I. Lahiri claimed the junior girls' snooker title, getting the better of Saniya Arif 2-1(29-50, 66-14, 63-24) in the best-of-three frames final, at the Hash10-Nationals, here on Saturday.
Late on Friday, Ashutosh Padhy picked up the sub-junior boys' snooker title, defeating the more fancied Dhuvaj Haria 2-0 (59-42, 55-28).
Saniya struggled for control right through the match, but picked up the first frame 50-29 thanks in main to a series of fouls during a passage of play when Lahiri could not get the cue ball to the brown, thanks to the interposing blue. The second and third frames saw the resumption of normal service as Lahiri made her superior potting count, pocketing the title along the way.
Keerath third
The day also featured the inevitable Keerath-Varsha match-up, but this time, there was no title at stake. The match for the third-fourth places saw Keerath (who was at the receiving end of two of Varsha's three title wins) finally break the Karnataka girl's hold. Keerath prevailed with a straightforward 2-0 (60-39, 62-21) result.
The semifinals saw the Varsha-Keerath duopoly broken, with Lahiri and Saniya overcoming their more fancied opponents in three frames. Lahiri defeated Varsha after losing the first frame while Saniya got the better of Keerath in a closely fought decider.
On Friday, Ashutosh Padhy upset favourite Dhuvaj Haria 2-0 (59-42, 55-28) to take down the boys' sub-junior snooker title. Dhuvaj hadn't lost a frame coming into the final, but Ashutosh was in fine nick himself. The 14-year-old from Orissa gave notice of his form in the knock-out stages with two breaks of 50 and over during the semifinal and quarterfinal.
The final was a cautious affair, in which Ashutosh shaded the first frame 59-42. Dhuvaj, the winner of the sub-junior billiards title, couldn't turn the contest around as he went down 55-28 in the second frame.
Both Dhuvaj and Ashutosh were comfortable winners in their semifinal encounters. Nikhil Arya fell to Dhuvaj 2-0 (66-45, 78-13) while Ishpreet Singh did not put up much of a fight against Ashutosh, going down 2-0 (67-20, 72-8).
The results (Boys, sub-junior snooker):
Final (best-of-three frames): Ashutosh Padhy (Ori) bt Dhuvaj Haria (Guj) 2-0 (59-42, 55-28)
Third-fourth place play-off: Ishpreet Singh (Mah) bt Nikhil Arya (Har) 2-0 (67-20, 72-8). Semifinals: Dhuvaj bt Nikhil 2-0 (66-45, 78-13); Ashutosh bt Ishpreet 2-0 (55-12, 77-35). Quarterfinals : Dhuvaj bt Rohit Malhotra (WB) 2-0 (80-39, 55-27); Nikhil bt Jaiveer Dhingra (Mah) 2-0 (46-16, 62-26); Ashutosh bt Vikrant Kapoor (Pun) 2-0 (88-11, 68-44); Ishpreet bt Chirag Arora (Ori) 2-1 (55-20, 21-56, 75-46).
Girls (junior snooker):Final: I. Lahiri (AP) bt Saniya Arif (Chn) 2-1 (29-50, 66-14, 63-24). Third-fourth place playoff: Keerath Bhandaal (Del) bt Varsha Sanjeev 2-0 (60-39, 62-21). Semifinals: Lahiri bt Varsha 2-1 (58-59, 52-44, 56-7); Saniya bt Keerath 2-1 (12-33, 40-23, 38-31). Quarterfinals: Varsha bt Amee Kamani (MP) 2-0 (53-11, 60-50); Lahiri bt Arya Pimpale (Mah) 2-1 (87-51, 7-39, 66-34); Saniya bt Alankaru Prakash (Kar) 2-0 (52-10, 36-29); Keerath (bye).
