MUMBAI, MAY 8: Defending champion Ashwini Puranik (MP) had admitted yesterday that Karnataka's Judy Walia, as an opponent, would be a tough nut to crack but she would love to do it.And did she love it, as Ashwini edged past the third seed in a marathon seven-frame encounter to pocket the winner's cheque of the All-India Ladies Snooker Prize-money Tournament at Bombay Gymkhana today.Judy almost sprung a coup when trailing by three frames, taking the next three frames to force a decider. It was a commendable effort by Judy who rallied from a rather hopeless position and frustrated Ashwini no end.The decider was anybody's game with both Ashwini and Judy running neck to neck. And at 39-38, the former came up with a difficult long shot to bring an end to the five-hour finale.Back from a short stint in pro snooker in England, the mother of two from Indore looked like sailing to the title with three straight frame-wins. The second frame was particularly interesting when Ashwini, trailing 21-41, managed atimely break of 15. She missed the black but so did Judy and won the frame 43-41.While the match saw many tense moments, both players compounded their problems by erring with their shots on numerous occasions and it was more of taking advantage of the other's mistakes.But in the end, it did not matter for Ashwini, as she went home richer by Rs 8,000.RESULT (FINAL)1-Ashwini Puranik (Madhya Pradesh) bt 3-Judy Walia (Karnataka) 4-3 (67-12, 43-41, 63-20, 15-65, 33-48, 39-49).
