Pankaj Advani has positioned himself for a sixth National billiards title. The defending champion and the top seed took control of the semifinal against Sourav Kothari right from the first game and raced to a 4-0 win in under two hours in the Manisha National billiards & snooker championship at the PYC Hindu Gymkhana here on Thursday.
Advani will met Balachandra Bhaskar in the title match; a repeat of last year's final at Chennai. Bhaskar, trailing 2-3, beat Alok Kumar in a seven-game thriller, taking the last two games with as many century breaks.
It's the 26-year-old's eighth entry into the final. He was precise and consistent against an opponent who had entered the semifinal for the first time.
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After an anxious quarterfinal against his PSPB teammate Rupesh Shah, the two-time gold medal winner at the Asian Games in Doha and Guangzhou, Advani carved out two half century breaks in the opening game, moved into top gear to notch a 114 in the second game and then proceeded to win the third and fourth with two half century breaks.
“The tables are quite fast. I have not played on these tables for some time. It's a challenge. It's difficult to control the balls when playing under pressure and against other seeded players.
“But this format (100 and 150 up format) is better; it makes a level playing field for all the players,'' said Advani.
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After a mentally draining quarterfinal that he won 4-3, Kothari was looking forward to compete against a champion player. “He did not leave anything for me when he left the table,'' said Kothari.
The results: Billiards (semifinals): Pankaj Advani (PSPB) beat Sourav Kothari (PSPB) 4-0 [151 (53, 81)-31, 150 (114)-106 (92), 151 (56)-81, 151 (85)-34].
B. Bhaskar (Kar) bt Alok Kumar (PSPB) 4-3 [150 (123)-30, 121 (102)-150 (102), 9-152 (113), 19 -151 (124), 151 (114)-118 (82), 150 (108)-103 (85)].