The Hindu : Sport : Advani keeps his slate clean

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 24, 2004

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Sport

Advani keeps his slate clean

By Michael Ferreira

EINDHOVEN (HOLLAND), NOV. 23. Defending champion Pankaj Advani managed to keep his slate clean in the IBSF World snooker championship beating Switzerland's Thomas Fischer 4-2 in a Group F match. However, the manner in which he achieved his win was hardly in keeping with the position he holds in international snooker. Empirical evidence suggests that players rarely perform at a consistently high standard in the league phase of any major championship, the more so when the league consists of as many as 10 matches.

However true that may be, it is now time for the young man to change to a higher gear and play with more intensity in his remaining matches, especially against the likes of Yannick Poulain of France and Xiao Goudong, yet another teenager in the phalanx of highly talented Chinese prodigies.

Compatriot Rafath Habib did his bit to keep India's flag flying with morale-boosting 4-0 win over Egypt's Ahmed El Kokiry, though the lack of sizeable breaks from him is a concern.

In the late night session on Monday, Manan Chandra found David Lilley (England), his chief opponent in Group C, to hot to handle and went down 1-4. A tentative frame of mind is a strict no-no against a player who has been twice English amateur champion and former runner-up in the world championship, but unfortunately, that was exactly how Manan approached this crucial match.

Lilley storms back

Manan took the undistinguished first frame 58-40, but Lilley stormed back with a 63 to take the second. Manan had the first opportunity in the third, but an opening rich with promise ended with an effort of just 20. Lilley immediately negated the lead and eventually secured the frame with a 32 clearance. The fourth followed the same pattern and once again an easy opening to Manan ended on a break of 25. That was enough for the Englishman to ramp up the pressure, a wonderfully constructed 100 taking him 3-1 ahead.

Manan established an early lead with a 39 in the fifth and did well to win the frame despite Lilley threatening to pinch it on the colours. Hopes that the Delhi youngster could draw force the decider were belied as his failure to capitalize on several chances in the sixth allowed Lilley to win the match without further difficulty.

It almost seemed that Pankaj was sleepwalking in the first frame of his match and with his opponent much in the same mood, the match lurched from one absurdity to another till finally the Swiss won the frame 47-15. Pankaj recovered somewhat to win the second 72-28 and posted a smooth 52 en route to winning the third. With Pankaj slipping back into mediocrity, however, Fischer squeaked through the fourth on the pink. That setback galvanized the champion into unleashing runs of 48 and a 68 clearance in the fifth and smaller efforts in the sixth to win a match that can be described as patchy at best.

A morning session match between reigning European champion Mark Allen and the in-form Pakistan number one Khurram Agha that was expected to be a cracker ended rather like a damp squib, with the fiery Irish southpaw breezing through 4-2. The 17-year-old Allen's break-building, his speed around the table and supremely confident body language are a delight to behold. Both these players in Alok Kumar's group, and with others like Thailand's Supoj Saenla and Bahrain's Habib Subah lurking in the shadows, the Indian national champion is in for some torrid sessions in the near future.

Tense for Advani

Earlier, on Monday Pankaj Advani, pitted against UAE champion Mohammed Joker in a vital Group F match survived a tense match.

His compatriot Rafath Habib was not so fortunate, losing 1-4 against Dutchman Rene van Rijsbergen in a Group E match.

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