Pankaj Advani of Bengaluru beat back a spirited fight from Mumbai’s Ishpreet Singh Chadha, the lone Indian playing on the professional circuit, by a 10-8 scoreline in a thrilling final of the All India Snooker Open on Friday.
The best-of-19 frame final between the country’s most accomplished cueists witnessed some tense and exciting moments and plenty to cheer for the large number of cue sports enthusiasts who had filled the Baulkline Arena to watch the high-voltage action.
Ishpreet started on a winning note as he seized a chance to roll in a break of 67 to take the first frame and lead 1-0.
Advani, after losing the opening frame came roaring back, firing in four successive heavy breaks of 79, 82, 73 and 86, as he dominated the first 5-frame session to grab the initiative with a 4-1 lead.
Ishpreet returned a transformed man after the break and knocked in a fluent 133 and 53 to bridge the gap to 3-4.
But, the cue sports genius Advani, who holds 27 world titles and multiple national titles, replied with a smart 141 to equal the record for the highest break with Vijay Nichani, who had compiled that break in the qualifying phase.
Advani went on to win the ninth frame to increase the lead to 6-3.
The former national 15-red and 6-red champion, Ishpreet, playing like a true fighter fought back by pocketing four of the next five frames to take the lead for only the second time in the match and go into the third short interval with his nose ahead at 8-7.
The snooker professional rattled in breaks of 68 and 116 before constructing the tournament highest break of 144 and the 21st in the competition.
Ishpreet was in complete control as he potted with precision and picked the perfect shots to polish the balls from the table for a total clearance.
Advani with a tactical and calculated approach meticulously won the next three frames to clinch a satisfying victory and make winning debut.
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