India clinch snooker team bronze

The green baize provided India another medal at the Asian Games, with the snooker team bagging the bronze medal after a facile 3-0 victory over Malaysia on Wednesday night.

After young Pankaj Advani and experienced Ashok Shandiliya fetched a gold and silver on Tuesday, it was the turn of the snooker team, comprising Aditya Mehta, Yasin Merchant and Rupesh Shah, to bring cheer to the Indian camp.

The Indians, who lost to China in the semi-finals, ensured that there were no further setbacks against the Malaysians, who could not match their opponents in skill and concentration.

Aditya Mehta set the ball rolling for India with a 86-1 win over Chuan Leong Thor while Yasin Merchant consolidated the position with a 60-48 triumph over Keen Hoo Moh to give the Indians a 2-0 lead.

In the last frame, Merchant and Rupesh Shah had no difficulty in warding off the challenge of Moh and Thor as they recorded a 73-38 win.

Seven-time world champion Geet Sethi and Ashok Shandiliya kept themselves on course for a medal in the billiards doubles event by prevailing over Korea's Wan Su Lee and Seung Chil Park 3-0.

The experienced Indian duo scripted a convincing 101-0, 101-0, 102-40 victory to romp into the semi-finals.

In the men's snooker singles section, Merchant progressed to the pre-quarter finals by getting the better of Bahrain's Munther Jawad Al Basri 4-1.

Another Indian in the fray, Manan Chandra, however, had to bite the dust, going down to Iraq's Reenat Dunkha 2-4 in a marathon tussle.