Shandilya beats Kothari

Double Asian Games gold medallist Ashok Shandilya got back his winning ways as he registered a comfortable win over his compatriot Sourav Kothari in a Group C tie of the 4th Asian Billiards Championship in Pune on Tuesday.

Shandilya, who suffered a surprising loss yesterday, beat Kothari 3-1 in a facinating contest.

He won the opening frame which included a break of 47 in 102-up but lost the second. However, Shandilya regrouped himself in the third and fourth frames, the last one boasting of an unfinished break of 85.

Defending champion Devendra Joshi registered his third win from as many matches, while Geet Sethi coasted to his third win to enhance their chances for a berth in the quarter-finals from Group 'A' , in the 4th Asian Billiards Championship, sponsored by Idea Cellular, ONGC & BPCL, at the PYC Hindu Gymkhana, in Pune on Tuesday.

Playing fluently, Joshi blanked Sri Lanka's K.H. Sirisoma 3-0, while Sethi sent the Sri Lankan to his fourth defeat in as many ties following another 3-0 rout in an evening match.

Unfinished breaks of 60 and 90 in the opening and third games, respectively were the feature of Joshi's win, which also reflected the fine form he is enjoying. 

Sethi overcame a surprisingly scrappy opening game before he settled down in the second in which he uncorked an unfinished 71 break and sealed the win with a break of 82 in the third. 

National champion Pankaj Advani beat Singapore's Ang Boon Tommy 3-0 for his third win to maintain a clean record in Group B. Breaks of 61 in the opening game and an unfinished 56 in the second marked Advani's convincing win. 

Former IBSF World champion C. Praput of Thailand ignored the loss of the opening game to rally to an exciting 3-1 win over a spirited Sourav Kothari of India in Group C. The Indian surprised his formidable opponent by snatching the first game and constructed a break of 55 in the second to signal his comeback bid. But Praput, who registered his fourth win, relied on his vast experience to record a significant 79 break in the fourth game to send Kothari to his third defeat in five ties.

Group A: Devendra Joshi (India) bt K.H. Sirisoma (SL) 3-0 :- 101(60 unf)-31, 100-33, 101(90 unf)-50; S. Thawat (Thailand) bt Khin Mg Oo (Myanmar) 3-1 :- 100(57)-65, 100-71, 43-101, 100(67)-2; Geet Sethi (India) bt K.H. Sirisoma 3-0 :- 101-42, 100(71 unf)-73, 100(82)-10.

Group B: Kyaw Oo (Myanmar) bt Ang Boon C. Tommy (Singapore) 3-1 :- 100(50)-46, 100(78)-45, 85-100, 102-32; B. Bhaskar (India) bt W.A.J. Weerasinghe (SL) 3-0 :- 100(67)-10, 100(74)-7, 102-27; Pankaj Advani (India) bt Ang Boon C. Tommy 3-0 :- 101(61)-2, 100(56 unf)-17, 101-0.

Group C: C. Praput (Thailand) bt Seung Chil Park (Korea) 3-0 :- 102(35 unf)-29, 100(60unf)-8, 100(66unf)-15; Ashok Shandilya (India) bt Sourav Kothari (India) 3-1 :- 102(47)-14, 7-102(41,61unf), 100(62)-91, 100(85unf)-10; Aung San Oo (Myanmar) bt Lim Jia Sheng (Singapore) 3-0 :- 101-27, 101(58)-50, 102(54)-59; C. Praput bt Sourav Kothari 3-1 :- 49-100, 101-59(55), 100-56, 100(79)-45.