Manan rallies to stun Yasin,enters final

Merchant,of Otters Club,capitalised on Chandra’s early blemishes and was in full flow as he swelled the advantage to 13-8. But,to his dismay,his troubles began just when he was on course and looked set to seal the match without much ado.

A miscue in the 22nd rack cost Merchant dear and opened the floodgates for Chandra,who had given up all hopes until then in a match that was heading one way.

No pushover,Chandra chose to take one rack at a time from then on. He believed in himself and closed in with some brilliant potting,positional play and clearances that all combined to help him finally draw level at 14-14.

The pressure took its toll on Merchant as he looked on helplessly while Chandra steadily clawed back into the match before sealing the tie in a cliffhanger.

“I was surprised to enjoy that lead. I capitalized on Manan’s mistakes early on and felt I had the match in my grasp. But later in the match I made some mistakes and he made the most of the chances that came his way. Overall he played a better game,” admitted Merchant.

“I put pressure on myself at the start,” explained a relieved Manan Chandra. “I gave up after trailing 1-9. Certainly,I was gone against a player of Yasin’s calibre. I could only reduce the deficit in such a situation. But once Yasin began making mistakes it gave me a chance to close in. It put him under pressure and I just grabbed the opportunity.”

The final will be played on Sunday.

Results (Semi-finals): Manan Chandra (PSPB) bt Yasin Merchant (Otters Club) 15-14.