Published: March 30, 2026 at 8:14 pm
Celebrated cueist Pankaj Advani continued his dream run in his maiden pool National Championships, powering into the men’s 9-ball pool final with an authoritative win in the semifinals in Ludhiana, Punjab, on Monday.
The PSPB pro hardly put a foot wrong in his 11-5 demolition of Karnataka’s Kushal Chandrashekar, who finished fifth in the previous edition three years ago. In the title clash on Tuesday, the 40-year-old Advani takes on Chandigarh’s Nitin Sharma, who edged out S Shrikrishna 11-10 in the other semifinal.
Advani storms into semifinals; Shrikrishna and Nitin Sharma face off in last four of 9-ball Pool
Known for his brilliant safety and surefire potting, Advani had his rival on a tight leash from the get-go. Capitalising on his rival’s largesse, he was off the blocks in a jiffy, jumping to a 4-0 lead in the race-to-11 clash.
A rare error from Advani gave Kushal a look-in in the fifth rack. The multiple-time World champion in snooker and billiards, snookered himself after taking 4 to the bottom right-hand pocket. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, Kushal pulled one back.
Kushal then rode his luck in the sixth rack following Advani’s dry break. He made it a rack and run (read cleared the table) after a fluke double of 1 to the top right-hand pocket. He very nearly got another fluke in the seventh rack, but Advani, playing more like a seasoned pool professional, cleared the table to go up 5-2.
Advani showed his pool skill set by keeping the racks short, potting 9 off 2 in the 11th rack and 9 off 7 in the 12th. Kushal may have been a trifle off-colour on the day, but the green baize baron was on top of his game, wrapping up the match in double quick time.
In the other semifinal, locked 10-10, Nitin made it a start to finish affair with his break. After potting 1 and 3 with his break, the Chandigarh pro made it a break and run to set up a mouth-watering meeting with Advani.
Results: Men (semifinals): Pankaj Advani (PSPB) beat Kushal Chandrashekar (Kar) 11-5; Nitin Sharma (Chd) beat S Shrikrishna (PSPB) 11-10.
