Top cueists for National Pool

Top cueists Pankaj Advani and Geet Sethi are expected to take part in the National 9-ball and 8-ball pool championship,to be played from February 15 to 24,at the YMCA institute. Veteran Yasin Merchant,Rafat Habib,Manan Chandra and Alok Kumar would be among other cueists vying for the top honours at the 10-day-long event,which will carry a total prizemoney of Rs 2.75 lakh. Ladies events in both the categories will also be held simultaneously. “This will be only the second time that the city will be hosting the event since its inception in 2001 in Bangalore,” Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI) vice president Ravi Tandon said. The event would also form the basis of team selection for next year’s Asian Games.