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Aditya Mehta bests Yasin to take honours

Sports Reporter

— Photo: K. Pichumani

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Aditya Mehta receives his prize from former Davis Cup captain Ramesh Krishnan on Friday. Arvind Ramarathinam (left), president, Madras Gymkhana Club, P.V.S. Vencatasubramaniam, secretary, and runner-up Yasin Merchant are also seen.

CHENNAI: Aditya Mehta scored a solid 6-2 (62-69, 59-1, 69-40, 111-0, 58-14, 12-80, 70-52, 72-23) win over Yasin Merchant to lift the Madras Gymkhana Club all-India invitation snooker trophy here on Friday.

A hectic first frame swung both ways and Aditya seemed to have the upper hand at 62-44, but Yasin potted the last three coloured balls to tie the score at 62-62 and ‘respot’ the black.

Yasin took the frame after Aditya missed a clear-cut chance to pot the black. Aditya then launched a series of short bursts to bleed Yasin off the second frame.

Sharp-shooting his way through a tangle of reds, Aditya took the third frame and with it the momentum. Much like a beam of light that can sneak through a crack, though the door be oaken, Aditya’s precision game exploited every chink and every fissure in Yasin’s play.

He took the fourth with a 111-point and the fifth with a 56-point break, opening up a 4-1 lead. Yasin got his experience into play and for the next frame and a half repeatedly lodged the cue ball in the baulk-end of the table, forcing Aditya to concede him the initiative if not the fouls.

Yasin took the sixth frame and a 52-0 lead in the seventh, but went for one speculative shot too many as the lone red was being pinged about the table. In what he later termed as one of the ‘turning-points of the match’ Aditya was at hand to conjure up openings from every Yasin error.

With a measured approach, which he admitted to have developed over a run of six successive defeats at tournament-finals, Aditya took the last two frames 70-52 and 73-23.

Former Davis Cup captain Ramesh Krishnan gave away the plaques and cheques worth Rs. 1,40,000 to the winner and Rs. 80,000 to the runner-up.

Aditya had entered the final with a 5-2 win over second-seeded Sourav Kothari late on Thursday.

The results: Final (best-of-eleven frames): Aditya Mehta bt Yasin Merchant 6-2 (62-69, 59-1, 69-40, 111-0, 58-14, 12-80, 70-52, 72-23).

Semifinals (best-of-nine frames): Aditya Mehta bt Sourav Kothari 5-2 (64-53, 48-62, 69-31, 68-16, 23-93, 67-0, 65-51).

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