The Hindu : Sport : World championship inaugurated

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Sport - Sports : General

World championship inaugurated

V.V. Subrahmanyam

— Photo: G. Krishnaswamy

MASTER CRAFTSMAN: Geet Sethi playing trick shots during the inauguration of the World snooker championship.

HYDERABAD: The ISBF World snooker championship was inaugurated by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K. Rosaiah on Saturday. The competitions will begin on Sunday.

The championship reflects the dreams and aspirations of Indian cue sports players and fans to see a World champion being crowned from their own country.

It is not just players like Pankaj Advani, Manan Chandra, Aditya Mehta, Brijesh Damani and Sourav Kothari who are expected to write a new script in the men’s section, but even Meenal Thakur and Vidya Pillai in the ladies’ category are confident this is their best chance to shine.

Only two Indians have won the World snooker title — Om Agarwal and Pankaj Advani. The latter won it in 2003 at the age of 18 years but has not repeated that feat again.

The timing of Advani’s first World Professional billiards title this September could not have been more perfect — coming so close in this event. However, he had to be content with a bronze in the Asian Indoor Games in Vietnam last week.

Advani is India’s best bet to challenge some of the formidable players from China, Europe and the Middle East.

A tough challenge may also come from Steve Misfud, former World champion and eight-time Australian champion.

Battle royale

The Masters (40 years & above) and the ladies’ championship will be held simultaneously.

Among the noteworthy players in the Masters are Arvind Savur, Pankaj Advani’s guru, and Geet Sethi, last year’s finalist in this section.

A battle royale could ensue between Geet Sethi, Dean Kenne and Danny Morgan for the title.

In the ladies’ category, Hanna Mergis of Australia can pose a serious threat to the hopes of Meenal Thakur and Vidya Pillai.

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