Published: March 29, 2026 at 8:23 pm
Ace Indian cueist Pankaj Advani of PSPB outclassed Piyush Kushwaha to power into the men’s semifinal of the 9-ball Pool National Championships in Ludhiana, Punjab, on Sunday.
The multiple-time World champion, known more for his prowess in snooker and billiards, scored a lopsided 9-3 win over the Madhya Pradesh player and set up a semifinal meeting with the winner of the match between Kushal C and Kamal Chawla. At the time of going to the press, the quarterfinal was on a knife’s edge at 8-7 in the former’s favour.
Top cueists, including Advani, land in Ludhaina for pool National Championships
The other semifinal will be played between Nitin Sharma and S Shrikrishna. While Chandigarh’s Nitin scored a 9-6 win over Shoaib Khan of Delhi, Shrikrishna toyed with Sumit Talwar of Chandigarh 9-3.
Advani has been a revelation
Advani, probably playing only his maiden premier championship in pool, has been a revelation. The 40-year-old, winner of 28 World titles in billiards and snooker, has had a splendid run here. In the pre-quarters, the Bengalurean stunned 10-ball pool champion and favourite Shivam Arora without breaking a sweat at 8-2.
Multiple-time World champion Pankaj Advani, known more for his prowess in snooker and billiards, scored a lopsided 9-3 win over Madhya Pradesh’s Piyush Kushwaha to power into the men’s semifinal of the 9-ball Pool National Championships in Ludhiana, Punjab, on Sunday
The seasoned cueist, known for his amazing potting and stunning safety play, continued his dream run with a crushing victory over Kushwaha.
At the adjacent table, Advani’s PSPB teammate S Shrikrishna outplayed Talwar, who is known more for his exploits in pool. Shrikrishna, a former 6-red World champion, will take on Nitin Sharma of Chandigarh. Nitin, who seemed to be running away with the match at one point, had to dig deep into his reserves to down Shoiab.
Results (quarterfinals): Nitin Sharma (Chd) beat Shoaib Khan (Del) 9-6; Pankaj Advani beat Piyush Kushwaha (MP) 9-3; S Shrikrishna (PSPB) beat Sumit Talwar (Chd) 9-3.
Pre-quarters: Advani beat Shivam Arora (Mah) 8-2; Kushal C (Kar) beat Gagandeep Makkar (Chd) 8-4; Kamal Chawla (RSPB) beat Shabaz Adil Khan (PSPB) 8-6; Kushwaha beat Rovin D’Souza (RSPB) 8-2; Nitin beat Abhijeet Ranade (Mah) 8-1; Shoaib beat Shoaib Khan (RSPB) 8-6; Shrikrishna beat Anuj Uppal (Del) 8-1; Talwar beat Faisal Khan (RSPB) 8-6.
