The Hindu : Sport / Billiards & Snooker : Shandilya and Sethi top groups

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 24, 2005

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Sport - Billiards & Snooker

Shandilya and Sethi top groups

By Avinash Nair

PUNE, FEB. 23. Ashok Shandilya did a houdini while Geet Sethi showed his class to top Group C and A respectively as the competition picked momentum in the Idea Cellular-sponsored 4th Asian Billiards Championship at the PYC Hindu Gymkhana Convention Hall here today.

With the top two from each of the three groups making the quarterfinal grade there was a lot at stake in the final round of the league matches.

Shandilya needed a 3-0 verdict against Praput Chaithansakul of Thailand, and the scoreline was exactly what he achieved. It was a virtual annihilation of the 1999 World champion as Shandilya won 100-14, 101-6, 102-18 in quick time with an unfinished 101 coming in the second game to keep the tempo going.

Shandilya has not had the best of the tournaments till Wednesday evening. But all that was a thing of the past as he moved around the table with panache and pocketed with elan.

He played the canon with a steady hand and the in-offs with disdain to leave the stunned Chaithansakul frustrated in his corner. Chaithansakul, who in the morning had scored a hard fought 3-2 win over Aung San Oo of Myanmar, just had no answer.

The Thai went about his task in the morning against San Oo, the conqueror of Shandilya, like a well-oiled machine but he seemed to have lost his touch after the second game.

Chaithansakul had won the first two games 100-20, 100-0 but then the cool and composed San Oo seemed to get his rhythm going. San Oo, the Myanmar number one, got a 61 break in the third game to give indications of a fightback and then soon followed it up with two steady breaks as Chaithansakul floundered. Chaithansakul, however, soon rose to the occasion to quell any chances of San Oo winning.

But, the Thai, who performed like a machine in the morning, spluttered and stopped in the evening session much to the glee of the Indian camp.

Sethi thrills

Geet Sethi played defending champion Devendra Joshi to decide the group topper and showed why he is regarded as the hot favourite.

The seven-time world champion and the winner of the inaugural Asian Championship was impeccable in his top-table play and Devendra Joshi was left applauding the master's work from his chair. Sethi won 101-37, 9-100, 101-0 and 102-51.

Sethi, however, was not at his best in the morning. In his first game, he got a jolt from Thailand's S. Thawat. This was the wake-up call that Sethi needed and he then stream-rolled his way to a 4-101, 100-68, 100-0, 101-0 win.

Despite his loss, Thawat still has a chance of making it to the quarterfinal as the third player from the group, but he will have to score at least one win over either B. Bhaskar or Chaithansakul.

Kyaw Oo, the runner-up in the last edition of the championship, justified his top billing in the group with a 3-2 verdict over former IBSF world champion and young prodigy Pankaj Advani.

Advani, however, progressed to the quarterfinal as the runner-up in Group B. Bhaskar, who lost to Advani in the morning, will have to come through the grind of playing the round robin format for the three third placed players in each group.

Devendra Joshi has already qualified from Group A in addition to Sethi. Kyaw Oo of Myanmar and Pankaj Advani have qualified from Group B and Aung San Oo has qualified from Group C along with Shandilya.

The Results:

Group A: Geet Sethi bt S. Thawat (Thai) 4-101, 100-68, 100-0, 101-0; Devendra Joshi bt Khin Mg Oo (Myan) 41-100, 101-37, 100-48, 101-58; Wan Su Lee (Korea) bt K. H. Sirisoma (SL) 101-63, 102-86; 101-53; Geet Sethi bt Devendra Joshi 101-37, 9-100, 101-0, 102-51. Pankaj Advani bt B. Bhaskar 101-48, 32-101, 101-2, 100-50; Kyaw Oo Myan bt W. A. J. Weerasinghe (SL) 101-28, 101-65, 100-7; Rishab Thakkar bt Tommy A. Ng (Sing) 100-15, 101-60, 100-21; Kyaw Oo (Mya) bt Pankaj Advani 101-23, 102-2, 85-102, 30-102, 100-33.

Group C: Praput C (Thai) bt Aung San Oo (Myan) 100-20, 100-0, 78-100, 40-100, 102-82; Imran Shahzad (Pak) bt Seung Chil Park (Kor) 83-102, 101-44, 100-63, 85-100, 101-49; Ashok Shandilya bt Lim Jia Sheng (Sin) 101-13, 100-41, 100-9; Sourav Kothari bt Imran Shahzad (Pak) 101-11, 100-83, 100-64; Aung San Oo (Myan) bt Seung Chil Park (Kor) 101-30, 102-9, 101-15; Ashok Shandilya bt Praput C 100-14, 101-6, 102-18.

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