Pankaj Advani unleashed his best in the climax in billiards to clasp India's first gold in the Asian Games here on Sunday.
In a dramatic final, in which his opponent Oo Oo Nay Thway of Myanmar had bridged the gap to be teasingly close to him, Advani came up with an unfinished break of 36 from 64-45 to clinch a thriller and the gold along with it, at the Asian Games Town Gymnasium.
This was triumph of spirit, as Advani had to battle alarming swings in form, and the spells of strong play by his opponent. It was unbridled joy as Advani punched the air in delight at accomplishing his goal of defending the precious gold.
“It feels really great. This is like an Olympic gold for me,” said the 25-year-old Advani, after recording a nerve-wracking 33-100, 100-61, 12-101, 101-4, 100-45 victory in the billiards singles final.
Advani had won the title in the last edition in Doha, and that had happened to be India's second gold medal then, in an eventual collection of 10.
Erratic play
Attributing his erratic play to the pressure of the situation, Advani said that he missed so many in the final, but conceded that finals tended to be like that.
“I would rather play badly and win, than play well and lose,” he said, stressing in the same breathe that he was desperate to win the crown again this time, “by hook or crook.”
With his opponent playing very well and taking a 2-1 lead, Advani had to fight it out, and he did it with an unfinished break of 67 to clinch the fourth frame. He led 64-17 in the fifth before his opponent caught up.
“I wish I could scan my head and remove all the clutter,” said Advani, conceding that it was a lot of confusion and emotions in his thoughts, that often stopped him from playing at his best.
Though he has won both the billiards and snooker world championship titles, Advani said that the Asian Games gold meant the world to him.
“This makes up for everything,” said Advani, who had allowed three titles to elude his grip this season in the international arena.
Oo Oo Nay Thway said that he would cherish the silver, as he had worked very hard for it, training long hours every day.
Tired opponent
Without taking anything away from Advani's efficiency at the crunch, Oo Oo Nay Thway pointed out that he was tired after a hard-fought victory against Peter Gilchrist of Singapore in the semifinals.
“The final began too soon for me. I rested only five minutes without eating lunch, which made me feel really tired during the final,” he said.
Advani, who himself does not get much to eat in any case for being a vegetarian, and survives mostly on packed food from home, had earlier beaten another player from Myanmar 3-2 in the semifinals, but had raced to a strong finish then, without dropping a point in the fifth frame.
Unlike last time, when he could get selected only in billiards, Advani will have the advantage of going for a second medal this time. He will compete in the individual snooker competition from November 18.
The results: Final: Pankaj Advani bt Oo Oo Nay Thway (Mya) 33-100, 100-61, 12-101, 101-4, 100-45. Semifinals: Pankaj Advani bt Oo Oo Kyaw (Mya) 100-28, 0-100, 100-77, 11-100, 101-0; Oo Oo Nay Thway bt Peter Gilchrist (Sin) 102-39, 101-71, 93-100, 43-100, 102-4.
