Bengalurean conquest in Ludhiana: Double stars Advani and Chitra brook no challenge

Green baize baron Pankaj Advani played the big points well under pressure to edge out a fighting Pushpender Singh for a memorable double in his maiden pool Nationals at the Rotary Bhawan in Ludhiana, Punjab, on Saturday.

In the men’s final of the 10-ball pool event, where fortunes fluctuated like a pendulum, PSPB’s Advani had to score a come-from-behind 11-9 win over his RSPB rival.

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A little later at the adjacent table, fellow Bengalurean Chitra Magimairaj rallied splendidly to overcome Neena Praveen of Tamil Nadu 6-4 in the women’s final to complete an impressive double.

Advani fights back in splendid fashion

The men’s final was a match of small margins. Although Pushpender got off the blocks in a rousing manner, Advani, who annexed the 9-ball title a few days ago, fought back in splendid fashion to draw level at 3-3 in the race-to-11 affair.

Pankaj Advani makes a smashing debut by clinching maiden National 9-ball pool title

The title clash turned decisively in favour of Advani, who was playing catch-up for the best part of the finale, in the 16^th rack. Pushpender seemed on course to make a break and run (read clearance) but missed a regulation pot of No. 8 to let Advani draw level.

Splendid double: Pankaj Advani and Chitra Magimairaj with their trophies in Ludhiana on Saturday

Advani punished another error from Pushpender, who hardly put a foot wrong for the better part, in the next rack to go up for the first time in the final at 9-8. A poor Pushpender break in the 18^th rack allowed Advani to go up 10-8.

Pushpender then made a brilliant rack and run when Advani failed to pot a ball off his break in the next. In the 20^th rack, the RSPB cueist made a couple of brilliant recovery shots before he snookered himself after taking No. 7 to the bottom right-hand pocket. Advani then potted the remaining balls to walk away with the title.

Karnataka cueist Chitra downs Ishika in 9-ball pool final to end nine-year title drought

In the women’s final, Chitra took a 5-3 lead in the race-to-6 title clash. Neena reduced the margin by taking the ninth, and the Chennai cueist looked set to draw level. Unfortunately, she missed a simple No. 8 pot to the centre pocket and covered her race in disappointment at frittering away a chance to take the match to the decider. The calm and composed Chitra closed out the rack and match without much ado.

Results (10-ball pool): Men (final): Pankaj Advani (PSPB) beat Pushpender Singh (RSPB) 11-9. Third-place playoff: Shahbaaz Adil Khan (PSPB) beat Aayush Kumar (Pun) 5-4. Semifinals: Advani beat Shahbaaz 9-4; Pushpender beat Aayush 9-5.

Women (final): Chitra Magimairaj (Kar) beat Neena Praveen (TN) 6-4. Third-place playoff: Natasha Chethan (Kar) beat Anupama Ramachandran (TN) 4-3. Semifinals: Chitra beat Natasha 6-3; Neena beat Anupama 6-5.