Pankaj Advani clinches 11th National billiards title, 35th overall crown

Advani
responded
with
breaks
of
56
and
46
to
restore
parity
at
1-1
after
Sitwala’s
breaks
of
64
and
42
late
on
Monday
evening.

Sitwala,
displaying
excellent
in-offs,
pots
and
cannons,
surged
ahead
by
pocketing
the
third
game
with
a
sizeable
break
of
84.

He
was
on
course
to
even
wrest
the
fourth
game
after
he
compiled
a
wonderful
effort
of
101,
but
a
costly
lapse
by
him
gave
a
window
of
opportunity
to
Advani.

Composing
himself,
in
a
superb
rally
the
maestro
chalked
up
a
classy
break
of
127
to
snatch
the
game
and
draw
level
once
again
at
2-2.

Then
Advani
struck
a
purple
patch,
cajoling
and
nursing
the
balls
at
the
top
of
the
table
to
craft
identical
unfinished
breaks
of
150
in
the
fifth
and
sixth
games
to
run
up
a
crucial
4-2
games
lead.

Not
giving
up,
Sitwala
put
up
a
tremendous
show
of
skill,
patience
and
temperament
to
strike
a
break
of
134,
but
sadly,
when
in
prime
position
he
could
not
hold
the
balls
together
to
give
another
chance
to
Advani
after
a
sequence
of
safety
exchanges.

Advani
never
looked
back
after
that,
compiling
an
unfinished
148
break
to
take
the
game,
match
and
title.

“Dhruv
is
a
very
close
friend
of
mine,
we
share
all
the
sneak
peaks
of
our
lives.
To
be
honest,
it
is
never
easy
to
play
against
your
best
friend
in
the
finals
of
a
major
event
like
this.

“But,
after
the
snooker
failures,
this
victory
gives
me
a
sense
of
redemption,”
Advani
was
quoted
as
saying
in
a
media
statement
issued
here
on
Tuesday.

“The
National
Billiards
Championship
is
surely
a
tough
tournament
to
crack.
I’m
thrilled
and
grateful
to
lift
my
11th
Senior
Billiards
title,
it
is
also
my
35th
title
overall.
So,
I
am
more
than
happy
and
feeling
deeply
satisfied,”
Pankaj
signed
off.