China ‘B’ edge out India in opener, former champs face Turkey next in must-win game

Former champions India suffered a narrow defeat to China ‘B’ in their opening match of the World Team Snooker Championship in Guangdong, China, on Tuesday. The 2-3 loss to the hosts in the three-team Group ‘B’ leaves India with a must-win game against Turkey on Wednesday morning.

India had their chances to put it across their rivals in the best-of-five frame encounter. With the match poised on a knife’s edge at 2-2, Aditya Mehta, who gave India the opening frame, frittered away the advantage and allowed the formidable Zhou Jinhao to help the hosts prevail in a thriller.

Down 20-22, Jinhao capitalized on Mehta’s poor safety shot with a crucial break of 23. The Chinese cueist resorted to safety after taking the penultimate red. After a bit of a cat-and-mouse game, the Indian missed a long red and sold it to the top left-hand pocket. The promising Jinhao took the generous offering gleefully to seal the frame and match for China ‘B’, who had earlier outclassed Turkey 3-0.

Earlier, Jinhao had defeated Pankaj Advani with a gritty break of 53 in the second frame to draw level with India. Partnering Xu Jianhao, Jinhao later compiled a flowing break of 81 to down Advani and Mehta in the doubles for a 2-1 lead.

Advani brings India back into contention

Advani brought India back into contention with a splendid win over Ma Hailong. Despite the black ball being out of play, stuck near the top cushion, he made a frame-clinching break of 62 to level scores at 2-2. However, Mehta, who looked solid in his opening win against Hailong, failed to reproduce that same touch.

Results: Group ‘B’: China ‘B’ beat India 3-2 (Ma Hailong lost to Aditya Mehta 18-94 (54); Zhou Jinhao beat Pankaj Advani 76 (53) -29; Jinhao/ Xu Jianhao beat Advani/ Mehta 96 (81) -7; Hailong lost to Advani 12-73 (62); Jinhao beat Aditya Mehta (60-22).

China ‘B’ beat Turkey 3-0.