08, 38-18, 50-00, 56-08; Pankaj Advani (PSPB) beat Santosh R. (KAR) 27-28, 39-00, 42-28, 45-00, 00-45(45), 08-35, 66-00; Sourav Kothari (PSPB) beat Shahbaz Adil Khan (PSPB) 13-40, 39-07, 32-07, 13-49, 43-10, 23-22; Kreish Gurbaxani (MAH) beat M.L. Lakshman (KAR) 14-42, 08-64(64), 00-41, 38-08, 62-04, 40-21, 41-08; Ishpreet Singh Chadha (MAH) beat Taaha Khan (MAH) 26-04, 62-09, 58-01, 53-11.